The Dutch rider finishes ninth in Practice to secure his place in Q2. Rueda places 27th in the afternoon, on a day that saw both rain and sunshine.

A positive Top 10 finish for Collin Veijer in Practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix allowed him to claim a place in Q2 -something that had been in doubt after he was 18th in FP1. Teammate Jose Antonio Rueda also struggled in the rain at a new track -his first ever try with his new bike in wet-, and his 27th place in Practice means he will go through Q1 on Saturday.

The Moto2 class was forced to postpone its start by an hour due to wet conditions, and when the session eventually got underway there were track temperatures of 35°C and 88% humidity.

Veijer took the session calmly, starting cautiously to avoid any mistakes that could jeopardise his weekend. He completed a long run at the beginning to gather as much data as possible, then after a pitstop returned to the track to continue testing out adjustments to his setup. However, he was unable to improve his best time, which he set on his 14th lap of 26. His 1:31.586 earned him 18th place, and was just under 1.5 seconds slower than the fastest rider. Rueda also opted for caution during his first run, prioritising accumulating kilometres to familiarise himself with both the track and his bike in wet conditions. The rookie also made a long run to open the session, although his pit stop was slightly longer than that of his teammate. When he went back out, Rueda managed to improve his time on the 19th of his 24 laps, with his best a 1:32.549 -just over two seconds off the fastest time. The reigning Moto3 World Champion finished in 27th position.

In Practice, the rain held off until the end of the session, and conditions were much better than in the morning: 35°C track temperature and 75% humidity.

Veijer took a step forward, and the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was within the Top 14 for almost the entirety of Practice, reaching the Time Attack in 13th position. Without a guaranteed spot in Q2, he had to work hard during the final flying laps, clocking a great time of 1:24.444 that ultimately propelled him to 9th place. The Dutchman was just 7 tenths of a second behind the fastest rider in the session. Rueda also took a clear step forward from the start of Practice, establishing a solid base in dry conditions. He  was able to improve his time throughout the afternoon, setting his best lap on his final flying lap. Rueda’s 1:26.352 put him 27th, meaning he will still have to go through Q1 on Saturday. He completed 20 laps, two fewer than his teammate.

All in all, it was a productive Friday with solid progress for both Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders in Brazil. On Saturday morning, both riders will take part in FP2 at 9:25 a.m. (local time), while in the afternoon, Rueda will be the first to take to the track. Q1 for him will begin at 1:40 p.m. and Q2, for Veijer, gets underway at 2:05 p.m.

Practice Results
1. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) | 1:23.709
2. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 1:23.879 (+0.170)
3. David Alonso (Kalex) | 1:24.075 (+0.366)
4. Angel Piqueras (Kalex) | 1:24.188 (+0.479)
5. Mario Aji (Kalex) | 1:24.270 (+0.561)
9. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:24.444 (+0.735)
27. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:26.352 (+2.643)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“This morning we started building up our feeling on a new track. Surprisingly, the grip was really good in the wet. The feeling wasn’t too bad, but we couldn’t improve at the end of the session because the track started to dry out too much. In Practice, we started strongly because we knew that the rain was coming, so I pushed as hard as I could. We managed to be in the Top 10 for more or less the whole session, and we set a decent lap on our Time Attack, so it was enough to be in Q2.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“The first day in Brazil is done, and I liked the circuit more than I expected. It’s a lot of fun. The day was tricky because the conditions changed a lot, and we had to try out the bike in the wet for the first time. I tried to learn as much as possible and work with the rest of the days in mind. In the end, the important thing for me is to keep building and improving little by little, so now we have to focus on this and keep pushing as hard as possible tomorrow.”