Qualifying
Moto2 2025
Round 21
Aji and Kunii ready to fight back after challenging qualifying day in Portugal
Autódromo Internacional do AlgarveThe IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Moto2 riders completed the qualifying day at the Portuguese Grand Prix under tricky and changing weather conditions.
The morning started with a wet track, and many riders chose not to go out in those conditions. Taking advantage of the reduced traffic, Mario Aji and Yuki Kunii made progress — Aji finishing the final practice session in 3rd position and Kunii in 7th.
However, the qualifying session in the afternoon took place in fully dry conditions, forcing the riders to readjust quickly. Despite pushing to their limits, Aji and Kunii couldn’t reach the lap times needed to move forward to Q2. Aji will start tomorrow’s race from P22, while Kunii will line up from P28. Both are determined to fight back and deliver a solid performance on Sunday in Portimão.
Hiroshi Aoyama
⠀ ⠀ ⠀
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia The qualifying day is now done, and the conditions were again quite tricky. In the morning, the track was wet, and we couldn’t ride in full dry conditions. Then in qualifying, it was completely dry, so the situation changed completely. The lack of consistent dry track time made things more difficult for us to prepare properly.
Mario finished 22nd and Yuki 28th, which is not where we want to be, but both riders are working hard and showing progress in small steps. The most important thing now is to find a better race pace and to improve our consistency during the long run. I believe that tomorrow, with better weather, both can show more of their potential.
The qualifying day is now done, and the conditions were again quite tricky. In the morning, the track was wet, and we couldn’t ride in full dry conditions. Then in qualifying, it was completely dry, so the situation changed completely. The lack of consistent dry track time made things more difficult for us to prepare properly.
Mario finished 22nd and Yuki 28th, which is not where we want to be, but both riders are working hard and showing progress in small steps. The most important thing now is to find a better race pace and to improve our consistency during the long run. I believe that tomorrow, with better weather, both can show more of their potential.
Mario Aji
64
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Today was a bit of a strange day because of the changing weather. This morning was wet, but we decided to go out and push at the end of the session, and I felt good with the bike — finishing 3rd in the session even there was not too many riders was positive. Then in qualifying, when the track became completely dry, we missed something to make the lap time, and that’s why we couldn’t go to Q2.
Anyway, the feeling on the bike is improving, and I know what I need to work on for the race. Starting from P22 is not ideal, but we’ve made steps forward compared to the previous rounds. I’ll keep pushing and stay focused — tomorrow I want to fight for points and finish the weekend in a strong way.
Today was a bit of a strange day because of the changing weather. This morning was wet, but we decided to go out and push at the end of the session, and I felt good with the bike — finishing 3rd in the session even there was not too many riders was positive. Then in qualifying, when the track became completely dry, we missed something to make the lap time, and that’s why we couldn’t go to Q2.
Anyway, the feeling on the bike is improving, and I know what I need to work on for the race. Starting from P22 is not ideal, but we’ve made steps forward compared to the previous rounds. I’ll keep pushing and stay focused — tomorrow I want to fight for points and finish the weekend in a strong way.
Yuki Kunii
92
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia It was a bit of a difficult qualifying for me. The morning session was short but good — the feeling on the bike was ok, and finishing P7 even not too many riders rode gave me confidence. But in the afternoon, the grip level changed a lot with the dry conditions, and I couldn’t find the same rhythm or flow on the bike.
Even so, I learned a lot from today, and I know which areas I need to improve for the race. I’ll stay focused and try to recover positions tomorrow. The goal is to finish the race strong and take as much experience as possible.
It was a bit of a difficult qualifying for me. The morning session was short but good — the feeling on the bike was ok, and finishing P7 even not too many riders rode gave me confidence. But in the afternoon, the grip level changed a lot with the dry conditions, and I couldn’t find the same rhythm or flow on the bike.
Even so, I learned a lot from today, and I know which areas I need to improve for the race. I’ll stay focused and try to recover positions tomorrow. The goal is to finish the race strong and take as much experience as possible.
