Ninth place for Collin Veijer at home Grand Prix in Assen

Collin Veijer concluded his home weekend at the Dutch TT on Sunday with a ninth-place finish. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider crossed the line in eleventh after 22 laps but was promoted to ninth following post-race time penalties for two rivals. It marked the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider’s fifth top ten finish of the season and equalled the second-best result ever achieved by a Dutch rider in the Moto2 class at the TT Circuit Assen.

Following overnight rain, conditions were once again hot for the race, with track temperatures reaching around 38°C. Starting from fourteenth on the grid, Veijer made an excellent start to the race. He gained a position on the opening lap before producing several impressive overtaking moves to join the leading group.

The 21-year-old from Staphorst spent much of the race battling for a top ten finish and maintained a gap of several seconds over the chasing pack. As the race progressed, however, the front group began to pull away and increasing tyre wear made the closing stages more difficult for Veijer. Despite this, he held on to his position and was ultimately classified ninth after two riders ahead of him received post-race time penalties.

The seven championship points scored at Assen move Veijer onto 48.5 points in the Moto2 World Championship standings, promoting him to tenth place overall.

Collin Veijer: “I’m not completely satisfied with today’s result, but we made real progress in several areas throughout the race and over the course of the entire weekend. I’m incredibly proud of the work the whole team has done here in Assen. We will continue doing everything we can to get back to one hundred percent, both physically and mentally. Now we have a few days to allow my shoulder to recover further, and hopefully we can take another step forward at the next Grand Prix. We leave Assen with important championship points, and above all I’m proud of the way we approached this weekend, especially from a mental perspective.”

The Moto2 World Championship will resume on the weekend of 10-12 July with the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.