After a long test session following the Catalan round, Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda move on to the seventh round of the Moto2 World Championship with confidence.

Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda visit the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello this weekend, looking to show the fruits of a productive test following the Catalan Grand Prix, where Red Bull KTM Ajo was the team with more laps  – and track time – throughout the day. The Italian Grand Prix begins a double-header for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders.

Veijer will be looking to get back on form at Mugello after a mixed race weekend in Barcelona. While the first two days in Spain were very positive, earning him second on the starting grid, Sunday did not go so well for the Dutchman. However, his work was not over then, and in a Tuesday test he put in 103 laps to gather a wealth of data from his visit to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The focus was on his bike’s setup and accumulating many long runs to regain his feel with the bike. Veijer will attempt to put this to good use at Mugello, a track that holds great memories for him -especially from his time in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, where he won in 2022. He also achieved second place in 2024 during his last season in Moto3. Last year, he made his comeback in Italy after undergoing surgery on his right arm, and managed to finish a very demanding race inside the Top 20. Currently, Veijer is 11th in the overall standings with 29.5 points.

Rueda finds himself on an upward trajectory, following significant improvements at the French and Catalan rounds. In the latter, he delivered by far his best Grand Prix performance in the intermediate class to date, securing a spot in Q2, qualifying inside the Top 10, and achieving his best race result with 12th place. He put in 108 laps in the Tuesday test, trying out numerous things to continue his development at the same time as being among the fastest riders on track, finishing seventh. Now Rueda faces a circuit that has always been challenging for him: his best weekend at Mugello was last year, with second on the grid and a fourth-place finish in the race, just a few thousandths of a second from the podium and a little over a tenth of a second from victory. With 5 points, Rueda remains 22nd in the overall standings.

Red Bull KTM Ajo have 34.5 points in the Team standings, putting them in tenth place. The Italian Grand Prix has proven to be a favourable one for them, where they have secured five victories and two podium finishes in recent seasons. Wins for Johann Zarco (2016), Miguel Oliveira (2018), Remy Gardner (2021), and Pedro Acosta (2022-2023), have been accompanied by second-places for Zarco (2015) and Raul Fernandez (2021).

The first Free Practice session at Mugello will take place at 9:50 a.m. (local time) on Friday. The seventh race of the season will get underway on Sunday at 12:15 p.m.

Circuit information – Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
Length: 5.245 m. / 3.259 miles
Width: 14 m. / 45,93 ft.
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 9
Longest straight: 1.141 m. / 0.709 miles
Built: 1974

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“We found a lot of things at the Barcelona Test last week, where we were focused on improving our bike setup, so I’m very motivated for the Italian GP. We did a lot of laps and long runs, so I’m sure that we will be able to take another step forward at Mugello. To be honest, I’m happy with the job that we did after a very difficult Sunday in Barcelona, so we’ll see what we’re capable of in Italy. The main goal will be to enjoy ourselves, be consistent and try to be at the front with the faster riders, something I’m sure that we can do, but we need to prove it day by day, in every session and at every track.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“We’re coming from a very productive test in Barcelona, where we rode more than 100 laps and tried many things that could be very useful to us now that we found our way. Mugello is a track I really like because of its location and characteristics, so we’ll try to have a good weekend and take it step by step to make solid progress. It’s not a Grand Prix I have great memories of, and it won’t be easy to adapt to Moto2 here, as it’s a long and physically demanding circuit, but we’re going to try to put on a good show and demonstrate the progress we’ve made in the last two weekends and the test.”