Collin Veijer qualifies sixth at Sepang

Collin Veijer secured sixth place on the grid during Saturday’s qualifying session for the Malaysian Grand Prix. The 21-year-old Red Bull KTM Ajo rider set a fastest lap time of 2’03.560 at the Sepang International Circuit and will start Sunday’s race from the second row.

Following a positive Friday, Collin Veijer began Saturday morning with thirteenth place in Free Practice 2. Setting a fastest lap time of 2’04.569, the rider from Staphorst mainly focused on improving his feeling with the bike and fine-tuning the setup for the race. Despite the high temperatures and a challenging start to the session, he managed to make progress throughout.

During qualifying, with track temperatures reaching as high as 50 degrees Celsius, Veijer demonstrated his strong pace. His first flying lap was cancelled due to yellow flags, forcing him to push again during his second run. With a lap time of 2’03.560, more than a second faster than his previous best this weekend, he secured sixth place on the grid. It marked his eighth top-six qualifying result of the season.

Collin Veijer: “I’m satisfied with today. This morning didn’t go entirely as we had hoped. During my second run, we tried a qualifying simulation, but the feeling wasn’t quite right. Fortunately, the bike felt much better in Q2, and I knew there was more pace available. Unfortunately, my first flying lap was cancelled due to yellow flags, which meant everything came down to the second run. That wasn’t easy, but in the end, we managed to secure sixth place on the grid. Starting from the second row gives us a good position for tomorrow. We’ll have to wait and see what the conditions are like during the race, especially with this heat, but we’ll give it everything we’ve got to achieve a strong result.”

Veijer now faces a demanding 17-lap Moto2 race on Sunday, with the high temperatures and tyre wear expected to play a significant role. The Malaysian Moto2 race is scheduled to start at 1:15 pm local time (6:15 am Dutch time).