The Dutch rider recovers fifteen positions in unfavourable conditions, while Öncü crashes out when he was just in front of his teammate.

Collin Veijer scored his first points as a Moto2 rider at the Grand Prix of The Americas, making an excellent comeback in mixed track conditions. Whilst Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Deniz Öncü fell foul of wet patches on the track and crashed out, Veijer managed to complete his third race in the class in 10th place.

The rain appeared just before the Moto2 race, which was declared wet. The vast majority of riders, including Öncü and Veijer, opted for their wet setup, and both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders benefited from the choice, as in just one lap they made up several positions to move up through the field.

Öncü started from 10^th and settled into seventh place during the first laps, which allowed him to gain confidence after his poor starts in Thailand and Argentina. Without needing to fight back from the rear of the field, the Turkish rider closed the group that fights for fifth, but with four laps remaining, he suffered a heavy crash at Turn 10 that put him out of the race. Fortunately, he escaped uninjured and will be fit for the next round in Qatar.

Starting from 25^th, Veijer had by far his best race of the season to date. Competitive on Friday in unfavourable conditions, he carried that feeling over into a great raceday fightback. He overtook eight riders on the first lap alone, then continued to improve his times lap after lap until he entered the points. In the final third of the race, when teammate Öncü crashed right in front of him, he advanced another position for tenth place and scored his first six points in Moto2.

Positive and bittersweet end for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team, who came close to a top ten finish for both riders in Austin. Next up for the team is a trip to Lusail, which will host the fourth round of the World Championship in two weeks’ time. The Qatar Grand Prix will be held from April 11-13th.

Race Results
1. Jake Dixon (Boscoscuro) 37:24.220
2. Tony Arbolino (Boscoscuro) +4.148
3. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro) +12.685
4. Aron Canet (Kalex) +28.375
5. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) +30.290
10. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +35.429
DNF. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +4 laps

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2025
1. Jake Dixon (Boscoscuro) – 59 points
2. Aron Canet (Kalex) – 46 points
3. Manuel González (Kalex) – 45 points
4. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro) – 30 points
5. Tony Arbolino (Boscoscuro) – 28 points
19. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 6 points
20. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 6 points

Moto2 Teams World Championship Standing 2025
1. Fantic Racing LINO SONEGO – 69 points
2. ELF Marc VDS Racing Team – 66 points
3. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP – 64 points
4. Team HDR Heidrun – 46 points
5. BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 – 40 points
11. Red Bull KTM Ajo – 12 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“We had a very tricky conditions during the whole weekend. Yesterday we only had one full dry session, and in the end Deniz managed to qualify quite well. Collin also took a step forward in the dry, but today the conditions were very tricky again and of course it was very difficult to decide if we should race with slicks or wets, but both riders made the correct decision, so thanks to the team for this good tactical work. Today Deniz was a little bit unlucky, crashing when he was in a good position for points, but this is racing. Collin had a very positive day today and he took a big step forward in the wet since the first day of the weekend, so we are very happy about his performance here in Austin.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“There were difficult conditions in today’s race. The track was strange and there were some dry lines, but other parts were wet. At the start, I felt much better than in Argentina and Thailand, where we had some problems in the beginning. I managed to stay in the points during all the race, but when I was closing the Top 5 group, I suffered a heavy crash. Luckily, I’m ok and without any injuries, so that’s important in terms of arriving in Qatar at 100%. Now it’s time to rest up and to prepare in the best possible way for the next Grand Prix, where we want to be stronger than we were here.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“Today was a strange day. All morning it was dry, then suddenly it started to rain heavily. We decided to race with the wet tyre, which was a gamble that paid off. I felt very strong during all the race, and every lap was going better and better. We understood what we spoke about yesterday afternoon with the team. Finally, we finished tenth and we took our first points in the Moto2 World Championship. I’m very happy and I want to thank the team and everyone around us who believed in me.”