Saffa’s lag behind in Hungarian Moto racing practice session

South African Moto Racing riders Brad Binder and Ruchè Moodley had a slow start to the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, ending the first free practice session at the back of the pack. 

Moodley, who is only in his second event since returning from a serious injury, ended the session 2 seconds off the leaders pace, set by Guidi Pini. 

Moodley, of Denssi BOE KTM, was quicker than his team mate Cormac Buchanan with a lap time of best lap time of 01:49.164 around Balatan Park. The Eastern Cape-born teenager has some making up to do after he missed a few races due to injury. 

He told Independent Media earlier this week that he feels 100 percent fit and is now focused on acquainting himself to the upcoming Asian circuits once the European segment is complete. 

Moodley has more experience in Europe, as it's the first place he competed in competitively since leaving South Africa. There’s two races left in Europe before the paddock makes its way to Asia. 

“Because of the crash, I missed some races and have a lot of catching up to do. Also a lot of new tracks are coming up so I’m looking forward to that. Once we finish in Europe, we get the Asian tour up next and I think it will be interesting because they are all new tracks for me. 

“The climate is quite different there. It's a bit more hot so the bike behaves differently and the power is different. The weather is quite different there as well, I know it rains a lot. Learning the new tracks as quickly as possible is also important,” said Moodley. 

Meanwhile, at camp Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Binder’s had a slow start to the weekend but no doubt will pick up the pace later on during practice. Like his Eastern Cape counterpart Moodley and the rookie that he’s taken under his wing, Binder's through some adversity this season, especially when it comes to the bike. 

It has been widely speculated the KTM did not have the finances to fully develop a bike worthy of competing at the start of the season, but as things progressed, the Austrian based outfit got better as well. 

Binder looked quick enough to be at the front of the middle section of the pack and is now trying to fight for a place at the top, which the Spaniard brothers Alex and Marc Marquez have been utterly dominating so far this season. 

Binder ran just over two seconds off the pace rider in Hungary during his free practice at 01:40.166. His teammate, Pedro Acosta, was right up there next to pace runner Marx Marquez in third position. 

The South African rider has been vocal on social media this season about his inability sometimes to “feel it” but has remained positive throughout. 

Red Bull KTM certainly have the talent in Acosta and Binder to go up against Ducati and Yamaha but need the right cart two along with their two horses. The RC16 definitely has the pace but lacks a bit when it comes to aerodynamics, balance and tyre degradation. 

Both Acosta and Binder mentioned the rear-wheel vibrations as well amid the rapid tyre wear, which make consistent and fast lap times difficult to achieve.