The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo will start from the third and fourth rows at the German Grand Prix.

Saturday at the German Grand Prix went well for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders. Collin Veijer took a place on the third row, with the ninth fastest time in Q2, and Jose Antonio Rueda made it both into Q2 and into eleventh on the grid.

The Moto2 FP2 session was similar in terms of temperatures to Friday morning, reaching 30ºC on track.

Rueda’s session was divided into two parts, allowing him to complete a short run focused on the race first of all. For his second stint, the Spaniard changed tyres to look for a more competitive single lap time, which led him to finish tenth with a 1:22.737. He improved his best time by almost 3 tenths of a second after a session in which he put in 18 laps. Veijer also had steady improvement during FP2, which he divided into two distinct parts. In the first stint, the Dutchman was able to work on his race pace. In the second, he followed a similar plan to his teammate, lowering his time to 1:22.902 after a total of 18 laps. Finishing in 15th place, he was 1 tenth of a second faster than in Practice.

Track conditions for qualifying saw an ambient temperature of 23°C and a track temperature of 37°C.

Rueda rode smartly in Q1, and whilst he was in contention to make it through early, he upped his pace in the final moments with a 1:22.351, which put him in third place. He was 4 tenths quicker than his FP2 time, and made it out of Q1 for the second time this year. It meant a fourth appearance in Q2 in 2026.

In Q2, the Spaniard undertook a good first run that kept him within the Top 5. After a pit stop, and with the advantage of having accumulated more track time than most of his rivals, he went back out to shave further tenths off his best lap. He set a 1:21.949, 4 tenths of a second faster than in Q1 and 1.1 seconds quicker than his quickest lap from Friday. With nine more laps under his belt, he secured 11th position on the grid at Sachsenring.

Veijer also took a step forward in Q2. After a positive start, during which one of his hot laps was cancelled due to the presence of yellow flags, he managed to improve his time on his second run. With an eventual 1:21.903, which also lowered his best time from Friday by 1.1 seconds, he claimed ninth, just half a tenth of a second shy of a Top 5 finish.

In conclusion, it was another positive day of progress for Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda, who managed to improve on their Friday results to secure places on the third and fourth rows of tomorrow’s starting grid. The Red Bull KTM Ajo pair will contest the 25-lap Moto2 German Grand Prix at 12:15 p.m. (local time) on Sunday.

Qualifying Results
1. Ivan Ortola (Kalex) | 1:21.493
2. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 1:21.531 (+0.038)
3. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 1:21.671 (+0.178)
4. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:21.720 (+0.227)
5. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 1:21.848 (+0.355)
9. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:21.903 (+0.410)
11. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:21.949 (+0.456)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“After yesterday’s crash, this morning we tried to recover our feeling again. Overall, Free Practice 2 wasn’t so bad, so we knew we could achieve a better position in Qualifying. We pushed a lot on our first stint in Q2, but we needed to wait until the second one to improve our time. We still have some details to tweak, but we have time to do it. The pace is not so bad, so we’ll try to make a good start, enjoy the race, and come back to the box with important points for the standings.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“This was a very positive day at Sachsenring. I felt better from the very beginning of the morning, so the rest gradually fell into place. We were able to analyse where we had the most room to do better, and I think the improvement is evident. Times were very fast in Q1, and we managed to get through, which was vital. Then in Q2, the level rose even more. There was a lot of competition, as always, but we were able to secure a good grid position. Tomorrow we’ll have to push hard to get a strong start and fight for a Top 10 finish, which is my main objective for this race in Germany.”