The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders finish 3rd and 26th in Buriram on the first day of the season.

The first contact with the Buriram circuit was a successful one for the two Red Bull KTM Ajo riders on Friday. Deniz Öncü continued the progress he had shown during preseason and set the third best time of the afternoon, whilst Collin Veijer was one of the riders with the most laps in the class, taking 26th.

Track conditions in Buriram were good from the early going, something that Öncü took advantage of to spring a surprise in FP1. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider, who is starting his second season in Moto2, continued his impressive form from the winter, placing in the Top 5 from the first laps of the day. In the closing moments, with a Time Attack, he moved up to second thanks to a 1:34.871 -his best time at Chang on a Moto2 bike to date.

Veijer also had a good morning session, improving lap-by-lap and working on his race pace and confidence on his bike. The Dutchman took the chequered flag occupying 24th, with a time of 1:36.361.

The afternoon practice session was affected by the high temperatures of close to 40 degrees. However, the heat did not prevent Öncü from pushing hard to lower his times. Whilst he took a while to put in his first laps of the afternoon, he had no trouble getting to the top of the timesheets once on track. He finished third, with a best time of 1:35.228, which put him through to Q2.

Veijer had a very busy Friday, contributing 38 laps between the two sessions -one more than his teammate. He focused on getting a feel for his bike and increasing his stamina and, although he was 26th, he only finished one second off the best time in the afternoon. His best lap was a 1:36.124.

On Saturday, the Moto2 riders will be back on track from 9:25am local time for Free Practice 2. In the afternoon, Veijer will take part in Q1 from 1:45pm, with the aim of joining  teammate Öncü in Q2 from 2:10pm.

Practice Results
1. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) 1:35.030
2. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) 1:35.088 +0.058
3. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.228 +0.198
4. Mario Aji (Kalex) 1:35.259 +0.229
5. Jorge Navarro (Forward) 1:35.315 +0.285
26. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.124 +1.094

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“It’s good to start the weekend strong and in this positive way. Honestly, in the last winter test we showed that we have potential, and it’s good to confirm that, continuing in the same way. I also have a very good crew around me and we are working very well to improve day-by-day. Tomorrow we need to do a great qualifying to have a good grid position for Sunday’s race”.

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“Today wasn’t a bad day. We tried some things out for the race on used tyres. The feeling was pretty good and the lap times weren’t bad either, so the overall assessment is positive. In Practice, although the conditions were very hot, we were able to understand a little more how to work on Fridays in Moto2. Tomorrow we have other things to try and I’m sure we can take another step forward to get a little closer to the front. Little by little we are improving; we just have to be patient and enjoy the process.”