Race Weekend Report - Italjet Gresini Moto2
The mountains of Styria don’t whisper, they roar. On race week, the Red Bull Ring transforms from a postcard valley into a cauldron of noise and fury. Moto2 rolled back in after the summer break with two things promised: war in Austria and a brand-new frontier in Hungary. For Italjet Gresini, it wasn’t just a restart, it was a declaration.
Albert Arenas came armed with confidence, already carrying the glint of a podium earlier in the season. Binder returned from South Africa, sun-forged, reset, and ready to claw his way back into the fight. And with Balaton looming as a brand-new battlefield, Austria became the proving ground.
The Build-Up: Calm Before the Storm
Arenas felt sharp, hours on the bike during the break had kept the fire burning.
ALBERT ARENAS #75
“We arrive in Austria after the summer break. We left each other on the Monday after Brno with a test day, where we went really strong and tried some new setups suggested by Kalex: now we’ll see with which package we’ll start the second part of the season. However, we understood that the speed is there: in the first part of the championship we already took a podium and fought for the win. The goal is to get back to where we were, at the front, and try to win. Obviously, we need to make the rider+bike package work at its best. I’m arriving motivated, having spent many hours on the bike and with a great desire to get back to race. After Austria, we’ll have Balaton, a brand new circuit for everyone: it will be interesting to see where we stand, but I think it could be positive for us.”
Binder, meanwhile, couldn’t hide the grin. A little reset, a lot of training, and a hunger that had clearly survived the break.
DARRYN BINDER #15
“Heading back to Austria after the summer break: it has been a really good one, I managed to get back to South Africa and had a really good time there. I had a little reset and refocus, I’ve been training hard and I’m ready to get to Austria. I’m really excited to get there, quite a particular track with lots of hard breaking: after the test day in Brno, I definitely felt like we’ve found something positive, so I’m hoping we can carry that to Austria. After that a back-to-back with a new circuit, Balaton: I obviously watched the Superbike race a couple of weeks ago and it looks awesome! I’m really excited to get there, it is always nice to get a new track to the calendar. I’m looking forward to it and to see my team again!”
The table was set: Austria first, Hungary next.
Friday: The Awakening
The first laps after a break are always a test of nerve, who still has the sharp edge, and who needs time to shake the rust? Arenas answered quickly. Ninth in FP1, tenth overall, and straight through to Q2. A crash bit into the afternoon, but the damage was psychological, not mechanical. He walked away grinning, data in hand.
ALBERT ARENAS #75
“We’re back: strong, in full form and near the front in both of today’s sessions. This afternoon, a crash cost us some time, but fortunately most of the work had already been done and we managed to make it into Q2. Now we need to analyse the data from this tumble: this will give us key information to find the perfect balance for the bike, so that we don’t have to be too much on the limit on corner entry. Overall, the feeling is very good, and I feel in good form: tomorrow we’ll try to fix what we’re missing, and then do our best for a good qualifying result.”
Binder’s times read 22nd and 24th, paper doesn’t always tell the truth. He insisted the bike had more to give, and so did he.
DARRYN BINDER #15
“First day back after the summer break here in Austria: it is so good to be here, riding my moto2 again and being with my team. Overall I fill like we’re not as far as it looks on the paper today: we need to gain a little bit of feeling for tomorrow and hopefully we can close the gap and try in Q1 to find our way to Q2. We’ll keep working hard and let’s see what we can do tomorrow”.
Saturday: The Crucible
Saturday heat turned the Red Bull Ring into a pressure cooker. Arenas wrestled the Italjet through qualifying, hunting for balance and grip. Seventh on the grid. Close, close enough to fight, but still gnawing at him.
ALBERT ARENAS #75
“Today we finished qualifying in seventh position: I’m not fully happy, because we can be faster than this. We’re not at our best, we suffered from high temperatures and the fact we’re not ok with the front-end surely affected the acceleration side of things. We will try to make a step forward for the race: we’ll be on row three and we’re all very close.”
For Binder, Saturday was survival. A stomach bug nearly pulled him out of contention. Instead, he fought it head-on, dragging himself to Q1 and forcing a step forward.
DARRYN BINDER #15
“Saturday done and dusted: unfortunately this morning I woke-up a little “under the weather”, with a sort of stomach bug, so in FP2 I wasn’t feeling good. After the session I went to the clinic, they gave me some medicine and rest to be ready for the Qualifying. I made a good step forward in Q1, but just not enough. I’m gonna try to rest and recover this afternoon in order to give all my best tomorrow.”
The stage was primed for Sunday.
Sunday: The War on the Mountain
The lights fell, and fury broke loose. Arenas launched from seventh like a missile, carving into the front runners with a ferocity that had the grandstands howling. For the opening laps, he was in the fight, tooth and nail for the podium. But by lap eight, acceleration began to bleed away. Every exit became a battle, every straight a test of will. Still, Arenas refused to yield. When the chequered flag fell, he was fourth, just 0.4 seconds away from spraying champagne. Close enough to smell victory, but not yet to taste it.
ALBERT ARENAS #75
“Today we made amends from yesterday’s qualifying, with a fourth place from seventh on the grid. My opening lap was great, but I’m not fully happy as from the eighth lap onwards I struggled accelerating out of corners. I did all I could to hold on and fought for the podium until the end, but it wasn’t enough. We need to insist and make another step: I feel strong, now we’ll try to improve our base set-up and be even readier for the next race.”
Binder’s race was a different kind of story. From 24th on the grid, he clawed his way to 15th. Nine scalps taken, one point in the bag, and a statement of grit from a man who refused to let sickness write the ending.
DARRYN BINDER #15
“Today I started 24th and finished 15th: we made a step forward from yesterday. Unfortunately, after a half way through the race I wasn’t feeling the best physically, so it was a tough race. I’m happy to walk away with a 15th position and one point: now we have a little bit more to improve for the next one, where I’ll be hopefully feeling better and aiming higher up.”
Aftermath: Eyes on Hungary
When the dust cleared, the scoreboard read:
Arenas – 4th place, 8th in the world with 94 points.
Binder – 15th place, 21st in the world with 12 points.
Austria gave no easy victories, but it delivered proof. Arenas is still in the hunt for glory. Binder has the steel to fight back when the odds are stacked.
Now the road leads east, to Balaton, a circuit with no past, no legends, no excuses. A clean slate. And the Italjet Gresini team will arrive ready to write the first story.
