Collin Veijer secures 2nd grid row in Misano

Collin Veijer from the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 team crashed in qualifying while on the provisional pole, which pushed him down to fifth place on the second row of the grid.

There was a lot going on on this sunny qualifying day in Italy, where Collin Veijer was the main contender for a perfect grid position on the 4.23 km Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The Dutchman improved his Friday best time in P2 by an incredible 0.867s and the 19-year-old also demonstrated his strength in the following qualifying session. While almost the entire rider field was already doing their laps, Veijer set off alone and immediately set the new best time on the 40°C hot asphalt. Last year’s Moto3 rookie held on to this position until a few moments before the end of the session. Just as the rider with the starting number 95 was preparing his final attack to confirm his provisional pole, the curbs in turn 2 proved to be his undoing. Veijer touched the inside curb with his front wheel, which destabilized his Husqvarna. Unable to prevent the crash, he landed in the gravel, but fortunately remained uninjured, meaning that he will start the 20-lap thriller on Sunday at 11:00 am in the best of spirits.

Collin Veijer, P5 (Q2) – 1’40.959 (+0.454): “We improved a lot this morning, so the feeling was already good. That’s why I went into qualifying with a better feeling than I had yesterday and was confident. Things went well in qualifying, I felt strong and tried to push my laps to get into the rhythm. But then we put in a new tyre on and waited a moment until a few people went out, so I was alone on the track. I ended up doing a fast lap, but I lost the front in turn two, which was a small mistake on my part, but I tried to push to the limit. I’m sorry for my team because it’s a bit of a shame. Nevertheless, we can be happy with the second row and confident for the race tomorrow.”