Deniz Öncü finishes 17^th the race in Le Mans, with Collin Veijer crashing out on the opening lap.

The French Grand Prix ended without points for Red Bull KTM Ajo at Le Mans. Deniz Öncü took the chequered flag 17th in the race on Sunday, whilst Collin Veijer was involved in an incident on the first lap that meant he had his first DNF of the season.

The track conditions were difficult on Sunday after morning rain. Öncü dropped from 13th on the grid to 17th after the first lap, as he struggled for pace. He would move up to 14th at one point in the race, but returned to 17th as several mistakes in the final third of the race affected his position. Finally, after fighting for 16th on the closing lap with Daniel Holgado, he finished behind the Spaniard. This breaks his good momentum after the P2 in Qatar and the P5 in Spain. Öncü is now 10th in the overall standings, with 37 points to his name.

The start of the Moto2 race saw several incidents in the middle of the field, and Veijer was one of the worst affected. He had taken off from 19th, and was hit by another rider at Turn 2. He would end up crashing coming out of Turn 8, bringing his race to an early end despite his attempts to remount. It was the first time in the last four races that he had failed to pick up points, and the first time this season that Red Bull KTM Ajo had not finished a Sunday race. Veijer is 18th in Moto2, holding 11 points.

In conclusion, a complicated and unlucky Grand Prix for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team, which completed the first round of the season with no points for either of its two riders. Aiming to bounce back from this weekend at Le Mans, next challenge for Öncü and Veijer is the British Grand Prix, the seventh round of the season, held at Silverstone from May 23rd-25th.

Race Results 
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) 35:05.439
2. Barry Baltus (Kalex) | +1.811
3. Aron Canet (Kalex) | +6.113
4. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) | +6.480
5. Jake Dixon (Boscoscuro) | +6.775
17. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +24.695
DNF. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +22 laps

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2025
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 111 points
2. Aron Canet (Kalex) | 95 points
3. Jake Dixon (Boscoscuro) | 77 points
4. Barry Baltus (Kalex) | 73 points
5. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) | 50 points
10. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 37 points
18. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 11 points

Moto2 Teams World Championship Standing 2025
1. Fantic Racing LINO SONEGO | 168 points
2. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 150 points
3. ELF Marc VDS Racing Team | 105 points
4. Beta Tools SpeedRS Team | 78 points
5. Italtrans Racing Team | 55 points
7. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 48 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

““Unfortunately, today was a very difficult Sunday for both riders. Collin made good progress again through all the sessions, but unfortunately he missed out on Q2 by a few thousandths of a second. As always, starting from the back of the grid is always risky and he made contact with another rider during the first lap and crashed. Deniz was very fast yesterday morning in FP2 with a circuit record, but finally in Qualifying and especially in the race he couldn’t find the best feeling to stay at the front. We will keep pushing and we are focused on improving in two weeks time at Silverstone.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“Honestly, this is not the result we were looking for here at Le Mans. I’m a little bit annoyed with the race we had, so we need to analyse all the aspects that didn’t work as we wanted with my crew. The first part of the weekend went more or less well, but today things took a turn. So the only thing we can do now is reset and work harder to be stronger in the next few race weekends, starting with Silverstone -where I want to give my team the result they deserve.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“Today’s race ended very early for me. The start was a little chaotic, with a lot of contact on the first few corners. I tried to be aggressive on the first lap, but then at Turn 8 I had contact with another rider and I suffered a highside. Fortunately, I’m OK. It’s a pity to end the weekend like this, but we made a lot of progress and we’re looking forward to arriving at Silverstone and trying to forget this result here at Le Mans.”