The Red Bull KTM Moto2 team kicks off the 2024 season this weekend.

The Lusail International Circuit hosts the first round of the 2024 Moto2 World Championship this weekend. There will be 21 races ahead for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders and, after a positive preseason, Celestino Vietti and Deniz Öncü are ready to start a year that is full of novelties.

Celestino Vietti will enjoy his fourth year in the intermediate class, and his first with Red Bull KTM Ajo. The Italian made progress during preseason and arrives in Qatar in good form, having been able to adapt quickly to the team’s working methodology. He was very solid and consistent during the last test held in Jerez, and his record in Qatar includes a sixth place last year and a victory in 2022.

Deniz Öncü will be making his debut in Moto2. After four years in Moto3, the Turkish rider begins a new stage of his sporting career and his second consecutive year with the structure run by Aki Ajo. After a great 2023 season, including a podium in Qatar, in 2024 Öncü faces the big challenge of adapting to a new bike. Preseason testing has prepared him to approach this first round with a good base, and shown that there is room for improvement along with a positive feeling.

Red Bull KTM Ajo were on the podium in Qatar in 2021, thanks to Remy Gardner’s second place, while at the Doha Grand Prix at the same venue he repeated the result, -accompanied by his partner Raul Fernandez, who was third. The Moto2 Qatar Grand Prix will be 18-laps long and will take place this Sunday, March 10th, at 6:15 PM local time.

#13 CELESTINO VIETTI

“I’m so excited and happy coming into the first race with my new team. I’m sure it will be an interesting season with all the changes, the tyres and the new suspensions. We are curious about this and we want to know where our level is compared to the others. We finished the preseason tests with a good feeling, so I hope to do well and be able to fight for a good result.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“We had really good tests last weeks at Portimao and Jerez and I’m looking forward to starting the Qatar GP. My target is to start the season in the points; this is our first step and of course I want to do my best. It could be a surprising race, but we’re going to enjoy my first round in the new class. We are working well and I feel very confident.”