Furusato and Aji Set for Qatar GP Race After Tight Q1
Lusail International CircuitIDEMITSU Honda Team Asia completed the qualifying day at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar, with both Taiyo Furusato and Mario Suryo Aji having to fight through Q1 but ultimately missing out on a place in the second qualifying session. After an extremely close battle, Furusato will start Sunday's race from P19, while Aji will line up in P21.
Furusato showed encouraging progress during Saturday's final practice session, finishing P13 before carrying that momentum into Q1. The Japanese rider remained inside the top four transfer positions for much of the session and was in contention for Q2 until the closing moments. However, a small mistake prevented him from completing his final attack as planned, leaving him fifth in Q1 with a best lap of 1'56.206. He will therefore start the race from the seventh row of the grid.
Aji also faced a demanding qualifying session after finishing P24 in the final practice session. The Indonesian rider ended Q1 in P7, recording a best lap of 1'56.354, and will start Sunday's race from P21, also on the seventh row. Despite the starting position, there were encouraging signs for Aji, who felt a significant improvement in his connection with the bike after the technical difficulties experienced on Friday.
Following penalties imposed on other riders, both Idemitsu Honda Team Asia riders will benefit from improved starting positions on the grid. Taiyo Furusato will move up to P16, while Mario Suryo Aji will start from P20, giving both riders a slightly better opportunity to fight their way forward in Sunday's race.
With the gaps between riders extremely small, both Idemitsu Honda Team Asia riders remain determined to make the most of Sunday's race under the lights at Lusail. The starting positions are not ideal, but the pace shown during qualifying gives the team reason to remain optimistic about fighting back through the race.
Qualifying was extremely close today. Both riders had to go through Q1, and they both did a reasonably good job. The lap times were very fast, with several riders setting times in the 1'56 range, and both of our riders were only around one tenth of a second away from progressing. It was a very tight qualifying session. Although it is a pity that we couldn't reach Q2, there were some positive aspects. Both riders are feeling more comfortable with the bike, and their overall feeling is improving. Starting from P19 and P21 is not ideal, of course, but the gaps are so small that I expect tomorrow's race to be very close and competitive. Anything can happen, and the most important thing will be to maintain a strong pace. Hopefully, both riders can reproduce the feeling they found today, recover positions and fight their way forward during the race.
Qualifying was extremely close today. Both riders had to go through Q1, and they both did a reasonably good job. The lap times were very fast, with several riders setting times in the 1'56 range, and both of our riders were only around one tenth of a second away from progressing. It was a very tight qualifying session. Although it is a pity that we couldn't reach Q2, there were some positive aspects. Both riders are feeling more comfortable with the bike, and their overall feeling is improving. Starting from P19 and P21 is not ideal, of course, but the gaps are so small that I expect tomorrow's race to be very close and competitive. Anything can happen, and the most important thing will be to maintain a strong pace. Hopefully, both riders can reproduce the feeling they found today, recover positions and fight their way forward during the race.
I'm very disappointed because I really wanted to reach Q2 today. However, this is part of racing, and I have to accept what happened. The step we made today was positive, and I felt that we were improving throughout the sessions. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake at the end of Q1, and I couldn't complete the final lap in the way I wanted. Starting from P19 will make tomorrow's race challenging, but I will try to make a good start, fight with the group and recover as many positions as possible. We need to keep working, use the positive feeling from today and give our best in the race.
I'm very disappointed because I really wanted to reach Q2 today. However, this is part of racing, and I have to accept what happened. The step we made today was positive, and I felt that we were improving throughout the sessions. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake at the end of Q1, and I couldn't complete the final lap in the way I wanted. Starting from P19 will make tomorrow's race challenging, but I will try to make a good start, fight with the group and recover as many positions as possible. We need to keep working, use the positive feeling from today and give our best in the race.
Despite the difficulties and the technical problem we had yesterday, we managed to recover quite well in terms of lap time today. I know the position is not what we hoped or wished for, but the most important thing is that I'm starting to find my connection with the bike again. Yesterday, I was a little confused because I couldn't find the feeling I wanted, but today I started to feel that it was coming back and improving. It is not easy to recover when everybody is going so fast, and I'm obviously not happy with the final position. However, I'm happy with the work the team has done to solve the problem we had yesterday. I really want to thank them for their effort. Tomorrow, we need to give everything and bring home the best possible result. We have to take all the positives from today and keep moving forward.
Despite the difficulties and the technical problem we had yesterday, we managed to recover quite well in terms of lap time today. I know the position is not what we hoped or wished for, but the most important thing is that I'm starting to find my connection with the bike again. Yesterday, I was a little confused because I couldn't find the feeling I wanted, but today I started to feel that it was coming back and improving. It is not easy to recover when everybody is going so fast, and I'm obviously not happy with the final position. However, I'm happy with the work the team has done to solve the problem we had yesterday. I really want to thank them for their effort. Tomorrow, we need to give everything and bring home the best possible result. We have to take all the positives from today and keep moving forward.
