Best Grid Position Ever for Furusato

Mandalika International Street Circuit

The young Japanese Honda Team Asia rider finished the qualifying session in a fantastic sixth position. In Q2, the local Aditama, who participates in the Grand Prix as a wild card, was present, achieving a brilliant P15. Mario Aji was close to getting into Q2, but he will finally start the race from P21.

Hiroshi Aoyama

Honda Team Asia

It's a hot and harrowing condition with so much heat in a challenging qualifying practice with such minor differences. Mario was so close to entering Q2, but finally, he couldn't do a fast lap. I think he was riding well, and tomorrow, we hope he could fight for a better position. Aditama did it well, directly to Q2, to finish P15 on his first qualifying session in the World Championship. Tomorrow, I hope he can repeat it or even do it better. Taiyo managed to be P6, his best qualifying so far. He did the lap time alone; his pace was good. In the end, he was clever, taking some slipstream. We want all three riders to perform 100% to give all the options for the best result possible.

Taiyo Furusato ⁷²

Honda Team Asia

I'm happy about my result today, but mainly for my team. This morning, I had a big crash, destroying the bike. But my mechanics did a great job fixing the bike for Q1, where I finished first, and for Q2. My only disappointment is how close I finished from the front row. I'm closer to the top guys, this time only at 0,2s. I did many laps in 39s, so I have a good average, even riding alone. I hope to be fighting in front of the race.

Arbi Aditama ⁹³

Honda Team Asia

I'm so happy about my result today. I felt so confident with the bike. In the morning session, my feeling was good. I tried to manage the pace, and at the last minute, I tried to attack, following someone, and going through into the Q2. There, for me, the situation was complicated. It was my first time with these top riders, and I am still learning how they manage their strategies. I made a few mistakes in the first laps, riding alone, and I decided to follow someone to have references. In the last lap, I had this reference and pushed as much as possible, but in corner four, I had a big high side, losing the lap. But the balance is more than positive.

Mario Suryo Aji ⁶⁴

Honda Team Asia

It was a positive day for me, but not enough. I was waiting for more. I'm not satisfied with the result. The important thing is that we have the information about the tires and the pressures for tomorrow. I felt comfortable after being a little confused yesterday. Our potential is higher. We've evaluated how to progress tomorrow during the race.