The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders target further solid progress in a difficult but always special track.

The Moto2 World Championship comes to Austin this weekend, with Red Bull KTM Ajo riders Deniz Öncü and Collin Veijer looking to claim positive results and have a consistent weekend at Grand Prix of the Americas. After successfully completing the first two races of the season, both riders arrive to a challenging track.

Öncü had two strong rounds in Thailand and Argentina, but has the unfinished business of improving his performance in Qualifying -his biggest challenge at the start of the 2025 season. After crossing the first laps in P20 and P23, respectively, the opening two races required comebacks for him to place 12th and 14th on race day, and now he wants to show his ability to be amongst the fastest riders in the class. He has raced at Austin three times, achieving fifth and sixth places in Moto3. Last year, in his rookie year in Moto2, he finished 22nd.

Veijer will be riding a Moto2 bike in Austin for the first time. The Dutch rider may not have been content with his 24th place in Argentina a fortnight ago, but he has accumulated track time at both of the opening rounds of 2025 and managed to take the chequered flag in every race so far. In addition, he has avoided any crashes during Grand Prix weekends and has increased his confidence. Making it into Q2 and the points are the next targets for Veijer, for whom COTA is not his most favourable track: In Moto3, he finished 13th in 2023 and crashed last year after qualifying in fourth place.

With the first two Grands Prix behind them, Deniz Öncü and Collin Veijer arrive to Austin with the aim of improving and scoring as many points as possible for the team. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s previous results at the AmericasGP have seen two wins for Raul Fernandez (2021) and Pedro Acosta (2023), plus a further three podiums; two by Johann Zarco in 2015 and 2016, and another by Miguel Oliveira in 2018.

Circuit information – Circuit of The Americas (COTA)
Length: 5.5km / 3.4 miles
Width: 15 metres / 49.21 ft.
Left corners: 11
Right corners: 9
Longest straight: 1.2km / 3937.01 ft.
Built: 2012 

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“We arrive in Austin with the confidence to have a consistent weekend. We have shown that we are fast during this first part of the season, but I know we are capable of improving in the areas in which we are struggling. So the objective for this weekend is to fix our difficulties in Qualifying as soon as possible and try to stay closer to the front riders on the grid. This is a nice track and it’s always a pleasure to return to the United States, so we will try to enjoy it as much as possible.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“We are starting a new weekend in Moto2 with a lot of motivation. This is a special track with a lot of different sections and it will be challenging to face it with my new bike. We are coming from Argentina, where things didn’t go as planned on Sunday, and we want to turn the situation around in this third Grand Prix of the season. So I’m looking forward to starting this Friday and to increasing my feeling throughout the weekend.”