Collin Veijer back on row one (P2) at Silverstone

At the British Grand Prix, Collin Veijer from the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 team got going as if there had never been a three-week summer break. After setting a new lap record, the Dutchman finally snatched second place on the grid.

Moto3 title contender Collin Veijer’s weekends are almost always the same. In free practice, he works intensively on the set-up of his Husqvarna and pays less attention to lap times. This is in stark contrast to the two practice sessions on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, where the Dutchman not only set the fastest practice lap on the British track with his 2’09.565 in P1 but also broke the existing lap record. Although the 19-year-old temporarily lost ground in P2, he still went into Qualifying 2 as one of the favourites, where he again fought for pole position with targeted attacks all on his own. In the end, the youngster was just 0.041s off pole man Ivan Ortola, who caught the perfect momentum in the slipstream to not only break Veijer’s lap record but also to take the lead in Q2.

Collin Veijer, P2 – 2’09.311 (+0.041): “It was a good day, there’s nothing to complain about. I already felt comfortable this morning in Practice 2, even though the session was a bit crazy because everyone was waiting to catch a slipstream. But we did our job and prepared everything for qualifying. In qualifying, however, we waited before we went out on track for the first time. I then tried to push straight away to get lap times. In the end, I’m very happy with the position we have and also with the pace we can set. Why we waited so long in the garage can simply be explained by the fact that everyone is looking for a slipstream. There is likely to be a group in the race, especially in the first few laps. So, I will try to be very consistent and then we will see how we can handle the tires. But the feeling is good and I’m even more confident because I know that we did our lap times on our own. So, I’m excited to see what we can do with slipstreaming.”

Veijer is full of vigour and optimism as he head into battle on the fast, 5.901 km Silverstone Circuit, hoping to add many more world championship points to his tally.