Home glory for Tatsuki Suzuki saw the Leopard rider secure pole for the Moto3 Japanese GP at Motegi on Saturday.
VisionTrack’s Scott Ogden stunned in difficult conditions to claim his maiden world championship front row from second with Autosolar GasGas Aspar’s Sergio Garcia completing the celebrations after the duo battled through from Q1.
The rain arrived in earnest for Saturday’s action with Leopard’s Dennis Foggia leading the morning’s final practice ahead of the qualifying battle. The rain abating as Garcia took to a sodden track amongst the big hitters vying for promotion in the opening 15-minute session with both VisionTrack riders Ogden and Josh Whatley also in action.
Taiyo Furusato set the initial 2’12.749 pace with the Brits running second and third, CFMoto’s Carlos Tatay demoting them to the edge of the promotion zone as the pack crossed the line for the first time. Sic58’s Lorenzo Fellon was the next to take charge as Ogden improved to consolidate his third position. Whatley dropped to seventh as Garcia and Holgado bettered with their second attempt. Honda Team Asia’s Mario Aji the first to succumb to the conditions.
Ogden’s progression found the number 19 in second as the final five minutes fired up. An improving 2’12.667 pushing Furusato down to third as Garcia set his sights on promotion from fourth.
Three to go and it was all change again. Tatay took control from Garcia and Fellon with Ogden in the danger zone as he pushed hard. Red sectors across the board rewarding the 18-year-old with a dominating P1 position as he set the first 2’11 of the session in the closing stages.
The rain intensified for Q2 as Garcia used his experience to set the early benchmark, Ogden joining the Leopard pairing of Foggia and Suzuki in the top four, with Tatay behind for fifth. David Muñoz became the first faller at turn three as Garcia consolidated his shot for pole with a 2’12.386, Fellon the second to crash out moments later.
Suzuki was on for a home pole at the halfway stage with a 2’12.037 as Garcia and Ogden improved in second and third respectively. Ryusei Yamanaka increasing the fall rate with five to go.
Improving conditions saw the standings shuffle as KTM’s Jaume Masia swept through to third, Sic58’s Riccardo Rossi and Tatay bettering the Brit for second row positions as Garcia returned to pole contention with a 2’11.788. Sterilgarda Husqvarna’s John McPhee circulating narrowly behind teammate Ayumu Sasaki on the fringes of the top ten.
The Suzuki/Garcia battle continued at the top as the Japanese rider bettered by a massive half a second. The Aspar rider down on the deck with two minutes left on the clock as Ogden improved again for fourth.
Fellon suffered his second crash of the session as his teammate sat in the edge of the front row. Foggia advanced to sixth as Rivacold Snipers’ Andrea Migno displaced Rossi for third. Tech3 KTM’s Deniz Öncü demoting Ogden for fifth until the Brit dug deep. Second the reward after a stunning 2’11.568 as the chequered flag prepared.
Suzuki maintained pole with Garcia completing the front row celebrations, Sasaki, Foggia and Migno sitting behind in fourth to sixth. Rossi heads row three for Sunday’s race from Öncü and championship leader Izan Guevara with Masia, Tatay and McPhee completing the top 12. Fellon, Adrian Fernandez, Diogo Moreira, Muñoz, Yamanaka and Kaito Toba rounding out the Q2 results.
