Furusato scores again in his home race

Mobility Resort Motegi

The young Japanese Honda Team Asia rider finished in an outstanding 12th position after an irregular race in which several mistakes penalised his qualifying. For his part, Aji was affected by strange vibrations in his bike, which prevented him from riding at the same pace as the rest of the weekend.

Hiroshi Aoyama

Honda Team Asia

It has been a tough race. Last night, it rained, which means the track conditions changed. That fact affected us; our riders struggled. Furusato managed to keep his lap time, almost the same as yesterday, fighting in the second group. He dropped his pace a little in the end, but he finished 12th. Mario had some issues with a strange vibration on the bike, preventing him from maintaining the same pace as yesterday. We must find out why that happened. Both did their best; I want to thank them and their mechanics.

Taiyo Furusato ⁷²

Honda Team Asia

I cannot say I’m happy with the result; I expected a little more because I had the pace to do it. The feeling with the bike wasn’t like in India or Misano. During the race, I made many mistakes on the brake. I was continually losing and catching the group, and it was challenging. The positive thing is that I had the pace, which gave me the confidence to go to Indonesia with the best expectations.

Mario Suryo Aji ⁶⁴

Honda Team Asia

Another tough race for me. I couldn’t push to the limit; I had so many vibrations, even on the straight. I don’t know why the feeling differed from yesterday. We must know what happened to fix it. For me, it’s essential to keep the confidence and motivation to be ready for my home race in two weeks. Now, I will have some days to refresh my mind to come back full of energy to the round in Mandalika.