The Spaniard fights for the points, but suffers with tyre wear in the closing stages. Veijer crashes on the first lap after contact with another rider.

Red Bull KTM Ajo had a difficult Sunday at Silverstone, in which Jose Antonio Rueda took 19th place after losing ground on the final laps. The Spaniard did a good race, fighting for the points after a good comeback, but couldn’t keep the pace on the last third of the race. Collin Veijer is unable to complete a single lap after crashing at Turn 12 following a collision with another rider.

There were ideal conditions for the Moto2 grid, with a track temperature of 37°C for the race. A change in schedule meant their race was first up at the British Grand Prix.

Rueda had a less than ideal start, losing a position on the first lap to drop to 24th. He then began his comeback, and between the second and third laps had already reached the Top 20 -and was riding much faster than the riders ahead of him. In a group stretching from 14th to 22nd place, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider climbed positions to reach 16th at the halfway point of the race. It was then that managing rear tyre wear became complicated, and Rueda lost ground in the final third. Struggling in close battles on the closing laps, he fell to 19th, albeit just 3 tenths of a second from 16th at the chequered flag. Rueda remains the top rookie in Moto2 with 27 points, and is 16th overall.

Veijer’s race was a short one, concluding on the opening lap. Starting from 15th, the Dutchman managed to hold his initial position, but had to retire after Turn 12 when another rider collided with the rear of his bike, which sent him crashing out. It brought his streak of five consecutive race finishes -four of them in the points- to an end, but he maintains 10th place in the overall standings with 55.5 points.

All in all, it was a unfortunate outcome for the two Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders, who had performed well throughout the weekend and deserved more at Silverstone. The team leave Great Britain without increasing their points tally, remaining in seventh place in the Team standings with 82.5 points.

They now have a two-week break to fully recover from their respective surgeries from three weeks ago, before the series returns at MotorLand Aragon for the Aragon Grand Prix (28-30 May).

Race Results
1. Filip Salac (Kalex) | 35:01.869
2. Ivan Ortola (Kalex) | +0.303
3. Alex Escrig (Forward) | +0.652
4. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | +1.743
5. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | +2.555
19. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +18.840
DNF. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +17 laps

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2026
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 197.5 points
2. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 155 points
3. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 136 points
4. Ivan Ortola (Kalex) | 133.5 points
5. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 128 points
10. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 55.5 points
16. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 27 points

Moto2 Teams World Championship Standing 2026
1. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 333.5 points
2. CFMoto Gaviota Aspar Team | 244 points
3. BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 | 170.5 points
4. OnlyFans American Racing Team | 144 points
5. QJMotor – Biolec – MSI | 137.5 points
7. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 82.5 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“It was a difficult weekend for the team. Collin was very unlucky today, after a good start. He showed enough pace during the weekend to fight for the Top 10, but a mistake from another rider knocked him down and this ended his race. Jose Antonio is still lacking a little bit of fitness after the surgery on his hand. He needs some more time to be at 100%, but we will take the positives from the weekend, as he improved a lot through the three days here at Silverstone. This is not an easy track for a Moto2 rookie, and he was progressing a lot in  the middle of the race, but it was not enough today. Now we need to keep working hard during this last part of the summer to achieve the results we deserve.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“There’s not much to say about today. We got a pretty good start, as we didn’t lose any positions, but I think we still can improve more in this aspect. Unfortunately, I was taken out by another rider before finishing the first lap of the race, so I couldn’t do anything after that. It’s a little bit frustrating, as it was not a very nice move on me, but it is what it is; these things happen in racing. I felt much better today, but we need to manage  my condition better in the next few rounds.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Today the feeling with the bike was the best it’s been all weekend. We started well on the first few laps, and I was able to move up many places, but on the final laps I struggled a bit more than usual under braking. Today I could have fought for a Top 14 finish, but these things happen sometimes, and you have to learn from them. We have to focus on the positives; we’ve improved a lot over the three days, so it’s time to keep working, fine-tune the details, make sure my hand recovers properly, and prepare for Aragón in the best way possible.”