Veijer and Muñoz will have their first experience of Phillip Island on a Moto2 machine.

Collin Veijer and Daniel Muñoz will once again form the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider lineup this weekend at Phillip Island for the Australian Grand Prix. Whilst Deniz Öncü closes in on his comeback from injury, the pair represent the team for a seventh consecutive round of the Moto2 World Championship. With the same goal as in recent races, both will aim to have a consistent weekend, allowing them to get through Q2, secure a good grid position and score important points for the team during Sunday’s race.

Veijer is looking to try to secure another Top 10 finish, to build on his eighth place at the recent Indonesian Grand Prix. The series rookie has been making steady strides forward as the season has progressed, and this weekend he takes on the tricky Phillip Island circuit for the first time in the intermediate class. He has previous experience at the Australian track, with fond memories from Moto3. In his first year as a World Championship rider, he qualified sixth and placed fourth in a race held under extremely wet conditions. Last year, starting from second place, he dropped down to 18th place after being involved in a crash while fighting for the podium. After his great result at Mandalika just ten days ago -his sixth Top 10 finish in the last seven races- Veijer remains 19th in the overall standings with 53 points.

Muñoz is once again the replacement rider for Öncü, and will take part in the rounds held in Australia and Malaysia. The Spanish rider has never ridden in Australia before, and will face the challenge of adapting to a new track with the unique demands of Phillip Island. This will be his eighth event of the season with Red Bull KTM Ajo, and he aims to regain the momentum lost in the last two races: In Japan he retired due to a crash on the opening lap, and in Indonesia he finished 17th amidst extremely hot track conditions. Muñoz currently sits 20th in the overall standings with 23 points, just behind his teammate.

Red Bull KTM Ajo are eighth in the Team standings with 176 points, and are chasing a fifth podium finish at Phillip Island in the last ten seasons. Previously, Brad Binder achieved back-to-back victories in 2017 and 2018. In the latter race, the South African was joined on the rostrum by Jorge Martin, while in 2022, Pedro Acosta took second place.

In short, it’s a new opportunity for Collin and Dani, who will try to get a good feeling with their respective bikes after getting on them for the first time at Phillip Island. The weekend gets underway on Friday at 9:50am (local time) with Free Practice 1. On Sunday, the 23 lap intermediate class race will start at 12:15pm.

Circuit information – Phillip Island Circuit
Length: 4.448 m / 2.764 miles
Width: 13 m / 42.65 ft.
Left corners: 7
Right corners: 5
Longest straight: 900 m / 0.559 miles
Constructed: 1956
Modified: 1985

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m very happy to be here again. Australia is always a nice place to visit, and Phillip Island is also amazing, so I’m very motivated to ride here with the Moto2 bike -which will be very different from the Moto3 machine. I feel ready for the weekend after a week off, and especially excited to be back on the island. We’ll try to enjoy ourselves a lot from the beginning. We will try to improve in the areas in which we have more room to do so, and keep the progression going as we close on the end of the year. It’s going to be a fun weekend at a difficult and challenging track.”

#17 DANIEL MUÑOZ

“I’m delighted to be able to help the team for two more Grand Prix races. I’m really looking forward to getting to know a new circuit, and this one in particular, even more so. I’ve never been to Australia before, so I’m sure it will be a different and a nice experience in every way. We’ve worked well this last week at home, so we’re feeling great and highly motivated to have a good weekend from start to finish. We want to be in the points again, so we’re going to work to make that happen.”