Crash prevents Collin Veijer from finishing in Barcelona

Collin Veijer was unable to finish Sunday’s Moto2 race at the Grand Prix of Catalunya. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider suffered a heavy crash with five laps remaining at the exit of Turn 8 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Under threatening rain clouds, the Moto2 race got underway on Sunday afternoon at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Collin Veijer had enjoyed a strong weekend and lined up second on the grid, but the opening phase of the 21-lap race proved difficult for the Dutchman.

Veijer immediately lost several positions at the start and dropped back to twentieth place during the early stages of the race. The Dutch rider then also had to serve the long lap penalty he received during the previous Grand Prix in Le Mans. Despite the difficult circumstances, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider managed to fight his way back towards the points-paying positions.

However, his recovery came to an abrupt end. At the exit of Turn 8, Veijer suffered a huge highside and crashed heavily, forcing him to retire from the race prematurely. The 21-year-old from Staphorst was taken to the Medical Centre for precautionary checks after the incident, but fortunately escaped without any serious injuries. As a result, he will be able to take part in Tuesday’s official Moto2 test at the Catalan circuit.

In the Moto2 World Championship standings, Veijer remains eleventh with 29.5 points.

Collin Veijer: “It definitely wasn’t our best Sunday. I want to say sorry to my team, because we worked so well during the weekend to offer a strong result today, but the race didn’t go according to plan at all. The start was very bad, and after the long lap penalty we were down in twentieth place, so I tried to stay calm and recover as many positions as possible. Then I suffered a big highside. The best news from today is that I’m more or less okay, so now we focus on the test and then on Italy. We need to learn how to manage certain situations better mentally, because then we can definitely fight with the fastest riders.”

The next round of the Moto2 World Championship will take place in two weeks’ time during the Grand Prix of Italy at the Autodromo Internazionale di Mugello.