The Dutchman continues his run of Q2 spots, whilst Jose Antonio Rueda finishes 20^th in a very hot Friday.

Friday at Assen helped Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda get reacquainted with the track, and they both ran a positive pace for the Dutch Grand Prix. The home rider secured 11th place for his latest spot in Q2, whilst his teammate was 20th in Practice. The Dutchman had a solid first day, securing eleventh place in this afternoon’s Practice session, which gives him his tenth direct ticket to Q2 after ten Grands Prix this season. On the other side of the garage, the Spaniard struggled a bit more on his first day in the Netherlands, but showed promise and adaptability, and will try to qualify from Q1 tomorrow after finishing 20th in practice.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo put in plenty of laps at the start of the Dutch TT, in a session that saw an ambient temperature of 26°C and a track temperature of 34°C.

Veijer had a very positive first session at his home Grand Prix, demonstrating progress throughout. Splitting FP1 into two parts, he was able to take a step forward on his second run, pushing harder for a faster time and moving from 19th to 12th. His 19 laps was one of the highest in the Moto2 field, and his best time of 1:36.525 was just 3 tenths of a second off his marker from last year. Rueda had more difficulty adapting to the Dutch track. He completed 18 laps in the opening session of the tenth Grand Prix of the 2026 season, ultimately finishing in 25th place. He was 1.4 seconds off the top spot with a 1:37.149 achieved on his final attempt as he made a gradual adaptation to Assen.

With temperatures up to 49°C on track, the Moto2 riders went back out for a very eventful practice session that involved a red flag, further delaying the session’s conclusion.

Veijer had a positive start and wasn’t hampered by the interruption of the session following the red flag. He had reached seventh place before the Time Attack began, and was careful following his trip back to the garage. Wary of the numerous crashes due to the track’s poor grip levels, Veijer rode steadily to confirm his place in Q2. Eleventh fastest, he extended his run of direct spots in Q2 to 10 consecutive rounds, thanks to a 1:46.455. He put in 18 laps, the best just 3 tenths of a second off the fastest time. Rueda felt much more comfortable than in the morning, and was much closer to the leading group of riders on the timesheets. He ran a used tyre to continue getting a feel for the track during the first part of the session, then employed a Time Attack for the final stage of Practice. The reigning Moto3 World Champion was able to improve his time to 1:36.990, shaving 2 tenths off his morning best, although it wasn’t enough to secure a spot in Q2. However, the Spaniard reduced the gap to the fastest rider to 0.8 seconds. He completed 19 laps of the Dutch circuit during the session.

All in all, it was a good Friday for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team at Assen; although they were unable to get both their riders into Q2, they worked well to keep making progress throughout the day. With the main goal of being both in the running for Pole Position tomorrow, the two riders will take part in Free Practice 2, which starts at 9:25 a.m. (local time). In the afternoon, Rueda will enter Q1 at 1:40 p.m., trying to join his teammate Veijer in Q2 at 2:05 p.m.

Practice Results
1. David Alonso (Kalex) | 1:36.154
2. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 1:36.163 (+0.009)
3. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) | 1:36.218 (+0.064)
4. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 1:36.271 (+0.117)
5. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:36.318 (+0.164)
11. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:36.455 (+0.301)
20. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:36.990 (+0.836)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m very happy with our work today. This morning it wasn’t very easy. The first run was difficult, but we managed to improve a lot during the second. Practice was very hot, and it was hard to navigate the situation with used tyres. Then we tried a hot lap and put ourselves in 6th place. On the last lap, we avoided a lot of difficult situations with the rear tyre because of the heat, but overall, it was good for us. We made it through to Q2 again, so I’m satisfied with this and very confident for the second day at my home round.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“It was a tough day today. We struggled to find the right racing line at this circuit because it changes so much from Moto3 to Moto2. Luckily, on our second run this morning, we were able to adjust several things and feel much better. Later, in the afternoon, some further changes made me feel even more comfortable, so things are looking up and we’re more positive. Physically, I wasn’t at my best, so we’ll try to get some good rest today and be better prepared for the heat tomorrow. I know we can take another step forward on the second day here.”