The Dutchman makes a strong start at Jerez, with teammate Rueda 28th.

Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Collin Veijer got the Spanish GP started with a fourth place in Practice on Day 1, earning him a place in Q2 at the first European round of the season. Teammate Jose Antonio Rueda was 28th on Friday and will go into Q1 on Saturday.

Initial temperatures on track for the Moto2 class were a relatively low 19°C, with 75% humidity.

Veijer got things underway slowly but steadily improved during the first session, taking a cautious approach due to the track conditions. Growing in confidence with each lap, the Dutchman moved into the Top 10 after his first run, and was just 8 tenths of a second off the pacesetter. When he went back out on track for the final part of the session, Veijer made another leap up the order with a penultimate flying lap, climbing to fifth place with a 1:39.643. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was only 1 tenth of a second off the fastest time and 2 tenths off his previous best lap of the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto.

Rueda had a slightly trickier start, although he made the lap-by-lap progress that has been typical from him during the early part of the season. After a first run that was somewhat shorter than his teammate’s, the reigning Moto3 World Champion went back out for his second stint, in which he managed to lower his time again to 1:41.905. Still chasing the times he achieved on the second day of the Official Test in February, Rueda finished FP1 in 28th position after completing 19 laps.

In the afternoon, temperatures rose slightly at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, to 26ºC, with 66% humidity for Moto2 Practice.

Veijer was inside the Top 8 from the beginning of the session. Dividing Practice into three runs, the Dutchman climbed to sixth place after his second stint, and went on to take the top spot briefly with a new circuit record. On his final run, Veijer also improved slightly, securing a place in Q2. His time of 1:39.194 put him fourth, just under 2 tenths of a second off the top spot and 3 tenths quicker than his best lap ever at Jerez, achieved at the Official Test in February. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider completed 18 laps.

Rueda’s 18 laps were distributed differently, but he also quickly improved his morning time, getting off to a good start. Across two slightly longer runs, he focused on continuing to understand the Moto2 bike at his home circuit, where he had already ridden during preseason testing. The 1:40.752 that he clocked in the final part of the session was a tenth quicker than his best lap of the track with a Moto2 bike, and continued his progress from 2026. He placed 28th, less than two seconds off the pacesetter.

All in all, it was a positive Friday for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team, which faces another important day tomorrow in order to prepare Sunday’s race. Both riders will take part in Free Practice 2 on Saturday, starting at 9:25 a.m. (local time). Later in the afternoon, Rueda will be the first to take to the track at 1:40 p.m. for Q1, followed by Veijer at 2:05pm for Q2.

Practice Results
1. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 1:38.973
2. Alonso Lopez (Kalex) | 1:39.052 (+0.079)
3. Barry Baltus (Kalex) | 1:39.102 (+0.129)
4. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:39.194 (+0.221)
5. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:39.214 (+0.241)
28. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:40.752 (+1.779)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m happy about how the first day here in Jerez went. I felt very comfortable from the beginning and we enjoyed ourselves a lot riding here, so we want to follow this path the rest of the weekend. We worked very well with all the tyre compounds and we found a good base, so we’ll try to take another step tomorrow to see how far we can go. This afternoon we will work with the team to find something else for the rest of the weekend. I’m enjoying it here, so we’ll try to keep the momentum going.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Today it was a matter of gradually building momentum, improving little by little and trying to get a better feeling in both sessions. Things didn’t quite go according to plan in the morning, but we managed to take a step forward in the afternoon and achieve our best time to date here in Jerez. Now we have to work hard to be a little closer to those ahead of us tomorrow and be able to approach Sunday’s race with the best possible chance of success. I’m motivated and eager to keep improving in front of the best fans in the world.”