The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders will take off from the fifth and seventh rows of the grid at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda will start from 14th and 20th, respectively, for the Dutch TT, as the former was unable to found a perfect lap to put himself into the front two rows for his home round, whilst his teammate missed out on Q2 by just a tenth of a second.

Saturday morning was scorching hot and sunny in Assen, with an ambient temperature of 29°C and a track temperature of 26°C for Free Practice 2.

Veijer’s first run had a focus on preparing for Sunday’s race, and he was near the Top 15 even without pushing for a fast time. After this initial stint on used tyres, where he already lowered his best time of the weekend, the Dutchman returned to the garage. He went back out for two hot laps, placing 6th with a best time of 1:35.793. This was 7 tenths faster than his quickest lap from Friday at Assen. Rueda put in four more laps than his teammate. The rookie once again demonstrated remarkable adaptability in a very short time, storming into the Top 10 with a strong time set early in the session while working on his race pace. Without pitting throughout FP2 and focused on Sunday, Rueda ultimately finished in 16th place, but showed he had taken another step forward: his 1:36.107 was almost 9 tenths of a second quicker than on Friday.

With the heat slightly less harsh than on Friday afternoon, the Moto2 riders took to the track for the two qualifying sessions for the Dutch TT. Ambient temperature was 33°C, rising to 46°C on track.

In Q1, Rueda pushed hard from the outset, but a red flag with 10 minutes remaining forced the session to be interrupted, meaning all riders had to complete a single run after the restart. The Spaniard, riding alone, managed to string together two fast laps, but only managed fifth place, just shy of the Top 4 and a spot in Q2. He completed 10 laps – more than anyone else in the session – and eventually finished seventh, putting him 20th on the grid. Rueda set a best time of 1:36.249 in Q1, as he continues to recover from a fever.

In Q2, Veijer made several attempts to fight for Pole Position, riding a total of eight laps in the session. However, the competitive nature of the Moto2 field meant that he was unable to get onto the front two rows, with his best time a 1:35.831. He will start from 14th, on the fifth row, at his home Grand Prix.

In conclusion, it was a Saturday of progress but also a bit bittersweet for the two Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders, who came close to achieving their goals. With the aim of achieving good comebacks from the starting grid to the finish line, the 22-lap intermediate class DutchGP will take place at 12:15 p.m. (local time) on Sunday at the TT Circuit Assen.

Qualifying Results
1. David Alonso (Kalex) | 1:35.236
2. Alberto Fernandez (Boscoscuro) | 1:35.407 (+0.171)
3. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 1:35.426 (+0.190)
4. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:35.445 (+0.209)
5. Celestino Vietti (Boscoscuro) | 1:35.492 (+0.256)
14. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:35.831 (+0.595)
20. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:36.249 (+1.013)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m not amazingly happy with today. The morning session was not so bad, but I think I didn’t manage Qualifying in the best possible way. The plan was good, but the first three laps were not what we expected, and then on the second run it was not easy to set a faster lap time. It is what it is, so we will give our all tomorrow in front of my home crowd. I know we have potential here, so I will try my best. We’re racing at home and this is giving me an extra source of motivation, so we need to use this.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Today went quite well. We took a big step forward this morning, although we struggled a bit more in the afternoon. It’s a shame we suffered at such a crucial point in the weekend, but the conditions weren’t easy, and we have to be content with the result. The best part is that I feel better than yesterday, so we’ll try to rest more to feel even stronger in the race. We need to get a good start and try to gradually work our way up to reach the Top 15 and score points again. We’ll give it our all and try to enjoy ourselves at Assen, which is always special.”