The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo will have to go through Q1 at Mandalika following a tight Practice session in hot conditions.

Jose Antonio Rueda and Collin Veijer will have to go through Q1 at the Indonesian Grand Prix, after missing out on direct spots in Q2 by just 17 and 95 thousandths of a second, respectively. This was despite a good Friday performance at the Mandalika International Circuit.

Sun and humidity was intense from the outset at Mandalika, with demanding conditions for the Moto2 class during Free Practice 1. Track temperature hit 52°C during the session.

Veijer got off to an excellent start on his return from almost two full Grands Prix away through injury, holding a spot in the Top 10 during the session’s opening ten minutes. He managed a strong opening run, then rode close alongside his teammate for a second stint after adjusting his setup. He improved his time once more on his 17th of 20 laps, taking eighth place with a best lap of 1:33.301. The Dutchman’s time was less than 5 tenths off his best from 2025. Rueda also enjoyed a very positive start, and began inside the Top 20 before making a significant leap into the Top 10, just over half a second behind the leaders. Following a promising opening stint, he built on that momentum in a second series of laps. He lowered his time twice, the second such occasion coming on his 18th of 20 laps, to secure 11th place with a time of 1:33.410. Rueda was just 7 tenths off the top spot.

Red Bull KTM Ajo once again faced somewhat extreme track conditions, with track temperatures reaching 59ºC. The session was prolonged by two red flags, first due to the need to clear the track and then owing to technical issues in Race Control.

Rueda followed his usual plan for the afternoon, seeking a race-pace feel during the first part of the session. He managed to make a step forward before heading to the pits to change tyres, moving from 25th to 12th place. After he went back out, the Spaniard pulled off one of the best saves of the season and also improved his lap time to 1:32.950, yet he fell 17 thousandths of a second short of the Q2 cutoff, recording the 16th fastest time. Veijer prioritised race preparation during his first stint, aiming for a longer run to simulate race distance. However, before pitting, he also managed to improve significantly, climbing to a provisional eighth place prior to the Time Attack. Unfortunately, he could only shave a few thousandths off his time in the final stretch, ultimately dropping to 18th place with a 1:33.028 best lap -missing Q2 by just 95 thousandths of a second. Like his teammate, he completed a total of 20 laps and will enter Q1 for the first time this season.

In conclusion, it was a bittersweet Friday end for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo, who finished just under a tenth of a second short of Top 14. However, having felt confident and shown notable progress throughout the day, both are optimistic ahead of tomorrow. The Red Bull KTM Ajo duo will take part in Free Practice 2 starting at 9:25 a.m. (local time) on Saturday. Later, in the afternoon, Q1 will get underway at 1:40 p.m.

Practice Results
1. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 1:32.337
2. Alex Escrig (Forward) | 1:33.568 (+0.231)
3 Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:33.570 (+0.233)
4. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 1:33.596 (+0.259)
5. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 1:33.769 (+0.432)
16. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:32.950 (+0.613)
18. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:33.028 (+0.691)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“It wasn’t a very bad day overall. I felt okay in both sessions. In the first one, we did a good job in general, and in the second one, we just missed out on Q2 by a very small margin, so we can’t be too angry with the job that we did. We’re back in action after two rounds out, we managed to have two decent sessions and we’re not so far off, so we’ll try to take the positives from today. We will work hard this afternoon to be sure that tomorrow we will be able to make another step forward, and enjoy the rest of the weekend.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I’m very happy with how Free Practice 1 went. Things got a bit more complicated in the afternoon, though, as it turned out to be a rather strange session. I’m not entirely satisfied with the final Time Attack, but the upside is that the field is very tight; improving by just two tenths puts you in the Top 5. We know what needs work for tomorrow, so now it’s time to focus and find that extra for our performance on Saturday. Hopefully, we can take another step forward -especially on fresh tyres- to make it into Q2, which we missed out on today.”