Collin Veijer finishes a photo finish thriller for home win in a close second place

Unbelievable scenes in the Moto3 race at the Dutch TT: Local hero Collin Veijer from the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 team rode an outstanding 20-lap race, leading for almost half of the race, only to lose his home victory on the line to Ivan Ortola by 0.012s in a thrilling photo finish.

The 30th of June 2024 will be remembered. Not only by Collin Veijer but also by his thousands of fans, who proudly wore the orange CV95 shirts and came close to seeing their hero triumph at the Dutchman’s home Grand Prix. But before the 19-year-old shooting star produced one of the closest photo finishes in the history of the sport, he lost two positions at the start, but then gradually pushed his Husqvarna forwards and closed the gap to P1. He finally took the lead on lap eleven and even managed to open up a gap of almost 1s. It all looked like an Oranje summer fairytale, but on the last lap, Spaniard Ivan Ortola ignited the turbo on his KTM and wiped out what was thought was a safe lead within just a few corners. The race-deciding attack then came before the Geert-Timmer-chicane. Veijer rode on the edge to gain momentum onto the start-finish straight, but the short distance to the line was not enough to put Ortola in his place. An unbelievable 0.012 decided between a brilliant home win for the young Dutchman or a defeat, which, measured against his outstanding performance this weekend, is no defeat at all. In the end, the current world championship runner-up took home twenty valuable points and the fans around the 5.45 km TT Circuit of Assen celebrated their Collin Veijer for what he is: a winner, the hope of a motorbike-loving nation and the title contender for the 2024 Moto3 World Championship.

Collin Veijer, P2 – (+0.012), Moto3 World Championship 2024 – P2 – 115 Points: “Second place at home is also a great feeling, I’m really enjoying it. The first disappointment quickly faded after I crossed the line, because we showed our true potential here again. Nevertheless, it was also a nice feeling to pull out a gap to the cheers of the crowd. I think we can be very proud of what we showed this weekend and also with the pressure that was on us. Assen was very special for me this time, I think all the people from my home town came to Assen. It was so nice to see them all, including my aunt, my nephew and many more. A big thank you to them for their support. This also goes to all the sponsors and the entire team. But the most important thing is that we have reduced the gap in the overall standings, but we still have many races to go. Let’s see what we can achieve at the Sachsenring, the team’s home race. But for now, we want to enjoy the moment and the feelings!”

Now it’s time not to bury his head in the sand, brush the dust off his shoulders and deliver another thrilling Moto3 show in front of the German fans in a few days’ time, from the 5th – 7th of July, with unchanged enthusiasm.