Collin Veijer just 27 Thousandths of a Second Away from Q2 in Le Mans

Collin Veijer ended Saturday’s action at the French Grand Prix with mixed emotions. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider improved his lap times in both sessions but narrowly missed out on a place in Q2 by just 27 thousandths of a second. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider will start from the eighth row at the French Grand Prix.

FP2 for the intermediate class took place in better conditions than Friday’s FP1, where cold weather had limited lap times. Veijer focused on race pace during the early part of the session, before switching to a time attack towards the end. He set his best time on his final lap of 18, clocking a 1’35.562—more than three tenths faster than his Friday best—finishing 17th and ending the morning with a very positive feeling.

In qualifying, track temperatures had risen to around 35°C at the start of Q1. Veijer participated in the session and, although his first flying lap on new tyres was not ideal, he became one of the clear contenders for Q2. Two strong laps, each over three tenths quicker than his previous best, brought him a time of 1’35.218 on his eighth and final flying lap. He provisionally held second place but was eventually pushed down to fifth as several rivals improved late on, leaving him just 0.027 seconds short of Q2 qualification.

Collin Veijer: “This morning the feeling during the long run was quite good. In the end, we managed to set a decent pace; my fastest lap was on a very used tyre, so that gives us confidence. In Q1, we came really close to making it into Q2. The first stint wasn’t great, but in the second, I just switched off my brain and pushed with everything I had. We missed out on Q2 by less than a tenth, so we’ll take the positives. The feeling was good, we kept improving in every session, so I’m ready for tomorrow.”

With the sixth Saturday of the season completed, Collin Veijer is now preparing for Sunday’s race, where he will aim to bring home points for the third race in a row. The 22-lap Moto2 French Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 12:15 PM (local time) on Sunday at Le Mans.