The Dutch rider claims his first rostrum of the season with an impressive showing at Jerez. Jose Antonio Rueda finishes 20th.

Collin Veijer earned his first podium of 2026 at the Spanish Grand Prix, starting from pole and leading for over half of the race. Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Jose Antonio Rueda finished 20th at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto.

After two somewhat unstable days in terms of weather and temperatures, Sunday brought sunshine and heat, with track temperatures reaching 31°C for the Moto2 race and humidity at 48%.

Veijer got off to a practically perfect start from pole, and although he dropped to second place at the end of the straight, he regained the lead before the first lap was completed. After the second lap, the Dutchman began to stretch out the group, forcing the rest of the field to push hard. In the space of just four laps, he had broken away along with two other riders, making the battle for victory a three-way fight until the very end. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider put in an exceptional performance, maintaining the lead until Lap 14, when he was overtaken by the two Intact GP riders. From then on, despite never dropping to more than a second behind either of them, he was unable to retake control. Veijer came home third for his first podium of the season -his second in Moto2- and is now ninth in the overall standings with 29.5 points.

Rueda got off the line well and, despite being last heading into the first corner, managed to recover five positions in just two laps, moving up to 23rd and fighting for a Top 20. As the laps progressed, following retirements for several other riders, he climbed to 20th, battling with Taiyo Furusato for a 19th place that he eventually captured after the Japanese rider crashed. From then on, the rookie rode alone until the end of the race, when he was overtaken by a rival. His 20th place finish was his second-best result in the class. Rueda remains 21st in the overall standings with 1 point and continues to lead the Rookie of the Year ranking.

All in all, it was a great weekend for Red Bull KTM Ajo, who leave Jerez with a Pole Position and a third-place finish in the race. Now, the team has 30.5 points in total, placing them seventh in the Team standings. The pair enjoy a week off before heading to France to compete in the fifth round of the World Championship, held at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans from May 8-10th.

Race Results
1. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 35:17.948
2. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | +0.885
3. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +1.107
4. David Alonso (Kalex) | +2.032
5. Celestino Vietti (Boscoscuro) | +4.212
20. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +29.672

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2026
1. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) | 59.5 points
2. Senna Agius (Kalex) | 50 points
3. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 45 points
4. Celestino Vietti (Boscoscuro) | 43 points
5. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 38 points
9. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 29.5 points
21. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1 point

Moto2 Teams World Championship Standing 2026
1. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 109.5 points
2. CFMoto Gaviota Aspar Team | 75 points
3. BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 | 45.5 points
4. Italtrans Racing Team | 44 points
5. Beta Tools SpeedRS Team | 43 points
7. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 30.5 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“We’re really happy with Collin’s performance. This was his best weekend in Moto2 so far, and he was even fighting for the victory. It wasn’t his time yet, but it will definitely arrive soon. He needs to keep this momentum up, keep working as he has been doing since the beginning of the season, and I’m sure we will enjoy a lot more great moments during the year. Jose Antonio suffered quite a lot with arm pump during the race today. This is something we need to get fixed. He will undergo some tests on Monday and we will see if he needs some surgery to fix the problem as soon as possible. As he did in the last few rounds, he showed progress during the entire weekend, but this arm pump prevented him from showing his full potential and we need to find a solution.”

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“Today I had nothing left to give. I’m very satisfied with what we achieved, after coming back from the United States GP with nothing to show for it. I decided to push hard at the front, but when I was overtaken, I realised that the podium had to be the ultimate goal. The weekend has been very positive, and we also regained the momentum we had in the first two rounds, so I’m very happy with how we managed the race and this Grand Prix at Jerez. Now it’s time to build on that in the upcoming European rounds.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“The race wasn’t all bad for us, but the conditions were much tougher than I imagined, and I struggled more than I expected. The start wasn’t great, but we managed to recover positions until, in the second half of the race, I started losing steam and couldn’t finish as well as I would have liked. I hope these problems disappear soon and we can get back to riding the way we like best.”