An excellent Friday for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo, who finished less than two tenths of a second off the fastest time, securing their place in Q2.

Red Bull KTM Ajo made a storming start to the Catalan GP weekend, comfortably making it into Q2 with both of their riders. Daniel Muñoz, with his second-best ever result in a Practice session, took fourth, with Collin Veijer sixth.

Also consistent throughout the morning were the temperatures at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, having hovered around 41ºC for much of the morning.

In FP1, Veijer initially decided to ride alone, and gradually improved his time -although he was slightly off the pace of the leading riders. As the first laps went by, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie broke into the Top 20, less than a second off the best time. After his first pit stop, the Dutchman adjusted his setup, and immediately reaped the rewards: With three consecutive laps lowering his best time, he moved into eighth place, just 2 tenths off the session’s top spot. He put in 19 laps in the morning, the quickest of which was a 1:42.593. Muñoz, meanwhile, quickly adapted to the track, riding as part of a group. In his first stint, he was up into 14th, just 6 tenths off the session leader. On his second run he maintained the consistency to climb into the Top 10, just 0.23 seconds behind his teammate. Muñoz’ best time from his 17 laps was a 1:42.616, securing 9th place.

The heat continued in Practice, and both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders decided to work on their race pace during the first part of the session -with the aim of better preparing for Sunday’s race.

Muñoz was the first of the two to make a step forward, and was close to the Top 14 shortly before completing his longer run. After changing tyres, he was able to put himself into third place. However, a chaotic final series of laps in a highly competitive class ultimately left him fourth. Along the way, he also bettered his previous time, for a 1:42.320. His best ever lap at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was his second-best ever result in the intermediate class, and his best of the 2025 season.

Veijer employed a similar strategy to his teammate during his 15 laps. Focused on working on his race pace in the first part of the session, the Dutchman took several steps forward with new tyres. His 1:42.331 put him sixth, just 11 thousandths of a second behind Muñoz and 1 tenth off the best time from Practice.

All in all, it was an excellent day to kick off the Catalan Grand Prix for Daniel Muñoz and Collin Veijer, who promise to deliver a spectacular weekend at the Circuit. Both riders, with speed and good pace, will be looking to secure a good grid position in tomorrow’s Q2, which begins at 2:05 p.m. (local time). In the morning, starting at 9:25 a.m., they will take part in Free Practice 2.

Practice Results
1. Aron Canet (Kalex) | 1:42.168
2. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:42.219 (+0.051)
3. Jake Dixon (Boscoscuro) | 1:42.277 (+0.109)
4. Daniel Muñoz (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:42.320 (+0.152)
5. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) | 1:42.327 (+0.159)
6. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:42.331 (+0.163)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“This morning we took quite a good step forward. The first laps were a little bit difficult, but as soon as we found our pace, I felt quite confident. On the second stint we did some great laps, so we finished FP1 satisfied. In the afternoon, we were struggling a little with the front tyre, but we set the same lap times as those at the front, so I’m happy with the pace we had. On the second and third stint, we suffered a little with the wind, but we were able to set a good lap that puts us directly in Q2, so we’re very happy about that. Tomorrow we will fight for a place on one of the first three rows, as that would be ok for Sunday’s race.”

#17 DANIEL MUÑOZ

“We did a good job. It helps a lot to have the stability of having been with the team for several races, so I’m happy to be here and pleased with the result. The tyre wear is notable here, but it’s the same for everyone, so we’ll have to focus on finding the best way to conserve them. They drop off significantly after a second fast lap, so you have to be careful. Tomorrow will be an important day, because we need to improve more thinking in Sunday, but at the same time, we need a good Time Attack to be in front of the grid, so we will try to offer a good show again here in front of our crowd.”