Celestino Vietti returned to the front row after finishing third, while Deniz Öncü finished fifth.

Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 enjoyed one of their best Saturdays of the season at the Malaysian Grand Prix. With both riders going directly into Q2, Celestino Vietti and Deniz Öncü fought for the front row of the grid, with the former taking third and the latter fifth -just a few tenths off pole.

Practice 2 allowed the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo to take another step forward and considerably improve their times compared to Friday. Vietti battled through pain still present after his injury, and became increasingly competitive. The Italian rider completed a total of 9 laps, focused on the goal of finishing in the Top15 to ensure a place in Q2. He was ultimately ninth in a tight Practice, and his 2:05.138 was only +0.3s off the pacesetter. Öncü was also very consistent in the morning at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider faced a Practice 2 in which the Q2 spots were decided by just half a second. He was tenth, just behind his teammate and with a time of 2:05.158, achieved on his fifth lap of eight.

With both riders contesting Q2, Vietti went from strength to strength and, after a pit stop, initially took eighth place. He made an extra push in the final minutes, completing a great lap that put him on the front row on his return after missing two races. With a time of 2:04.559, he was just +0.147s off pole position. Öncü also occupied the top positions for several laps. The Moto2 rookie’s main objective was to improve his qualifying position, and in the end he was fifth thanks to his 2:04.697. He will fight for a good result from the second row of the grid at Sepang.

The Moto2 Malaysian Grand Prix takes place on Sunday at 1:15pm local time.

Qualifying Results
1. Jorge Navarro (Kalex) 2:04.412
2. Marcos Ramirez (Kalex) 2:04.475 +0.063
3. Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:05.559 +0.147
4. Albert Arenas (Kalex) 2:04.643 +0.231
5. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:04.697 +0.285

#13 CELESTINO VIETTI

“I am really happy, especially with us getting back on the bike and achieving a good result. We have to be satisfied with this, because it hasn’t been easy. Tomorrow it will be really tough, especially with my shoulder and the tyre management, because the conditions are tricky. We will start from the front row and we have to take the positives away from this, and manage the situation as best as possible until the end. We will see tomorrow what we can do. Thank you to the team because they have done a really good job, and the feeling with the bike is great.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“We have finished Qualifying day here in Malaysia. For me, it was very important to qualify on the front two rows in order to be able to fight tomorrow, so we have achieved our goal and I am very happy about that. The goal for tomorrow is to fight for the podium tomorrow, so whilst there is no pressure, we will give our all.”