The Dutchman will take off from eighth at the United States Grand Prix, while Jose Antonio Rueda continues to improve his lap times at COTA.

Collin Veijer took eighth position in Q2 at the United States Grand Prix, continuing a strong weekend for the Dutchman. Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 teammate Jose Antonio Rueda will start 28th on the grid, having improved his lap time in both sessions in which he participated on Saturday, shaving one second from his Friday time.

Under slightly cooler conditions than Friday, with track temperatures of 22ºC, the Moto2 riders took to the track for FP2. The session saw the all-time track record broken by the intermediate class.

Veijer started similarly to his Friday strategy, working alone and running within the Top 10. Looking to fine-tune aspects of his bike ahead of Qualifying, the Dutchman focused on a long run throughout FP2. Unfortunately, he suffered a minor crash at Turn 7 while on course to set the fastest time of the session. Escaping unscathed, he was unable to complete any further laps during the final ten minutes, settling for 12th place with a best time of 2:07.262 after 10 laps.

Rueda continued to make the same strides forward he has done in every session since the start of the season. Looking to complete as many laps as possible, he rode 12 in total, with his best time coming in the final part of the session. His 2:08.304 saw him improve by over a tenth of a second compared to his time from Friday. With more data gathered and increasingly adapting to the American circuit, he finished 26th.

With a track temperature of 37°C for the afternoon session, conditions were slightly better than in the morning for the Moto2 riders.

In Q1, Rueda completed eight laps, divided into two runs. After the first stint, the rookie was already relatively close to his best time up to that point, but it wasn’t until his sixth lap that he managed to lower it to 2:07.439, a second and a half faster than his first appearance with the Moto2 bike, in yesterday’s FP1. Steadily adapting to both his bike and the circuit, Rueda will start Sunday’s race from 28th.

Veijer also took another step forward in Q2, putting in seven laps in total. Near the Top 10 positions after his first run, he went back out to set his best lap of the weekend: A 2:05.596 that was just 3 tenths of a second off Pole Position. One of several riders to break the previous Moto2 lap record in Austin, he was eventually relegated to eighth place in the last seconds, from where he will begin the race. Tomorrow will be the third time in three races with Collin starting the race inside the Top 10.

All in all, another successful day for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team in Austin. Once again, Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda have continued to make steady progress, and tomorrow they will aim to round off the weekend with a strong performance on Sunday in the United States. The 16-lap United States Grand Prix will take place at 1:15 p.m. local time.

Qualifying Results
1. Barry Baltus (Kalex) | 2:05.347 (+0.144)
2. Alonso Lopez (Kalex) | 2:05.363 (+0.160)
3. Angel Piqueras (Kalex) | 2:05.454 (+0.251)
4. Celestino Vietti (Boscoscuro) | 2:05.500 (+0.297)
5. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 2:05.524 (+0.177)
8. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:05.596 (+0.249)
28. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:07.439 (+2.092)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“Today went fine. This morning I suffered a small crash, but we managed to get everything fixed for Qualifying in the afternoon. My first lap time wasn’t amazing, but on my second stint I found some more pace and managed to put myself on the third row. I wanted more from today, but it’s what we have to deal with. A yellow flag prevented us improving a little bit more on the last lap, so ninth is all we could get. Tomorrow we will give our best to be close to the top guys.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“It’s another day completed in Austin. This morning we improved our lap time a bit compared to yesterday, and focused on continuing to gain experience with the bike at this circuit, which is anything but easy. This afternoon, we were able to improve a little more and the feeling was better, so we need to focus on the progress we’re making session-by-session. We’d like to be a bit higher up on the grid, but we know our potential and tomorrow we’ll fight to finish the weekend on a high note.”