The Dutchman takes his best ever Q2 result in the intermediate class, whilst stand-in teammate Daniel Muñoz, will start from the second row in Moto2 for the first time.

Saturday at the Catalan Grand Prix was one to remember for Red Bull KTM Ajo. Collin Veijer secured a spot on the front row for the race, for the first time since he came up to Moto2, and Daniel Muñoz placed sixth -his best grid position in the intermediate class. Fortunately, he will start fourth after two of his rivals were penalised.

With the ambient temperature at 19ºC, the conditions were slightly cooler than on Friday during Free Practice 2.

Veijer prioritised race pace, completing a long run of almost 20 minutes to focus on consistency and endurance. In 24th after his first stint, he went out again for the final eight minutes on fresh tyres to try to further prepare for Q2, and managed to lower his time on several occasions. He took more than a second off his previous best during the final push, and his 1:42.329 was 2 thousandths of a second faster than in Friday’s Practice. He was seventh, with 15 laps completed. The session had got off to a bumpy start for Red Bull KTM Ajo, when Muñoz crashed at Turn 5. The Spanish rider slid along the ground at high speed during the incident, but fortunately escaped unhurt. However, his bike was significantly damaged, making it impossible for him to go back out on track. He finished the session without a time recorded, in 29th place.

Track temperatures rose to 37ºC for Q2, a fast session in which ten riders would break the previous circuit record in their quest for Pole Position.

Veijer improved throughout the session, initially moving into 17th place during his first run. With heavy traffic and the occasional mistake hindering his progress beforehand, the Dutchman took a gamble on the final three laps. All ended in success: first he moved up to 14th place, then to fifth and third, respectively. With a best time of 1:41.738 after seven laps, he earned a place on the front row for the Barcelona showdown. Muñoz finally got back on his bike in Q2 and temporarily placed 14th on his first outing. Like his teammate, he pushed late on, managing to climb up to fourth place. On his penultimate flying lap, Muñoz appeared to have snatched Pole with a 1:41.4, but was adjudged to have exceeded the track limits and his lap was cancelled, leaving him having to settle for sixth place. With a time of 1:41.807 from his eight laps, Muñoz was less than a tenth of a second off the front row. Sixth is a new best Q2 result for the Spaniard in Moto2, after he had placed seventh at last year’s edition of the Catalan GP. However, his starting position will be fourth after overtaking two rivals who were penalised after the Qualifying session. 

In conclusion, it was a great Saturday for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2, which managed, for the first time this season, to have both riders on the front two rows of the grid. With a clear goal for Sunday, Collin Veijer and Daniel Muñoz face the Moto2 race with sky-high motivation and the conviction that they can bring home a good result. The 21-lap intermediate class race will take place at 12:15 p.m. (local time) on Sunday.

Qualifying Results
1. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:41.549
2. Jake Dixon (Boscoscuro) | 1:41.629 (+0.080)
3. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:41.738 (+0.189)
4. Albert Arenas (Kalex) | 1:41.761 (+0.212)
5. Barry Baltus (Kalex) | 1:41.800 (+0.251)
6. Daniel Muñoz (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:41.807 (+0.258)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“Today was really good. We had a very good day. The morning wasn’t easy for us: We started with used tyres and we just kept up the pace. I felt quite confident with new tyres, so we showed that we were quite strong ahead of the afternoon. The first run in Qualifying was difficult, with not so much of a slipstream, and we couldn’t find our pace, but then, on the second stint, we just went flat out and tried our best. We got onto the front row, so I’m very happy about this. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow. It will be interesting, because it will be a long race, so we’ll see what happens.”

#17 DANIEL MUÑOZ

“First of all, I want to thank the entire team for the great work they did to get my bike ready for Q2. Without them, none of what we did in Q2 would have been possible, so I’m very grateful for that. This morning we made a mistake that led to a crash, with no chance of completing a single flying lap in the entirety of FP2. Fortunately, we were able to recover well from the scare and fight for the front rows of the grid. I’m happy with the result, so tomorrow we’ll have to keep learning and fight for everything possible in what is expected to be a long and tough race.”