The newly crowned two-time European Moto2 Champion will replace the injured Collin Veijer at Mobility Resort Motegi, teaming up with Jose Antonio Rueda.

Jose Antonio Rueda and Milan Pawelec head to the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, competing in the sixteenth round of the season. Pawelec will replace Collin Veijer, who is continuing his recovery from a left collarbone fracture sustained during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. After undergoing successful surgery in Barcelona last week, the Dutchman is now focusing on making a full recovery before making a return to action; he could potentially be back as early as next weekend in Indonesia.

Rueda arrives in Japan having returned to the points at the Red Bull Ring. The Spaniard enjoyed one of his best weekends of the second half of the season, securing a direct spot in Q2 and qualifying ninth on the grid, before finishing twelfth on race day. Ending a three-race run without points, the four picked up in Austria brought his total to 31, allowing him to maintain the lead in the Rookie of the Year ranking, where he holds an 8.5-point advantage over his closest rival. Last year, he secured Pole Position at Motegi in Moto3 and finished second in the race, earning a twelfth podium of a season in which he would go on to become World Champion. This will be his first visit to Japan on a Moto2 bike. He currently sits 18th in the overall standings.

Pawelec enjoys a new opportunity in the World Championship, just days after becoming a two-time European Moto2 champion. The 19-year-old Polish rider secured the title last weekend at MotorLand Aragon by winning Race 2, becoming the first rider to successfully defend the title since Jordi Torres in 2012. He is already familiar with Grand Prix racing, having competed in several World Championship rounds as a substitute rider in both 2025 and 2026. This season, he has participated in the German, Dutch, and Czech Republic Grands Prix, finishing 23rd at Sachsenring and Assen, and 25th at Brno. Motegi will be his first competitive experience outside Europe and his debut with Red Bull KTM Ajo.

The Finnish team are ninth in the Team standings with a total of 106.5 points. Motegi is a circuit where they have historically achieved strong results, with a victory for Johann Zarco in 2015 and five other podium finishes: Zarco’s second place in 2016; Miguel Oliveira and Jorge Martin’s third in 2018 and 2019, respectively; Augusto Fernandez’ second in 2022; and Pedro Acosta’s third in 2023.

In short, the Japanese Grand Prix begins the series of rounds where people will have to stay awake if they’re not in the Asian country. The Japanese Grand Prix kicks off this Friday at Motegi at 9:50 a.m. (local time) with Free Practice 1. Sunday’s 19-lap race is scheduled to start at 12:15 p.m.

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“We’re coming off a positive weekend, after three difficult rounds, so we’ll try to build on the feeling and the results we achieved in Austria. We really enjoyed Motegi last year; we were very fast on the Moto3 bike, so why shouldn’t we be able to repeat that this year? We’ll need to adapt to the track with the Moto2 bike as quickly as possible, that’s for sure, but I think we can enjoy the weekend after this break; it’s been great for exploring Japan and recharging our batteries.”

#40 MILAN PAWELEC

“First of all, I want to wish Collin a speedy recovery. I’m really happy to be back in the World Championship paddock once again. This is really important for me, as I’m also with one of the biggest teams in Moto2 and Moto3, so I will try to learn as much as possible and show my speed on track. I want to fight from the beginning, but the most important thing for me is to gather a lot of valuable information for the future. I will be sharing the garage with a very fast rider, so I will try to understand how he and the team work in order to adapt to them and the track as quickly as possible.”