The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider earns a second row start after a very good Saturday. Collin Veijer will start from 22nd.

Although he had to go through Q1 for only a few thousands, Deniz Öncü turned things around on Saturday at Mugello, with the second-best time in the session, then fifth in Q2 for a place on the second row. Teammate Collin Veijer continued to make progress and will start the race in 22nd position.

With temperatures very similar to Friday morning, the entire grid, except for one rider, improved their times from the first day.

One of the standouts was Öncü, who posted his best time of the weekend in the final part of the session. During FP2, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider tried some adjustments to his race setup to correct aspects which had kept him far from the top positions on the opening day. His typical ‘dress rehearsal’ for his Time Attack saw him put down a 1:50.070, 7 tenths better than his Friday lap, 11 thousandths off the top spot, and 2 tenths off the all-time track record, as he placed second. Veijer finished the morning session satisfied after completing 16 laps, three more than his teammate. The Dutch rider opted for a different strategy and clocked his best lap on his third attempt, with a 1:51.266 a further second quicker than his time from Friday afternoon. Also attempting a long run to prepare for Sunday’s race, Veijer closed FP2 in 21st place, but was only 1.2 seconds off the top spot.

In Q1, Öncü started out by setting a time practically identical to his morning lap -a 1:50.099- and placed second in the session to Joe Roberts’ track record. He thus made it into Q2 for the seventh time this season. In that session, he made it provisionally onto the front row early on. However, although the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider managed to improve his own time once again, he ultimately had to settle for fifth on the grid. His 1:49.975 came after a total of fourteen laps completed between Q1 and Q2.

Veijer had a remarkable Qualifying. The Dutch rider put in a good lap on his first run, but surpassed it on the second stint as he continued his consistent progress -unexpected bearing in mind his five-week spell out through injury. He secured eighth place in Q1, with a best time of 1:51.017, once again lowering his best time from the morning practice. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rookie put in eight laps, and was just 1.2 seconds off the Pole Position time and the track record.

All in all, it was a very positive Saturday for both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders in Moto2. On the one hand, Deniz managed to turn yesterday’s situation around with a very consistent day among the best in the class. On the other, Veijer proved to be much closer to the front than on Friday and he will fight for the Top 20 positions tomorrow. Both will compete in the 19-lap Italian Grand Prix on Sunday at 12:15pm local time.

Qualifying Results
1. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) | 1:49.745
2. Aron Canet (Kalex) | 1:49.831 (+0.086)
3. Albert Arenas (Kalex) | 1:49.857 (+0.112)
4. Marcos Ramirez (Kalex) | 1:49.914 (+0.169)
5. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:49.975 (+0.230)
22. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:51.017 (+1.272)

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“It was a good Saturday for us. We took some nice steps forward today, and I’m very happy to see that we’re heading in the right direction. The target for today was to get into Q2, but also to be on the first two rows on the grid, so this result is very important for us. I’m quite satisfied with the work we did today, overall. For sure, it always could be better, but we’re in a good position to fight tomorrow, so we’ll see how high we can place in the race here at Mugello.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“This was not a bad day. We improved again compared to yesterday and now we’re one step closer to what we want. I felt a little bit more tired at the end of today, but now it’s time to rest and we will try to do our best in tomorrow’s race. I will try to enjoy the race as much as I can and, of course, try to take away a lot of good things for the next few race weekends. It won’t be easy because the high temperatures will be very challenging, but we will give it our best in order to keep preparing for the coming rounds -starting with my home Grand Prix.”