The Spaniard makes significant improvements during Practice, whilst teammate Collin Viejer will undergo surgery after an injury suffered in FP1.

Jose Antonio Rueda sprung a surprise during Practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. The Spanish rider took a major step forward in the afternoon, shaving nearly 1.3 seconds off his Free Practice 1 time to clinch a Q2 spot at the very last moment. It was his first time going directly into Q2 after a six-race drought. Teammate Collin Veijer was forced to withdraw from the Austrian Grand Prix after fracturing his left collarbone in a heavy crash at Turn 6, during the final minutes of FP1. The Dutchman is set to undergo surgery in the coming days.

Despite the rain that fell at the Red Bull Ring on Thursday, the intermediate class was able to contest Free Practice 1 for the Austrian Grand Prix in dry conditions, albeit with low track temperatures of 14°C.

Veijer did not hold back in FP1, comfortably breaking into the Top 10 right from the start. After his first ten laps, he headed back to the pits to analyse his initial run, with more than half the session still remaining. When he returned to the track for the final stretch, he racked up two consecutive fast laps, but when on course to further lower his time, he suffered a heavy crash exiting Turn 6 with three minutes remaining. Following a check-up at the Medical Centre, it has been confirmed a fracture in his left collarbone, so he has been ruled out of the AustrianGP for the rest of the weekend. Collin will travel to Barcelona tomorrow, Saturday, where he is likely to undergo surgery next Monday. Veijer finished FP1 in 12th place with a best time of 1:33.834 and 15 laps completed.

Rueda opted not to take excessive risks following the three crashes he suffered last weekend at Misano. Employing a strategy of gradually building up speed, the rookie standings leader was just over a second off the pace early on, undertaking a long initial run. For his second stint, he managed to improve his time on his penultimate attempt, gaining extra confidence for his final lap, where he shaved another three-tenths of a second off his time. His 1:34.401 put him 21st, just 1.2 seconds off the fastest time of the session. Rueda completed a total of 19 laps. 

For Practice, the sun was somewhat less intense and track temperature at 17°C. The circuit record was broken during the session.

With Veijer sidelined, Rueda was the sole Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 representative. He had worked intensively with data from Free Practice 1, and headed into the afternoon session with a clearer direction, allowing him to make a solid leap forward during his first run: He was in 18th place after 12 laps, and had improved by nearly 8 tenths of a second compared to the morning session. For his second stint, he made a slight initial improvement and then took 3 tenths of a second off his time just as the chequered flag was being waved. His 1:33.163 gave him14th place, and he was just 7 tenths behind the fastest rider. The rookie completed 19 laps of the Austrian circuit.

In conclusion, it was a bittersweet Friday for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team, which appears to have turned its run of bad luck around with Jose Antonio Rueda but has lost Collin Veijer for this weekend – due to injury. Rueda will be the only Ajo’s rider participating in the remainder of the Austrian GP action, which continues with Free Practice 2 on Saturday at 9:25 a.m. (local time). He will return to the track at 2:05 p.m. to compete in the intermediate class Q2 session.

Practice Results
1. Filip Salac (Kalex) | 1:32.402
2. Ivan Ortola (Kalex) | 1:32.499 (+0.097)
3. Daniel Holgado (Kalex) | 1:32.600 (+0.198)
4. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) | 1:32.625 (+0.223)
5. Izan Guevara (Boscoscuro) | 1:32.638 (+0.236)
14. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:33.163 (+0.761)
DNS. Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo)

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“We were coming off big weekends at Aragon and Misano, so what happened today is very unfortunate. To be honest, it was not a big mistake, but the impact was hard. We were feeling good this morning, improving on every lap, so it’s a shame to not take part in any more of this Grand Prix, as it could have been a good one again. Fortunately, it seems that the fracture is clean, so we’ll get the surgery as soon as possible and then start our recovery process. I want to be back for Japan, but we will see what happens. Now I have to focus on myself and try to recover 100%.”

#98 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Overall, the day went pretty well. The feeling was good despite the cold track conditions, especially in the morning. This circuit has a lot of right-handers, so the tyres take a beating when we hit the left-handers. We took a progressive approach to the session. We tweaked a few details for the afternoon, and it worked really well. I felt very comfortable, and we managed to make it into Q2 -albeit only just. The pace here in Austria is very fast, so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”