The Dutch rider, pending Thursday fit, returns after two Grands Prix out with the aim of building around the momentum of the team.

Collin Veijer is set to return for the ninth Grand Prix of the Moto2 season. Pending a final fit test on Thursday at the Medical Centre, the Dutch rider aims to come back at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, with the Italian Grand Prix kicking off two consecutive weekends of racing. Alongside him, Deniz Öncü will try to extend the team’s good form at a circuit that usually brings solid results for the team.

Öncü is coming off his best weekend as a Moto2 rider, and also has fond memories of Mugello. The Turkish rider has competed there in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, Moto3, and also Moto2. In 2023, a second place in Moto3 was his first podium of the year, beginning an excellent run of results. Last year, in his first outing there as a Moto2 rider, he was 13^th, his best result of the first half of the season. Now, he is coming off a great victory at MotorLand, with the 25 points he earned two weeks ago leaving him seventh in the overall standings with 62 points.

Pending a final check test on Thursday morning at Mugello, Veijer will be making a comeback after his absence in Great Britain and Aragon. With his right arm recovering well after surgery a month ago, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider will try to adapt to the Italian track on a Moto2 bike as quickly as possible. Previously, he won the Red Bull Rookies Cup race in 2022 there and also earned a second place finish last season as a Moto3 rider. In his rookie year in the World Championship, he managed to finish sixth in Mugello. Veijer is currently in 19th place overall, with 11 points.

In a wave of good results, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team is optimistic ahead of the Italian race, where Deniz Öncü and Collin Veijer will be looking to stay in contention for the front positions. Mugello also boasts several recent victories for the team, with five in the last ten seasons through Johann Zarco (2016), Miguel Oliveira (2018), Remy Gardner (2021), and Pedro Acosta (2022 & 2023). These wins are complemented by second places for Zarco himself (2015) and Raul Fernandez (2021).

The first Moto2 Free Practice session at Mugello will take place at 9:50am (local time) on Friday. On Sunday, the 19-lap race will take place at 12:15pm.

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“We’re off to Mugello this week. The goal is just to keep the same feeling as two weeks ago at MotorLand. Being fast, strong and competitive throughout the weekend is the most important thing to be consistent during the season. We’ve shown that we can be up there, so we’ll try to keep it up at another track. The Barcelona test went well and we want to improve some things for Italy, so let’s see if we’re capable of doing it together and enjoy a Grand Prix at a place where I have good memories.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“We’ve just arrived at Mugello and, of course, I’m really happy to be back in the paddock. We’re just waiting on the all-clear tomorrow in the medical check and, after that, we will focus on the race weekend itself. We want to work step by step, building my confidence back up and trying to be fast again. We’ll see how my arm holds up, and we’ll try to make good progress throughout the three days, in order to arrive a little bit more prepared for my home Grand Prix in the Netherlands.”