The two riders arrive in Lusail with clear objectives: Öncü to change the dynamic after the heavy crash suffered in Austin, and Veijer to prove that his performance in the Americas has continuity.

Red Bull KTM Ajo move on to Lusail, Qatar, for the fourth round of the Moto2 season this weekend. Deniz Öncü and Collin Veijer are confident of having a strong race and, for the fourth consecutive occasion for the team, earning points.

Öncü is coming off the back of another positive weekend at the GP of the Americas, which unfortunately ended with him suffering a big highside in the final section of the race. Fortunately, he escaped unscathed, and will be able to compete in the Qatar Grand Prix. So far this year, Öncü has demonstrated speed and growth in the three events held, but not been able to put together a run of three perfect days. Lusail is a track that he knows very well and where he achieved his last Moto3 podium, back in 2023. Furthermore, he earned his first point as a Moto2 rider there at the first round of the 2024 season.

Veijer has-high motivation after earning his first points in Moto2 a fortnight ago, having one of his best races as a World Championship rider and making up 15 positions on race day. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie wants to continue demonstrating his improvement and adaptation to the Kalex, and that he can be competitive in both dry and wet conditions. The Dutchman has already competed in two rounds in Qatar, both in Moto3; he finished 10th as a rookie in 2023 and was fifth last year.

The weather is expected to be less volatile than in Austin, a Grand Prix full of emotions. Both riders will first aim to advance to Q2 and then fight for points for the fourth consecutive time in 2025. In Qatar over the last five seasons Red Bull KTM Ajo boast one victory for Tetsuta Nagashima in 2020, and three podium finishes, two by Remy Gardner and another by Raúl Fernández. Those were achieved in the two rounds held at Lusail in 2021. The Moto2 Qatar Grand Prix takes place on Sunday at 19:15 local time.

Circuit information – Lusail International Circuit 
Length: 5.38km / 3.34 miles 
Width: 12 meters / 39.37 ft.
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 10
Longest straight: 1.068 meters / 3503.94 ft.
Built: 2004 

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“This week we’re heading to the Qatar Grand Prix, where we’ll try to reset slightly and put these first few weeks of the season behind us. So far, we haven’t quite achieved the results we were looking for, but we’re convinced of our potential and know we have the speed to be up there. The mental aspect is vital for us, so these past two weeks since Austin we’ve worked hard on that back at home. If we do things well, we’ll see the results in Lusail, so our goal for this weekend is to rediscover our best form and score as many points as we can.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“After our strong finish in Austin, we want to carry that over to Qatar with another weekend of progress and good results. It’s true that the race in Austin was in tricky conditions, but it shows us we’re going in the right direction. Lusail is also a track I’m good at, and we’re very motivated to race there. It will also be our first time in Qatar with the Moto2, and we’re racing at a very different time than usual, so we’ll try to adapt to all of this as quickly as possible.”