An unusual situation for Red Bull KTM Ajo sees the Dutchman make it into Q2 in 14th position, while the Spaniard will have to go through Q1, in 15th.

Practice for the German Grand Prix produced something of a rarity for the Moto2 field and for Red Bull KTM Ajo, as both Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda clocked 1:23.007 laps. The identical times led them to finish 14th and 15th respectively, with Veijer’s second fastest lap giving him the nod and sending him directly into Q2 at the expense of his teammate.

With more favourable and comfortable weather conditions than those experienced during the recent double-header at Brno and Assen, the Moto2 riders were able to take to the track for Free Practice 1 with a manageable ambient temperature of 18°C ​​ambient and track temperature of 26°C.

Veijer demonstrated consistency early on, and showed that he has fully recovered for this weekend. After the first fifteen minutes of the session, the Dutchman was already seventh, comfortably within the Top 10 and less than 4 tenths of a second off his best time from last year -his rookie campaign at the Sachsenring in Moto2. After a pit stop, he tried out new setup details, clocking a 1:23.208, his best time ever time at the German circuit. After 22 laps, Veijer finished 10th.Rueda also racked up 22 laps in FP1. He took a more cautious approach, gradually improving his understanding of how to work on a Moto2 bike at such a unique circuit. He remained just over a second off the pace during his first stint, finishing in the Top 20. After his pit stop, the Spaniard was able to shave more tenths off his laps, reaching a 1:23.747 and finishing 19th -just 1.2 seconds off the pacesetter.

In the afternoon, conditions were conducive to a good Practice session, with an ambient temperature of around 24°C and track temperature of 43°C.

Veijer focused on developing his race pace. Low down the order during the first part of the session, the Dutchman upped the pace as it entered its final 20 minutes, reaching 18th. Later, after a tyre change, he improved his time to secure what would prove to be the 14th fastest lap. Unfortunately, he then suffered a minor crash at Turn 3, which took him off the track in the final laps. His 1:23.007 keeps up his perfect record of direct spots in Q2 so far in 2026. Rueda posted the exact same time, finishing 15^th. He missed out on Q2 as his second-best lap was slower than that of his teammate. The Spaniard followed the same strategy as Veijer, and was behind him for much of his first run. Confident and with good pace, he climbed to 16th place, and was 4 tenths faster than his best morning lap. On his second stint, he used fresh tyres to try and grab a place in Q2, but fell just short. He had to settle for 15th place after 21 laps -two more than Veijer.

In conclusion, it was a positive first day for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 guys at the Sachsenring, although they were unable to get both straight into Q2. On Saturday, the intermediate class will undertake Free Practice 2 at 09:25 a.m. (local time), whilst in the afternoon, Rueda will take part in Q1 from 1:40 p.m. and Veijer Q2 at 2:05 p.m.

Practice Results
1. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 1:22.260
2. Ivan Ortola (Kalex) | 1:22.296 (+0.036)
3. David Alonso (Kalex) | 1:22.475 (+0.215)
4. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 1:22.562 (+0.302)
5. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 1:22.567 (+0.307)
14. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:23.007 (+0.747)
15. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:23.007 (+0.747)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“It was a little bit of an unfortunate day. We managed to go through to Q2, but the feeling was not amazing. We still need to improve some tenths in Sectors 2, 3 and 4, but overall we tried our best and we will work hard this afternoon to take another big step tomorrow. My shoulder is getting much better than it was at the races before this one, and that’s also because we have fewer right corners here. It’s another positive thing to take away from today.  I’m sure we will achieve better results tomorrow with hard work and confidence, so we’ll give it 100% from the beginning.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Today I felt really good on track, at a circuit that’s a lot of fun on a Moto2 bike. We took a very solid step forward from Free Practice 1 to Practice, so I’m happy about that. It’s a shame I couldn’t go directly into Q2; I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before, matching my teammate’s time, but these things can happen. Collin helped me understand the lines during Practice, so I’m very grateful to the team for everyone’s great work. Tomorrow I’ll have to grit my teeth and get into Q2, which is now the main objective.”