Deniz Öncü faces the 2025 season with a new role within Red Bull KTM Ajo. The Turkish rider has become the team’s most experienced rider and recognises the importance of this responsibility, but sees his new teammate, a rookie this year, as someone with a lot of potential.
In an interview with the team, the Turk naturally assumed that he was the most experienced: ‘I’ve been here for many years and it’s part of the journey to be the veteran of the team’.
But he had high praise for Collin Veijer, Öncü’s new teammate, highlighting the Dutchman’s talent and his progress over the last few seasons in Moto3: ‘Collin is a very talented rider and has a lot of qualities, as we’ve seen over the last two years in Moto3′.
Despite his potential, Öncü emphasises that the transition to the intermediate category requires time and patience: ‘He has to go through a process of adapting to Moto2, which is never easy, and he needs to understand the bike and the category better’.
Even so, the Turk is confident in his teammate’s future and believes that Veijer will become competitive quickly: ‘I’m sure that when he does, he’ll be a fast rider. It’s only a matter of time’.