The Dutchman has secured a place in Q2 alongside his teammate Muñoz, who has been sixteenth.

It was a great Saturday for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team at the Austrian Grand Prix. Collin Veijer achieved his best Q2 qualifying position since becoming an intermediate class rider, with 9th place, whilst Daniel Muñoz took 16th on the grid. Both had made it out of Q1 lowering their best times from Friday.

Continuing with the trend of excellent track conditions for Moto2, Free Practice 2 saw track temperatures of 27ºC.

Veijer focused on his race pace from the start, leaving his Time Attack for the final stretch. However, during his first outing, he was only 3 tenths off his best time of the weekend, meaning his speed was still strong. With nine minutes remaining in the session, a red flag forced all riders to pit. Veijer took advantage of the opportunity to change tyres and go on the offensive in the final stages. He put together three consecutive fastest laps, leaving his final time at 1:33.512, 2 tenths better than in Saturday’s Practice session. He was 13th, less than 3 tenths off the top spot. Muñoz had a good start to the session, pushing into the Top 12 during his first outing. The Spanish rider posted his best lap of the weekend just minutes into the morning run, with a 1:33.830. From there, he was unable to improve further on the final laps, despite coming very close on several occasions. Ultimately, he was 23rd after 19 laps.

By the afternoon, track temperatures were hovering around 42°C in both Q1 and Q2.

In Q1, Muñoz quickly clocked a 1:33.415 from his first flying lap, 4 tenths better than anything he had put down before. On his second lap, he came close to lowering his time again, but faded in the final sector. After returning to the garage, Muñoz set a 1:33.252, to secure his place in Q2. Veijer tried to position himself among the frontrunners from the beginning, but after his first outing he was eighth, just 3 tenths of a second away from a Top 4 place. After his pit stop, he continued to push hard and, improving for the third time in as many laps, achieved fourth place with a 1:33.268. He made it into Q2 for the third time this season.

In Q2, both Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders started on used tyres from Q1. Following a first run in which Veijer was 16th, he put on new tyres for the rest of the session. The Dutchman used a tow from a leading rider, to lower his time to 1:33.236, which allowed him to qualify ninth and complete the third row of the grid for the first time as a Moto2 rider. He was 4 tenths off Pole Position. With 8 laps to his name in Q2, Muñoz wasn’t as fortunate in putting together a perfect lap. He had been 17th after the first run, then moved up to 16th with a 1:33.594. Although this would be his final grid position, his Q1 time would have put him 10th.

In conclusion, it was a Saturday of great results for Collin Veijer and Daniel Muñoz, who achieved their goals for today at the Red Bull Ring. Tomorrow, both will try to have a good Austrian Grand Prix to end a special weekend for KTM in the best possible way. The 23-lap Moto2 Austrian Grand Prix will start at 12:15 (local time) on Sunday.

Qualifying Results
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 1:32.779
2. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:32.873 (+0.094)
3. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) | 1:32.977 (+0.198)
4. Celestino Vietti (Boscoscuro) | 1:33.059 (+0.280)
5. David Alonso (Kalex) | 1:33.064 (+0.285)
9. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:33.236 (+0.457)
16. Daniel Muñoz (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:33.594 (+0.815)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“It’s not been a bad Saturday. This morning we improved a little from yesterday and we learnt a lot for Qualifying. We also did a great job there, improving in different aspects. Of course, we need to change more little things for tomorrow, but we’re quite happy  about how we ended the second day here in Austria. Tomorrow we will try to have a good race from the third row. We’re really confident here, so let’s see how the weather is tomorrow and what we’re capable of here at the Red Bull Ring.”

#17 DANIEL MUÑOZ

“It was a pretty positive day today at the Red Bull Ring. We took a step forward and are understanding the bike better. In Q1, we were able to put together a pretty good lap, and that allowed us to advance to Q2. Once there, we wanted to push the limits to see how far we could go, and that led us to make a few mistakes that prevented us from setting another perfect lap. Ultimately, we’re confident for tomorrow, as we have a good pace. It’s a shame we didn’t get a better grid position, but at least we managed to achieve our main objective, which was to make it into Q2.”