Deniz Öncü sets the fourth best time on Thursday at Jerez, with Collin Veijer 21st.

Red Bull KTM Ajo were one of the teams with the most laps completed at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on Thursday, in the final day of Moto2 preseason. Deniz Öncü was fourth and Collin Veijer 21st, at the end of three days of hard work that concluded with their best times of the week.

Öncü rounded off his excellent preseason with a very complete last day. He was very competitive on Thursday, both in terms of his race pace on used tyres and his single-lap Time Attack. The Turkish rider was able to secure third position in FP7 and was fastest in FP9. In this last session he achieved his best time of the test, with a 1:39.693 that earned him fourth position of the day and of the week. Öncü completed a total of 53 laps on Day 3.

Moto2 rookie Veijer continued to reduce the gap to the frontrunners, dropping more than 5 tenths off his previous best time to clock a 1:40.741. The Dutchman did so in FP9, in which he was sixth. Overall, Veijer was 21st on the combined timesheets for Thursday, with a total of 80 laps to his name. He was one of the busiest riders of the entire test.

The pair will head to Thailand next week, where they will contest the first Grand Prix of the season from Friday, February 28th, at the Chang International Circuit.

Combined Results (Day 3)
1. Aron Canet (Kalex) 1:39.552
2. Barry Baltus (Kalex) 1:39.556 +0.004
3. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) 1:39.597 +0.045
4. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:39.693 +0.141
5. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) 1:39.981 +0.429
21. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:40.741 +1.189

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“For Moto2, the conditions were really good in Jerez, so we enjoyed a good three days of testing. We did a lot of laps to test the new package from Kalex and it was very productive. I’m very surprised because the riders were really, really fast with the new Pirelli tires. Deniz continued on the same path he found at Portimao. He tried a lot of new parts, but he also worked well with used tyres and in the Time Attack, so we’re so happy with his performance. Collin made a good progress throughout the three days. He needs more time to adapt to Moto2 because the jump from Moto3 is huge, so he needs to get used to the new bike. He was closer to the top every day and he worked well with used tyres, so we’re happy with him as well.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“This was a very positive week  for the team. We tested a lot of different things on the bike, and we can say that we have found a good base to work with throughout the season. The feeling with the bike has increased day-by-day and we’re really competitive in terms of pace, but also on the Time Attack. I can say that this is a very positive way to be heading to Thailand, so let’s see what 2025 holds for us. We are very motivated to start next week.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“Today we made a good step forward. During the morning we improved a little bit from yesterday, and then we did it again in every session. We only worked with a full tank, so maybe with a little bit less fuel we can improve a little more. Also, with used tyres I enjoyed myself a lot and the pace was good. Moto2 is a completely different class, so I need time to adapt, but at the moment I’m really happy with the way we’re working -and also with my crew chief. The gap to the top riders is a little bit smaller, so let’s see if this good work can continue in Thailand. We didn’t try a Time Attack, so maybe we could have been a little higher on the timesheets, but it wasn’t about that. We’re going step by step, and let’s see what happens next week.”