The Dutchman, in third, equals his best Q2 result of the season. Muñoz, after being the fastest in Q1, qualifies seventh with a good performance.

Red Bull KTM Ajo had one of their best Saturdays of the season in Moto2 at the Portuguese Grand Prix. Collin Veijer’s third place in Q2 was complemented by Daniel Muñoz’s seventh, the latter having been the fastest in Q1 earlier in the day. All in all, the Portuguese Grand Prix will see both riders starting from the front of the grid and battling for podium positions.

In Free Practice 2, the track remained wet and, with track temperatures of 17ºC and 75% humidity, the session was unproductive for the intermediate class.

Only ten riders ventured out to set a time. Two of them were Muñoz and Veijer, who used the final five minutes of the session to get a feel for the conditions and also the do the Practice start at the end. They occupied the last two positions in the session, finishing ninth and tenth with times of 2:03.599 and 2:11.391, set after just two flying laps.

In the afternoon, Qualifying saw sunshine and a dry track, with temperatures of 29°C.

Veijer quickly moved into the Top 10 in his first Q2 lap. After a strong second lap which let him to improve to 3rd, the Dutchman changed tyres with the intention of attacking again, although he was quickly knocked out of the Top 3. He went all out on his second stint, managing to regain third place in the final moments. With a time of 1:41.317, he improved his best time from Friday by half a second, finishing just 1 tenth of a second off Pole Position after seven laps. He will be on the front row for the second time this season, as he did it also in the CatalanGP.

Muñoz went into Q1 and took first place on his first run, almost half a second clear of any other rider. His 1:41.555 also improved on his best time of the weekend by 3 tenths. After his pit stop, he went back out on track, although not pushing so as to save himself for Q2. After finishing in P1, he made it into the second qualifying session for the eighth time out of a possible nine this season with Red Bull KTM Ajo. In Q2, Muñoz took advantage of the momentum from the first session to start strong, placing himself among the front three rows on his first run. On his second attempt, he managed to improve his time from Q1. His 1:41.441 was enough to put him seventh, just 2 tenths off Pole Position, after 7 laps. It is his third best qualifying result as a World Championship rider, after his fifth in Malaysia and sixth in Catalonia. However, a penalty for disturbing a rival during the Q2, will see him start from 10th position on the grid tomorrow.

In short, it was the second best Saturday of the season for Red Bull KTM Ajo in Moto2, surpassed only by the Catalan Grand Prix, where Collin also finished third and Dani sixth instead of seventh. The 21-lap Moto2 Portuguese Grand Prix will be the first race of the day on Sunday, at 12:15 p.m. (local time).

Qualifying Results
1. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) | 1:41.168
2. Jake Dixon (Boscoscuro) | 1:41.185 (+0.017)
3. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:41.317 (+0.149)
4. Barry Baltus (Kalex) | 1:41.337 (+0.169)
5. Aron Canet (Kalex) | 1:41.355 (+0-187)
7. Daniel Muñoz (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:41.441 (+0.273)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“Q2 was good. I felt quite strong yesterday, so we were able to adjust some things to be faster today. This morning we couldn’t do many laps, and only went out to do the Practice start. The first laps in qualifying were quite decent and we managed to stay among the fastest riders, and I knew that we could do a little bit better so I tried again. On the last lap I improved my first sector and we took this front row. I’m very happy with the result and looking forward to tomorrow, where I think the tyre drop-off won’t be so severe. We have a good pace, so we’ll go for a great result.

#17 DANIEL MUÑOZ

“It was a pretty positive day for me. We weren’t able to get many laps in during the morning or work on our pace, but this afternoon we were able to test ourselves a bit and we also got a great spot on the grid. In Q1 we managed a fantastic lap to get into Q2, and once there, we were able to perform well. We gave it our all, as always, so I’m satisfied and am looking forward to tomorrow. We’ll try to get a good start and have a competitive race.”