Despite limited track time, both Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda put in laps on the second day of testing at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.

Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda got onboard their Moto2 machines for the first time in 2026 on Thursday -the second day of a test at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. However, oil on the track brought their day to an early conclusion, with half the day going unused as a result. Adverse weather had meant that the pair had not ridden on Wednesday.

Veijer didn’t take long to go out after the pit lane opened in the morning, undertaking his first run shortly before 11 a.m. Rather than chasing competitive times, the Dutchman went out alone to get a feel for the track in a four-lap stint. He had been waiting for the track to dry out after more than three days of incessant rain.

After lunch, the surface began to feel much more reliable, thanks to the first appearance of mild sunshine this week over Portimao. Veijer went on to put in another 12 laps, bringing his total to 16.

Rueda decided to be cautious in his approach. Like many other riders, he didn’t leave the pits until conditions were largely favourable, finally getting his feeling back after more than four months off the bike. After making adjustments with his team to feel comfortable, the reigning Moto3 World Champion completed his first laps of the test. They ended up being the only ones he could do, as a red flag was shown due to oil on the track, caused by another rider.

On the other hand, the Moto3 riders had not been able to put in laps on Monday and Tuesday, as rain fell relentlessly on the portuguese track. The Red Bull KTM Ajo duo of Alvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte took the opportunity to work with their team inside the garage to prepare for the second preseason test, which will take place starting this Saturday at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto. There, better weather conditions are expected.

Moto3 will kick things off at the Spanish circuit over the two days of the weekend (February 14th and 15th). After that, Moto2 will take over on Monday and Tuesday of next week (February 16th and 17th) to bring the preseason to a close. The 2026 season starts in just two weeks, with the Thailand Grand Prix (February 27th-March 1st).

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

It’s a shame that we haven’t been able to work as much as we would have liked over these four days in Portugal. We did everything we could in the box, but the weather conditions weren’t favourable for riding -except for during a short period today. I’m sure that at Jerez we’ll be able to take more decisive steps forward with our four riders.

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“The first test has finished with a good feeling for us, but we couldn’t ride much, so I don’t have too much to say about these two days. Yesterday we couldn’t ride because of the rain, and today we could go out on track a little bit. In the morning, we rode five laps to see how the bike felt in general, and in the afternoon I felt quite comfortable with the slick tyres. We did just a few laps once again, but it was a good starting point to build on our potential, so the conclusions are quite positive ahead of us moving on to Jerez.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I’m very happy to be back on the bike and very happy to be able to ride after so long. The feeling of riding and working with the whole team is indescribable. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do many flying laps, so I’m really looking forward to getting to Jerez to be able to continue everything we did with my team in the garage over these past two days.”