Veijer and Rueda visit the Red Bull Ring for the fifteenth round of the season -a special race for KTM- to round off the European rounds before travelling to Asia.

Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 go to the Red Bull Ring this weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix. With Collin Veijer in top form after a great Sunday in San Marino, the team have a date with KTM’s home circuit at which to continue his run. Jose Antonio Rueda has had several weekends of steep learning curves, and is ready to tackle the round with confidence in order to travel to Asia with more optimism.

Veijer comes into the race off his second podium of the season at Misano. He capped off a stellar weekend by finishing second at the San Marino GP, equaling his best-ever result in Moto2. Having also battled for the podium at MotorLand, he aims to build on this significant step forward at the Red Bull Ring, a circuit he enjoys and knows very well. Last year, during his rookie season in the class, he delivered a strong performance, finishing in eighth place -just seven seconds off the win- after qualifying ninth in Q2. In previous editions, he has a pole position in Moto3, as well as fourth and fifth-place finishes in 2023 and 2024. Currently, Veijer is back in tenth place in the overall standings, with his points tally at 75.5.

Rueda has struggled during the second half of the season to date. Following surgery on his right hand during the summer he has managed to finish all three races, though without breaking into the Top 15. He had a turbulent weekend in Misano, forced to fight his way up from 29th on the grid; ultimately, after battling a strong group for 18th place, the Spaniard finished 21st. He had a fifth-place finish in Moto3 in Austria last year, as well as eleventh and seventh in his first two appearances there previously. His only podium finish at the Red Bull Ring came in 2022, when he took second place in the Red Bull Rookies Cup. Rueda currently sits 18th in the overall standings with 27 points, continuing to lead the Rookie of the Year ranking.

With the aim of continuing to pick up points at Spielberg, Red Bull KTM Ajo have 102.5 points in the Team standings, and are in ninth place, near than ever from 7th and 8th. KTM’s home circuit has historically been a positive venue for the team in the intermediate class, yielding five victories: Johann Zarco (2016), Brad Binder (2019), Jorge Martin (2020), Raul Fernandez (2021), and Celestino Vietti (2024). Furthermore, they have three second-place finishes: Miguel Oliveira (2018), Jorge Martin (Styrian GP, 2020), and Pedro Acosta (2023).

In short, the fifteenth round of the Moto2 World Championship is now a reality, and it is the last to be held on European soil before the start of the traditional end-of-season tour of Asia, that will start in Japan, as last year. Moto2 Free Practice 1 begins on Friday at 9:50 a.m. (local time), and the 23-lap race takes place on Sunday starting at 12:15 a.m.

Circuit information – Red Bull Ring
Length: 4.348 m / 2.701 miles
Width: 12 metres / 39.37 ft.
Left corners: 3
Right corners: 8
Longest straight: 810 m / 0.503 miles
Built: 2022

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“We’re coming off a very necessary weekend at Misano, so I’m highly motivated for this next round in Austria -the home race for both the factory and the team. We managed the weekends in San Marino and Aragon quite well, so we just need to do our job again and try to demonstrate the consistency we’ve been aiming for over the last few months. The Red Bull Ring is a great track, so we’ll try to have a strong weekend overall and enjoy it to the fullest before we head to Asia.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“We’re coming off a tough weekend, although we did manage to show a more positive side during the race. Now it’s time to hit the reset button, start afresh, and work at 100% with my team in Austria -a circuit that’s always special thanks to the atmosphere and the fact that it’s the home Grand Prix for the team and the factory. We know this is a process and that some rounds will go better than others, so we need to focus and keep giving our all so we can continue making reliable progress at any track.”