Veijer back in the chase for Moto3™ trophies after Thai MotoGP™ sizzler

Round eighteen of 2024 MotoGP produced more entertaining scenes as Husqvarna’s Collin Veijer battled to 3rd position at a damp and rainy Buriram.

The FIM World Championship traded the cold and wind of Phillip Island and Australia for the heat, and humidity of the International Circuit in Buriram for the Grand Prix of Thailand this week. The series moved north and to the flat and demanding layout with some of the heaviest braking zones on the entire MotoGP calendar. Buriram first staged a Grand Prix in 2018 and the eighteenth appointment of the 2024 calendar was the fifth time the series had travelled northeast of Bangkok.

A 85,000 attendance filled the grandstands on a wet, grey but warm Sunday to see the three classes, Moto3, Moto2™ and MotoGP, in action and where the Husqvarna IntactGP team were again in the middle of the fray having scored podium finishes in both Moto3 and Moto2 categories. Collin Veijer was motivated to reverse his bad luck in Australia the previous Sunday where contact with another rider caused an early race DNF. The Dutchman was 5th on Friday and was backed-up by Tatsuki Suzuki: the Japanese yet to post points in Buriram and looking to boost his championship scorecard. He was 19th fastest but only one second from P1.

On Saturday Veijer captured 2nd position in Q2 and among a 14-rider field divided by less than a second. Suzuki was 17th for a sixth row start slot. Moto3 was scheduled for 19-laps Sunday morning and as the climate pivoted. The surface was moist and the class lacked wet track time so the race was shortened and more Sighting Laps were permitted. Despite the wet race status almost every rider opted for slick tyres as the tarmac dried.

The front group was initially formed from ten racers, with Veijer part of the swarm. The distance clicked down and the dispute for trophies narrowed to five. Veijer bided his time to dive into the decisive final Turn 12 although he had some contact with another rider was able to secure P3 for his ninth podium of the year. Suzuki made it into the points with a satisfactory comeback to 10th.

Veijer still has a chance of finishing as 2024 Moto3 runner-up this season. The Dutchman is 3rd and 11 points from Daniel Holgado in second place. A maximum of 50 points remains this term. Suzuki is 13th and could potentially rise to the top ten. The Husqvarna IntactGP squad are 3rd in the Teams championship.

The final stage of the triple header and the penultimate Grand Prix of the season will take place at the Sepang International Circuit next weekend before the championship closer at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia on November 15-17.

Collin Veijer, 3rd: “I felt really good in the race and quite comfortable at the front but then I ran into some gearbox issues. I was still able to make the pace and get on the podium. I was just waiting to see what the others would do into the final corner. I’m really happy to be back up here again.”

Tatsuki Suzuki, 10th: “The track was half wet and half dry at the start of the race with only a narrow dry line. That made things difficult, especially overtaking, which was a bit risky at times. That was the reason why I lost a lot of time to the leading group at the beginning. In the end, we managed to finish the race in the top ten again, which is nice, and I’m satisfied. But we have to fully focus on qualifying in order to be there from the start next time.”

Moto2 motivation was high after the increasing speed and breakthrough results for the team in Australia the previous weekend. Senna Agius had made the podium on home tarmac in his rookie season in the class and Darryn Binder was also competitive.

The angular nature of Buriram was a different prospect and found Binder more in tune to the demands through Friday and Saturday as hot and sunny conditions covered both days of build-up to the 22-lap race. The former Moto3 GP winner qualified 17th and a slender 0.8 from Pole Position while Agius was 21st and on the seventh row.

The change of weather altered the outlook for Sunday but the track was dry by the time of Moto2. Binder was determined and fast and shifted up to the top five. He was eying his highest finish in the class to-date until he slipped away from his machine with 15 laps to go. Agius had already tumbled out of the running. Both riders are slotted inside the top eighteen of the championship standings with two races to go.

Darryn Binder, DNF: “I had a really good start and was more-or-less in the front group. I had some contact with Ai Ogura and ran off the track and I was trying to catch-up again. Unfortunately the front brake had bent down quite a lot, so I wasn’t able to have as much feeling as I had before. Going into Turn 8 I grabbed a bit too much pressure, locked the front and went down. Disappointing. We’ll head to the next one hoping for better. A bit more speed on Friday would be nice!”

Senna Agius, DNF: “A day to forget. I made a decent start and was just shy of the top ten on the first lap but had no feeling or grip. I went down in Turn 3 while trying to catch-up. Not much more to say about this weekend and we need to work it out. I want to say sorry to the team. We need to analyse and reset and try again in Malaysia.”

Results Moto3 Thai Grand Prix

1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 20:29.345, 2. Luca Lunetta (ITA) Honda +0.353, 3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +522, 10. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +8.308, 12. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS +11.640, 15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS +17.090,16. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) KTM +16.945, 18. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM +19.439, DNF. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO

World Championship standings Moto3

1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 371 points (Champion), 2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS, 236, 3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna, 225, 8. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), KTM, 128, 13. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna, 88, 15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS, 54, 17. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO, 45, 22. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM, 11

Results Moto2 Thai Grand Prix

1. Aron Canet (ESP) 32:02.75, 2. Ai Ogura (JPN) +3.684, 3. Marcos Ramirez (ESP) +4.683, 6. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO +6.405, 7. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO +6.909, 10. Deniz Öncü (TUR) KTM +1 lap, DNF. Senna Agius (AUS) Husqvarna, DNF. Darryn Binder (RSA) Husqvarna

World Championship standings Moto2

1. Ai Ogura (JPN), 261 points (Champion), 2. Aron Canet (ESP), 201, 3. Sergio Garcia (ESP), 179, 8. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO, 142, 9. Celestino Vietti (ITA) KTM, 140, 15. Senna Agius (AUS) Husqvarna, 63 , 18. Darryn Binder (RSA) Husqvarna, 54, 19. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO, 44, 21. Deniz Öncü (TUR) KTM, 40