Qualifying
Moto2 2026
Round 16
Promising Pace, Tight Margins: Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Ready for Motegi Race
Mobility Resort MotegiIdemitsu Honda Team Asia will start Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix from P20 and P21, with Taiyo Furusato and Mario Suryo Aji respectively, after a closely fought Q1 session at Mobility Resort Motegi. Both riders showed a clear step forward compared with Friday, finishing sixth and seventh in Q1, but the extremely tight margins prevented them from advancing to Q2.
Following a challenging opening day, both Furusato and Aji found a stronger feeling with their bikes on Saturday and were able to produce more consistent lap times. Furusato set a 1’47.684 to finish sixth in Q1, while Aji was seventh with a 1’47.772. The differences between the riders were minimal, leaving both just short of the positions required to progress to Q2.
Furusato will start his home Grand Prix from P20, while Aji will line up P21. Despite the grid positions, both riders head into the race with increased confidence and a stronger feeling with their machines. With the field tightly packed, a strong start and consistent race pace will be key to making progress through the Japanese Grand Prix.
Hiroshi Aoyama
⠀ ⠀ ⠀
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia The conditions were much better today and everyone was able to improve their lap times. The result was very tight, and unfortunately both riders missed the opportunity to go through to Q2 by a very small margin.
The positive point is that both riders were able to set their lap times consistently. Taiyo finished P20 and Mario P21, but the lap-time difference was extremely small and both were very close to making Q2.
Let’s see if they can repeat this consistency tomorrow. Hopefully the conditions will remain stable and they can show the same race pace. If they can do that, they can recover positions during the race. They will start a little further back on the grid, so a fast start will be very important. The first part of the race will be key, and we need to take every opportunity to move forward.
The conditions were much better today and everyone was able to improve their lap times. The result was very tight, and unfortunately both riders missed the opportunity to go through to Q2 by a very small margin.
The positive point is that both riders were able to set their lap times consistently. Taiyo finished P20 and Mario P21, but the lap-time difference was extremely small and both were very close to making Q2.
Let’s see if they can repeat this consistency tomorrow. Hopefully the conditions will remain stable and they can show the same race pace. If they can do that, they can recover positions during the race. They will start a little further back on the grid, so a fast start will be very important. The first part of the race will be key, and we need to take every opportunity to move forward.
Taiyo Furusato
72
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Today was a good day because we made a step forward with the feeling of the bike. We are getting closer and closer, so that is positive. Of course, if we look at the result, P20 is not where we want to be, so we cannot be completely happy with that.
Q1 was very close, and just a small difference in lap time changed the position a lot. But I feel that we are moving in the right direction, and the feeling is much better than yesterday.
Tomorrow I want to make a good start and gain some positions in the first part of the race. Then I will try to enjoy the whole race, keep pushing every lap and fight for the best result possible in front of my home fans.
Today was a good day because we made a step forward with the feeling of the bike. We are getting closer and closer, so that is positive. Of course, if we look at the result, P20 is not where we want to be, so we cannot be completely happy with that.
Q1 was very close, and just a small difference in lap time changed the position a lot. But I feel that we are moving in the right direction, and the feeling is much better than yesterday.
Tomorrow I want to make a good start and gain some positions in the first part of the race. Then I will try to enjoy the whole race, keep pushing every lap and fight for the best result possible in front of my home fans.
Mario Aji
64
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Surprisingly, we finished qualifying with a good feeling, and that is very important after yesterday’s crash. The crash didn’t cause me any injury, but I lost a little bit of time and speed on the bike, so this morning I focused on getting that feeling back and completing as many laps as possible.
We were not the fastest, but I was able to gain some speed and confidence again. This is also thanks to the team, because we made some small changes to the bike and they gave me a really good feeling. The guys worked hard overnight, so I really appreciate that.
Now I just want to give my best for them in the race tomorrow. We start from P21, but the feeling is much better and I believe we can fight forward. The target is to finish this Grand Prix with a good feeling and good confidence before we go to Indonesia.
Surprisingly, we finished qualifying with a good feeling, and that is very important after yesterday’s crash. The crash didn’t cause me any injury, but I lost a little bit of time and speed on the bike, so this morning I focused on getting that feeling back and completing as many laps as possible.
We were not the fastest, but I was able to gain some speed and confidence again. This is also thanks to the team, because we made some small changes to the bike and they gave me a really good feeling. The guys worked hard overnight, so I really appreciate that.
Now I just want to give my best for them in the race tomorrow. We start from P21, but the feeling is much better and I believe we can fight forward. The target is to finish this Grand Prix with a good feeling and good confidence before we go to Indonesia.
