KTM Ajo is banking on continuity in the Moto2 World Championship: Veijer and Rueda are staying on

Whilst Moto3 rider Rico Salmela is set to join KTM Ajo next year, the team is focusing on continuity in the Moto2 World Championship. The Finnish team will therefore line up with Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda again in 2027.

Veijer will be competing in his third Moto2 season in 2027. Prior to that, he spent two years in the Moto3 World Championship – in 2024, the 21-year-old finished third in the overall standings. Veijer finished on the podium in both 2025 (2nd at Portimão) and 2026 (3rd at Jerez and 2nd at Misano). Last weekend, the Dutchman suffered a setback. During FP1 at the Red Bull Ring, he broke his collarbone in a crash. He underwent successful surgery on Tuesday.

“I’m really looking forward to continuing to ride for the team, and I’m very grateful to KTM and Red Bull for believing in me again next year. I’m also grateful to Niklas and Aki [Ajo] for giving me the chance to stay with this fantastic group of people,” said Collin Veijer. “I’ll try to make the most of every opportunity and, as always, push myself to my absolute limits. My aim is to get closer to my dream of one day becoming a MotoGP rider. I hope that we can make this dream a reality one day – and I hope that this happens with KTM. I’m really excited about this new opportunity together and can’t wait for the new season to start; I expect it to bring us even more enjoyment and to build on what we’ve experienced in these first two years in Moto2.”

Jose Antonio Rueda, the 2025 Moto3 World Champion, is contesting his first season in the Moto2 World Championship in 2026. He has struggled so far in the highly competitive middleweight category of the World Motorcycle Championship. The 20-year-old Spaniard currently sits 18th in the overall standings with 31 points.

“I’m very happy to be staying with my dream team: a team that has witnessed my development over the last four seasons,” emphasised Jose Antonio Rueda. “I’m absolutely delighted that I’m making steady progress as I adapt to Moto2, and being able to do this alongside the Red Bull KTM Ajo family is simply fantastic for me. I’m confident that 2027 will bring us many more successes, having had to adapt to a new way of working in every respect during this rookie year. Continuing our journey together was my priority, so I’m delighted to be able to confirm that I’ll be competing in my fifth season with the team.”

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Team manager Niklas Ajo: “Moto2 is one of the most competitive and closely contested motorsport classes in the world, and the fact that we can work with the same riders for another year – who now have a further season’s experience under their belts – will certainly give us the chance to fight for wins and podium places every weekend. Collin has continued to develop alongside us over the last two years and has now shown that he has what it takes to take that final step to the very top. Jose Antonio is about to start his fifth season with us – only Brad [Binder] has managed that so far. His rookie season wasn’t exactly easy, but we’re already seeing signs that he’ll be among the top contenders in Moto2 in the near future.”