Aki Ajo is heading to KTM, and his son, Niklas, will take over as head of the team that competes in the smaller classes of the world championship next year. To begin his new challenge in Moto2, the Finn will be associated with a duo of promising riders. Enough to give him big ideas at the dawn of the next campaign.
MotoGP kicked off the 2025 season last Tuesday in Barcelona, but Moto2 and Moto3 have not been idle since. Most of the teams traveled to Jerez, on the other side of Spain, to take part in testing as well.
On occasion, many riders were able to test the machine they will have in their hands next year, and this also applies to future Moto2 rookies, freshly promoted after an encouraging result in the smallest class. The KTM Ajo team will welcome one of them, since Collin Veijer, 3rd in the Moto3 world championship in 2024, will join Deniz Öncü.
The Turk, who stood out a little more at the end of the season with a podium, and regular appearances in the top-10, after a difficult start in the championship, no longer hides his ambitions for next year . “We finished the first test here in Jerez and the last day of the season. It was a very positive test, we tried a lot of different things. The basis for next year is good, and we were also very fast. It will be a long winter break and coming into it feeling good is really nice. We are satisfied with these results, so thank you to the team for all their energy this year. »
On the other side of the garage, Dutchman Collin Veijer was also happy with his debut in the intermediate class with Red Bull KTM Ajo. During the two days of testing, the No. 95 completed a total of 183 laps which were not easy.
“I think we had a productive two days,
assures Veijer. We have improved a lot on a lot of things. Yesterday morning it was a bit difficult, because it's a new bike, so we have to get used to it. But during the day we made a lot of progress, so I'm very happy with the team and the people I work with. We have done a great job and we have started to create a good foundation for next year. »
A successful Test therefore, which meets the expectations of Niklas Ajo, new leader of the team, after the departure of his father to fulfill other functions at KTM. The latter is therefore starting to see things big for next year.
“Our two Moto2 riders did a very good job in Jerez. With Deniz we focused on trying new things for next season. Basically the Moto2 package is going to change a lot for next year and we were doing a lot of work with the new bike. It seems that the new Kalex package is very good. He improved his best time and was really consistent with the used tires. He had a small accident yesterday, but nothing major. He made good progress with each lap, without too many mistakes, adapting to the Moto2 bike in particular. We are, of course, very happy with both drivers. I think the test was very, very good and promising for next year” concludes Niklas Ajo.
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