A solid Grand Prix sees the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 pair finish the race at Mugello, with Öncü racking up good points.

Sunday at the Italian Grand Prix ended with both Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders taking the chequered flag at Mugello. Deniz Öncü continued his improvement from Saturday to place sixth, whilst Collin Veijer was able to finish in the Top 20 in a tough race -due to the weather conditions and five weeks out following surgery on his right arm.

At the front, Öncü made a great start from fifth on the grid, moving into second place at the first corner. After the first lap, the Turkish rider decided to take the lead and try to stretch the field, but it was very difficult to maintain his advantage amidst many overtaking moves among the frontrunners. Öncü settled in fifth place and decided to bide his time, riding with a steady pace. However, a scare at Turn 10 caused him to concede two more positions, dropping to seventh, and lose contact with the four leading riders. The Turkish rider moved back up to fifth and pushed to get back into contention for the podium, but was unable to do so. In the final stretch, suffering from tyre wear, he was overtaken by Celestino Vietti, leaving him in sixth place. Nevertheless, he finished just six seconds behind the race winner. After scoring 10 points at Mugello, Öncü is now up to 72, in seventh place overall and closer to the Top 5.

Veijer also got off to a good start, making up three positions from 22nd and moving into the Top 20. After the first third of the race, the Dutchman continued in the fight for 19th place with two other riders. As the laps passed, the heat and the difficulty of Mugello gradually sapped the strength from the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rookie, who was in just his third day back on the bike after five weeks out through injury. He was able to maintain his pace throughout the second half of the race, securing 20th place, less than five seconds outside the points. Veijer, with 11 points so far this year, remains in 19th place in the overall standings before facing an always special home Grand Prix in Assen.

After a difficult Grand Prix start, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team finished on a good way with both riders having completed a weekend of progress and consistency. With 84 points in the Team standings, Red Bull KTM Ajo now head to the Dutch TT -Veijer’s home round and the second race of the season’s first double-header. It takes place at Assen from June 27-29th.

Race Results 
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 35:34.695
2. Albert Arenas (Kalex) | +1.409
3. Aron Canet (Kalex) | +3.648
4. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) | +3.745
5. Celestino Vietti (Boscoscuro) | +3.813
6. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +5.091
20. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +18.830

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2025
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 143 points
2. Aron Canet (Kalex) | 134 points
3. Diogo Moreira (Kalex) | 103 points
4. Barry Baltus (Kalex) | 94 points
5. Jake Dixon (Boscoscuro) | 85 points
7. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 72 points
19. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 11 points

Moto2 Teams World Championship Standing 2025
1. Fantic Racing LINO SONEGO | 228 points
2. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 223 points
3. ELF Marc VDS Racing Team | 137 points
4. Beta Tools SpeedRS Team | 113 points
5. Italtrans Racing Team | 108 points
7. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 84 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“The weekend didn’t start in the best way. Both riders were struggling during Friday, with the low grip level and the heat, but to be honest, yesterday we made great progress with Deniz and Collin in terms of setup -and also understanding the correct way to ride in the low grip conditions. Deniz had a great Qualifying throughout Q1 and Q2 to start from fifth on the grid, and today the race was also very positive. The conditions were hard and he struggled a little bit more, but he rode a very good race. Collin did as well; he was out for more than a month and to comeback like this is great, so we’ll try to continue like this next week at the DutchGP.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“That’s another Grand Prix finished for us. I think we could have taken a better result today, but it wasn’t possible. I was a little bit worried about the tyres in the race. I could stay at the front of the race at the start, but then I preferred to save tyres for the last part of the race. I thought I was doing a good job with that, but during the last laps, when I wanted to push, I realised that they were worse than I expected, especially the front. Maybe if we were not behind all the other riders and I chose to push at the front of the field, we would have had a better race, but anyway, we will learn from this one and focus on the next race.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“During the race, I tried to feel good during every lap. After Lap 10 I found a stable position in 20th. It’s not what we’re aiming for, but for the moment, considering the injury and those 5 weeks out, it was always going to be a little bit difficult. We suffered a lot during the last five laps, but that’s normal. I’m happy overall with this comeback weekend. It was not an easy one, because the track is quite physical and the temperatures are very high here, but overall our feeling was really good. We need to improve in Qualifying and to focus more on my riding. I want to thank everyone who believes in me and who has helped me to come back faster.”