Qualifying day is done and dusted at the Japanese Grand Prix! Le0pard Racing will start tomorrow’s race from the first spot on the grid as Jaume Masià claimed his third consecutive pole position, and from the 16th place on the sixth row with Tatsuki Suzuki:
With everyone’s eyes on the weather forecast, Saturday got underway at Motegi with surprisingly sunny skies ready to welcome Practice 3.
The Le0pard duo took to the track once again to fight for their Q2 seats, which indeed both of them accomplished.
After testing the conditions for a few laps, an unstoppable Jaume Masià topped the timesheets in the final stages of Practice 3 with a 1’56.148, putting in a new all-time lap record, breaking the 7-seven-year-old record set by Hiroki Ono in 2016.
Tatsuki Suzuki, for his part, pushed hard during the entire session to finish Saturday morning at Motegi in 11th place with a time of 1’57.156, going straight into Q2 as well.
As the clouds rolled in, it was time for what in the end was, unlike expected, a dry Q2. Both Le0pard riders went out on track eager to give their best in today’s qualifying.
Jaume Masià left it to his second run to storm the timesheets once again this weekend, setting a strong 1’56.331 to take his third pole position in a row and his fifth of the season, again with a time under the previous record.
Tatsuki Suzuki continued to push hard during qualifying, but struggled to set a faster lap time, finishing Saturday on 17th place with a 1’57.739. At the end, the Japanese moved up one position on the grid due to other riders’ penalties, starting from 16th tomorrow.
The most important day of the weekend awaits!