Moto3 Japanese GP: Suzuki on pole position for home race
24th September 2022Leopard Racing’s Tatsuki Suzuki secured pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, his home race, as he edged out Autosolar’s GASGAS Sergio Garcia for the top spot.
How qualifying unfolded…
Q1
In the very wet and damp conditions, following an earlier rainfall, the first qualifying half got underway with a flurry of action out of the pit lane.
Honda Team’s Mario Aji was the first rider to crash out of the session at turn three, with nine minutes left on the clock, as the Indonesian rider’s bike slipped from underneath him as he approached the fast left-hander.
After the first set of qualifying runs, Sic58 Squadra’s Lorenzo Fellon jumped to the top of the timing board with a 2:12.394 ahead of Honda Team’s Taiyo Furusato and VisionTrack’s Scott Ogden, in second and third.
With five minutes left on the clock, the rain began to fall once again at the rear end of the Japanese circuit.
Despite deteriorating conditions in the dying moments of Q1, CFMOTO Racing’s Carlos Tatay climbed to the top of the timing board with a 2:12.122 ahead of Autosolar GASGAS’s Sergio Garcia, in second, by 0.210 seconds.
However, on their final flying laps, Ogden jumped to the top of the timing board with a 2:11.779 ahead of Tatay and Garcia in second and third respectively. By the chequered flag, no-one was able to beat the Briton’s time.
Through to Q2:
- Scott Ogden, VisionTrack
- Carlos Tatay, CFMOTO Racing
- Sergio Garcia, Autosolar GASGAS
- Lorenzo Fellon, Sic58 Squadra
Q2
With the start of Q2 imminent, Rivacold Snipers’ Andrea Migno and SIC58 Squadra’s Riccardo Rossi were the first riders out onto the circuit to get their out-laps underway.
10 minutes were left on the clock when Garcia set the benchmark for the remaining riders to beat as the Spanish driver set a the provisional pole lap time of 2:12.684, ahead of the Leopard Racing’s duo: Dennis Foggia and Tatsuki Suzuki. The Autosolar GASGAS rider soon improved his time by a few tenths of a second.
David Munoz became the first rider to slip off his bike in the session after he crashed out at turn three, followed by Fellon who crashed a couple of corners later.
However, Suzuki toppled Garcia off the top spot after the Japanese driver secured the fastest time on home soil with a 2:12.037.
Ryusei Yamanaka crashed out in turn seven and lost his front fearing in the process. The rider was able to continue on but his discarded his loose fearing into the gravel trap as he returned to the pit lane.
With less than three minutes on the clock, Suzuki topped the timing sheets and placed himself in provisional pole position with a quick 2:11.246 lap.
Three minutes remained on the timing board and Garcia found the gravel trap. As the Spanish rider bolted down into the fast corners of turn seven and eight the bike was carrying too much speed and slipped from underneath him.
Top three:
- Tatsuki Suzuki, Leopard Racing
- Scott Ogden, VisionTrack
- Sergio Garcia, Autosolar GASGAS
That’s it for the article: Moto3 Japanese GP: Suzuki on pole position for home race! Who do you think will lead the race into the first corner, in tomorrow’s grand prix? Let us know in the comments!
Read more MotoGP here:
- MotoGP Japanese GP: Miller fastest in only Friday practice
- MotoGP Japan GP: Preview
- Moto2 AragonGP: Acosta heads all-Spanish podium
- Spanish Catalan Grand Prix: Celestino Vietti wins on last lap
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
