The Dutchman secures direct entry into Q2 after finishing fifth in the morning session. Rueda places 21st in both sessions on Friday, but misses the Q2 cutoff by just one tenth of a second.

Collin Veijer claimed fifth and eighth on his first day of action at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Following one of his best results of the season in Free Practice 1, the Dutchman successfully secured his spot in Q2 during the afternoon. Jose Antonio Rueda will have to go through Q1, despite showing significant progress throughout Friday.

Following a start to the day that saw some damp patches on track due to overnight rain, the asphalt was completely dry for the intermediate class’ FP1. Track temperature was at 32°C as the session got underway.

Veijer had a solid start; riding alone throughout his first run, he managed to stay within the Top 15 -just a tenth of a second shy of the Top 10. After a pit stop, the Dutchman went back out with only six minutes remaining, but managed to lower his previous best lap time twice. His final improvement, made when the chequered flag was waving, lifted him to fifth place -one of his best FP1 results of the season. Veijer clocked a best time of 2:04.800, after riding 16 laps in total.  Rueda faced a slightly more challenging opening to the weekend, with the circuit posing different demands with a Moto2 bike. He was 25th, just under two seconds off the pace of the fastest rider, after his first run, then made a solid step forward during his second outing: a 2:05.642 moved him up to 21st, with an improvement of nearly a second over his initial effort. The Spaniard completed 14 laps of Sepang.

In Practice, the heat at Sepang became an even greater factor, with track temperatures hitting 48°C.

Veijer continued his good form, consistently remaining within the positions that grant direct access to Q2 -he has only had to go through Q1 twice this season-. With a best lap time of 2:04.607 -set over the course of 14 laps- the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider finished the afternoon session in 8th place. Rueda again had a trickier time than his teammate. Nevertheless, he managed to take another step forward, improving his best lap time to 2:04.846 while riding solo. This was 8 tenths of a second faster than his quickest lap in Free Practice 1. The session was exceptionally tight, with fifteen riders -from 8th to 22nd place- separated by less than two tenths of a second. This left Rueda just 1 tenth of a second shy of the Q2 cutoff. He ultimately finished 21st -the same position as in FP1- after completing 14 laps.

In conclusion, it’s been another good Friday for Veijer and Rueda, who will split the two qualifying sessions tomorrow with the goal of both making it through to Q2. On Saturday morning, both riders will take part in Free Practice 2, starting at 8:40 a.m. (local time). Q1 begins at 1:40 p.m., followed by Q2 at 2:05 p.m.ç

Practice Results
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 2:03.737
2. Alonso Lopez (Kalex) | 2:03.881 (+0.144)
3. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 2:03.943 (+0.206)
4. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 2:03.971 (+0.234)
5. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) | 2:04.448 (+0.711)
8. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:04.607 (+0.870)
21. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:04.846 (+1.109)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m happy with today overall. This morning wasn’t very easy, but I tried my best and -especially during the second stint- we improved quite a lot. Then, in the afternoon, we found something extra and managed to take that final step, which is great news for us. We’ve secured a direct spot in Q2 once again, so we can feel quite confident with that. It’s a decent Friday in the books, but we need to keep pushing to be even faster tomorrow. I think we’re in for a good weekend here, so we’ll try to keep this momentum going through tomorrow and Sunday.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I really enjoyed this first day in Sepang. You can tell that this circuit is better suited to a larger bike like a Moto2 machine, though adapting to it is by no means simple. I really like the layout, although this morning we struggled a bit to get our braking markers spot on. In the afternoon, we did two Time Attacks, but I still couldn’t quite get the braking points right -especially during the first run. We lacked a reference point ahead of us, but we still managed to put in a good lap that left us just a tenth of a second off a Q2 spot, which at such a long circuit isn’t bad at all. Tomorrow, we’ll look to take another step forward in a few specific areas we’ve already identified.”