Brad Binder: Ideal line 'super-small', passing 'sketchy'

That could be especially important this weekend due to the thin racing line on an otherwise dirty track making overtaking 'quite sketchy'.

"It looks like the ideal line is still super-small," said the KTM rider. "It has helped having Moto2 and Moto3 here because it is getting a little bit wider.

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"But I was really shocked this morning at how dirty the track was. I thought it would be at a much better level. The first 5-6 laps we were just trying to stay on this tiny line and if you went off it was filthy.

"The track is getting better and as the weekend goes on it is going to get cleaner and the extra rubber will give us some good grip too.

"The biggest thing here is that the track is melting! It is so hot. I believe there was over 60 degrees track temperature and you don’t often see that.

"It means there is not a lot of grip to start with and then when you go off line there's the dirt."

Binder added: "I've passed two people and both times were quite sketchy. You have to pass right next to the guy because if you go a bit more inside of them then you are in the dirt and it is so easy to lock the front.

"It is going to be difficult in the race and it'll be important to be clear with your moves. It is going to be very easy to make a mistake and it won’t just be you that goes down at the end of the day."

A consistent seventh and then eighth over the two track sessions, Binder is hoping to find more grip on corner entry to help build confidence with the special tyre casing brought by Michelin due to cope with the searing temperatures.

"It seems that this casing we have on the rear definitely makes things a little bit different," said Binder, who was getting his first taste of a casing last used at Buriram 2018.

"It has much less grip on corner entry so it is a lot more difficult to stop the bike and to trust the rear on corner entry.

"Other than that it was a good day. We need to work tomorrow on the medium rear tyre to find a little bit of a better feeling on corner entry to keep more contact. But on the soft I felt good.

"I didn’t do a good lap but I’m super-happy to be in Q2 so far."

Team-mate Miguel Oliveira was second in the damp FP1, then ninth in FP2.