After a month-long break, Red Bull KTM Ajo resume the Moto2 season with the Spanish Grand Prix.

Following races in Thailand and the USA, the Moto2 World Championship returns to Europe to end a month-long hiatus caused by the postponement of the Qatar Grand Prix. The Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto hosts the fourth race of the season this weekend, as Red Bull KTM Ajo riders Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda return to action.

Veijer comes into the Spanish Grand Prix after a strong weekend in Austin that ended with a crash. However, his solid results in Thailand and Brazil (5th and 8th, respectively) mean that 2026 has begun well for him, and he has ample experience of Jerez: The Dutchman finished 14th there last year in his first Moto2 season, plus one of his two victories as a Moto3 rider in 2024. He also won a JuniorGP race at the circuit in 2021, the only season he competed in that series. Viejer comes to Jerez in 12th place in the overall standings with 13.5 points.

Rueda arrives on home soil having scored his first points in the Moto2 class last time out. The reigning Moto3 World Champion, who finished 15th in Austin, has made significant progress throughout the three races held so far. This improvement was also evident two months ago at the same Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, where the intermediate class held the Official Test in preseason. Rueda has fantastic memories of Jerez, winning last year in Moto3 by a considerable margin, becoming the first Andalusian rider to achieve victory at his home track. In addition to this, amongst previous successes at the circuit are wins in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and JuniorGP series. He is currently in 21st position in the overall standings with just one point.

Highly motivated after this long break from racing, Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda are heading to the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto in the hope of getting off to a good start on European soil. Red Bull KTM Ajo hold six podium finishes at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Pedro Acosta (2023), Tetsuya Nagashima (2020), Jorge Martín (2020), Miguel Oliveira (2018 and 2019), and Johann Zarco (2015) all on the rostrum.

All in all, the Spanish Grand Prix starts this Friday with Free Practice 1, beginning at 9:50 a.m. (local time). The Moto2 21-lap race takes place on Sunday at 12:15 p.m.

Circuit information – Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto
Length: 4.423 m. / 2.748 miles
Width: 11 m. / 36.09 ft.
Left corners: 5
Right corners: 8
Longest straight: 607 m / 0.377 miles
Built: 1986
Modified: 2002

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m very happy to be back in a Grand Prix week after nearly a month without any racing. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to ride in Qatar, but we’ve managed to train a lot during these weeks off to be as prepared as possible. I’m very glad to be back with my team again this week and very excited to be going to Jerez. We’re arriving there with no expectations, so I just want to enjoy the Grand Prix to the maximum and give it 100% to close the first European round with a good base to build on.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I’m really looking forward to starting the weekend in Jerez, which is a very special place for me. I want to put on a good show in front of the fans and be a bit more consistent, especially in terms of my pace and fastest lap -which is what I’ve been struggling with the most so far. I hope everything goes well, that everyone enjoys it, and that we can have a positive weekend so we can approach the rest of the European rounds with extra motivation. I think we already took a small step forward in the United States, so we need to keep going in the same direction.”