Round 7 Qualifying

Qualifying for Round 7 was held on Saturday 18 July, starting at 10:35am, two hours and 20 minutes after the end of Round 6 qualifying. The air temperature was 26°C and the track temperature was 30°C. Most of the standing water from the earlier session had dried, although wet patches remained in places when the timed running began.

Q1 Group A was red-flagged late in the session after a car spun at the final corner. When the session resumed with three minutes remaining, Tadasuke Makino (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING) set the fastest time, followed by Ren Sato (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING). Ayumu Iwasa (TEAM MUGEN AUTOBACS) and Nobuharu Matsushita (DELiGHTWORKS RACING) also advanced to Q2.

In Q1 Group B, Tomoki Nojiri (TEAM MUGEN AUTOBACS) set the fastest time, with Kakunoshin Ohta (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING) P3 and Igor Omura Fraga (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING) P5, all progressing to Q2.

The 12-car Q2 session produced an intense battle for pole position. Nojiri set the fastest time on his final lap to claim pole, followed by Makino, Ohta and Omura Fraga, as Honda/M-TEC runners locked out the top four positions on the grid.