The Dutchman places sixth in Q2, whilst Rueda misses out on advancing to Q2 by 89 thousandths and will start 20th.

Collin Veijer returned to the Top 6 in qualifying at Sepang, after four races outside the front two rows. Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Jose Antonio Rueda was unable to advance from Q1, missing the cut by 89 thousandths of a second to start from the sixth row of the grid.

The intermediate class recorded slightly faster times than on Friday morning, with the track in better condition and free from overnight rain or standing water. During Free Practice 2, the asphalt temperature reached 34°C, which was exceptionally high for so early in the day.

Rueda had a very positive session, breaking into the Top 15 during his first run and maintaining a pace very similar to Veijer’s. After providing feedback to his team, he returned to the track for the final laps, using other riders as a reference to improve his previous time on two separate occasions. He ultimately clocked a 2:04.443, which was 4 tenths of a second faster than in Practice and earned him ninth place. Taking a solid step forward, the Spaniard completed 10 laps at Sepang. Veijer focused on race preparation and tyre management, which is a critical factor this weekend in Malaysia given the poor track conditions and intense heat. The Dutchman also spent the session within the Top 15 alongside his teammate, working alone for most of the time to refine his feeling with the bike ahead of Sunday. Towards the end of the session, following a pit stop, he managed to shave more time off his previous best, setting a 2:04.569 that placed him 13th. Having completed 11 laps, Veijer slightly improved upon his best time from Friday, though he remained some distance off his personal best from last year.

In Qualifying, track temperatures reached 50°C during the battle for Pole Position in Sepang.

In Q1, Rueda did not have an ideal start, returning to the pits after only one flying lap to change tyres earlier than planned. Sitting provisionally in tenth place, he headed back out on track hoping to find a good reference point to help him reach Q2. He managed to find one, coming even closer to advancing than he had during Practice -where he had missed out on the Top 14 by just 1.5 tenths of a second. His 2:03.993 lap was an improvement of half a second over his morning time, but left him 84 thousandths of a second short of advancing. His lap time would have placed him 10th in Q2. Finishing in 21st position after completing six laps, he will start in 20th after the penalty of another rider in front.

In Q2, Veijer was unable to capitalise on a strong first half of the session. A yellow flag invalidated his first hot lap, and on his second run he opted to head out alongside other riders to secure a competitive time. The decision paid off, and he clocked a 2:03.560 a full second quicker than his previous best time from the weekend, and 4 tenths faster than last season. He claimed sixth place, in his eighth Top 6 qualifying result of the season, ending a four-race drought.

All in all, it was a little bittersweet Saturday for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team, which managed to take a very solid step forward with both riders, although only Veijer was able to fully show it. Tomorrow, with a race that is expected to be tough and a real test for the tyres because of the extreme heat, both riders will take on the 17-lap Moto2 Malaysian Grand Prix, starting at 1:15 p.m. local time.

Qualifying Results
1. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 2:02.875
2. Angel Piqueras (Kalex) | 2:03.416 (+0.541)
3. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 2:03.486 (+0.611)
4. David Alonso (Kalex) | 2:03.491 (+0.616)
5. Alonso Lopez (Kalex) | 2:03.516 (+0.641)
6. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:03.560 (+0.685)
21. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:03.993 (+1.118)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m happy with today. Once again, the morning session was not very easy, as on my second stint we tried to run a qualifying simulation, but I didn’t have the best feeling out there. However, in Q2 the feeling wasn’t so bad, so I felt I could go faster. Unfortunately, the first stint didn’t count due to yellow flags, so we had to focus on the second run, which turned out to be decent. It wasn’t easy to manage it, but we took sixth on the grid, which is a good position heading into Sunday’s race. We’ll see what the conditions are like tomorrow and how far we can go. We’ll definitely give it our best.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I have mixed feelings today. In FP2, we felt much better than yesterday -both on used tyres and when pushing for a fast lap. I felt comfortable and quick, so I’m very satisfied with that. Later on, qualifying was extremely tight, and we ended up missing the cut. It’s a shame, because our lap time would have been good enough for 10th place in Q2, but that’s what happens when you don’t get there directly from Practice. I gave it everything I had, and it wasn’t a bad lap, but now we’ll have to fight our way back up the order. It won’t be an easy race; there’s a lot of grip, so we’ll need to push hard from the start and try to hold on until the finish -especially since there’s a high chance of crashes, given the track conditions.”