The Dutch rider finishes tenth in Practice, with Jose Antonio Rueda 26^th and making steady progress in his adaptation to the Moto2 bike.

Collin Veijer secured a place in Q2 at the first time of asking in 2026, finishing tenth in Practice for the Thai Grand Prix. Teammate and class rookie Jose Antonio Rueda also had a positive Friday, finishing 26th in both sessions and much closer to the front than he was at the Official Test in Jerez just a week ago.

With the track somewhat cleaner than for the Moto3 riders, the intermediate class field went out for FP1 in Buriram amidst temperatures of 30°C -albeit with slightly less humidity than earlier in the morning .

Veijer started well, quickly moving into the Top 15 and demonstrating the progress he had hinted at both towards the end of 2025 and during preseason testing. Following a slightly longer run than most of his rivals, he subsequently returned to the pits and made changes with his team to take another step forward. Veijer placed fourth with a best time of 1:35.294, his fastest lap in Thailand on a Moto2 bike to date, and was less than 2 tenths of a second off the session’s fastest time. His 20 laps were more than any other rider in the session. Rueda also began well, consistently getting within two seconds of the pacesetter -something he had fallen short of during preseason testing. Aiming to adapt to the circuit and continue understanding his new bike, the reigning Moto3 World Champion went back to the garage to fine-tune his setup, then continued to chip away at his fastest time. His final lap saw him clock a 1:36.568, just 1.4 seconds off the top spot. He rode 19 laps and finished 26th, demonstrating rapid progress on his new bike after only two and a half days of work.

In the afternoon, the temperature rose slightly, reaching 31°C, and the circuit record would end up being lowered by almost a tenth of a second.

Veijer opted for a mixed approach, focusing first on working towards Sunday’s race before moving on to mount a Time Attack. Despite being outside the Top 14 during the opening laps, he stepped up with fresh tyres, reaching tenth position with four minutes remaining. Then, the presence of water on the track forced the riders to head for the pits -given a warning after a pair of crashes at Turn 1. Veijer’s 1:34.968 was 3 tenths faster than his morning time, and he completed a total of 15 laps. Rueda continued his progress, working alone throughout the session and improving his fastest time on several occasions. He laid down a 1:36.062 on his tenth lap, shaving half a second off his morning time and finishing just a second and a half off the fastest lap in Moto2 for Friday. He rode 15 laps and again placed 26th, meaning he will have to go through Q1 on Saturday.

All in all, Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 aims to take another step forward on Saturday at the Chang International Circuit. On the one hand, Veijer will try to get a good Q2 result that will allow him to fight for a good position in the race at a circuit that has always suited him well. On the other hand, Rueda will look to continue making reliable progress in his transition to the new category. Both will be back on track with the FP2 at 9:25 a.m. (local time). After that, Rueda will take part in Q1 at 1:40 p.m., aiming to join Veijer in Q2 at 2:05 p.m.

Practice Results
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 1:34.501
2. Alex Escrig (Forward) | 1:34.625 (+0.124)
3. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 1:34.686 (+0.185)
4. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:34.703 (+0.202)
5. Mario Aji (Kalex) | 1:34.736 (+0.235)
10. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:34.968 (+0.467)
26. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:36.062 (+1.561)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m happy with today’s results. This morning we started well with the hardest tyre. Then we moved to the softs and the feeling was quite good. Then, in Practice, we worked with used tyres until the closing minutes, when we did our Time Attack with both of the softs. We improved our lap time to secure a place in Q2, but unfortunately we couldn’t use the entire session due to the weather. We need to see tomorrow if we have something more in the bag, when pushing in the final minutes.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“It’s been a very positive day, bearing in mind it’s our first time with the Moto2 bike here in Thailand. We had a lot to learn at the start of the day, to try and get things working properly. It’s a shame about the rain we had late on, as I think we could have improved our time a bit more, but the conditions are the same for everyone, so we have to accept it. I need to ride as many laps as possible, but I know we’re on the right track. We’re working hard on all the details with the team, and I’m ready to take another step forward tomorrow.”