A strong qualifying performance from the Dutchman puts him on the second row of the grid. Rueda will start 28th at the San Marino Grand Prix.

There was another great Saturday for Collin Veijer at Misano, as he secured a spot on the second row of the grid during Qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix. Whilst he and seven other riders broke the previous circuit record, further down the order there were problems for Jose Antonio Rueda, who crashed in both FP2 and Q1, qualifying 28th.

Conditions for FP2 mirrored Friday morning: The track was wet but drying out, with a temperature of 20°C for the intermediate class riders.

Both Veijer and Rueda completed just a single initial lap to test the state of play. Aware that risks remained but that the surface would dry quickly, both returned to the pits to prepare for the final part of the session.

The Dutchman reappeared during the closing stages, completing a total of 8 laps and improving his time on several of his final attempts. His last flying lap launched him from 20th to 13th place, setting a 1:36.352 only slightly slower than his FP1 best in similar conditions. Rueda headed out earlier, managing to complete 11 laps. However, he was unable to ride for the entirety of the session, after suffering his second crash of the weekend. This time around, he lost the front end at Turn 14. The incident occurred at a much lower speed and posed less danger than his incident on Friday, and he fortunately emerged unscathed once again. He placed 25th with a best time of 1:37.320 -slightly slower than his FP1 time.

Conditions were practically perfect for qualifying in the afternoon, with track temperatures at 37°C.

Rueda was once again unlucky in Q1. The Spaniard managed to complete one flying lap, clocking a 1:36.393, but crashed at Turn 4 on the following lap. Unable to remount, he had to settle for that initial time, which placed him 28th on the grid. Fortunately, the Spaniard was uninjured and has been declared fit to race on Sunday, despite having crashed three times across the final three sessions at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. He will start from 28th.

Veijer got off to a strong start in Q2, setting a 1:34.356 on his very first attempt -while riding completely solo. The Dutchman moved into fifth place to conclude his first run, with eight minutes still remaining. After a trip to the pits, he went back out and further reduced his lap time, with a 1:34.099 that briefly moved him into second place. However, in a blisteringly fast session that saw a new circuit record set, the Dutchman was unable to hold onto a front-row spot; he dropped to sixth place after nine laps, and was under 4 tenths of a second off Pole Position.

In conclusion, it was another mixed Saturday for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team at Misano. With a great result from Veijer, who will start from the second row, but also with Rueda struggling more than expected, the team wants to round off the weekend with good feelings. The 22-lap Moto2 San Marino Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. (local time).

Qualifying Results
1. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 1:33.718
2. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:33.911 (+0.193)
3. Angel Piqueras (Kalex) | 1:33.982 (+0.264)
4. Daniel Muñoz (Kalex) | 1:34.016 (+0.298)
5. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 1:34.084 (+0.366)
6. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:34.099 (+0.381)
28. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:36.393 (+2.675)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m very happy with today. The job we did was quite decent, especially during qualifying. On the first run, I wanted to ride alone to see where I stood in terms of raw speed. I think it worked out the way we wanted; we’re on the second row again, which is a good result here at Misano. The level in Q2 was very high, so let’s see how the riders ahead of us start the race tomorrow. We’ll try to get a good start and then give it our all to achieve a good result -something we’ve been finding in recent race weekends and which I think we truly deserve.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“It was a tough day, with two more crashes. The best news is that I didn’t get hurt, so tomorrow we’ll come back fighting and show what we’re capable of. These have been difficult days, but we’re confident we can put in a strong performance tomorrow and end the weekend on a high note. We want to enjoy ourselves -something that’s been a struggle over the first two days- so it’s time to reset, start from scratch, and go all-out to cross the finish line in a better position than where we’re starting on the grid.”