Ogden takes stunning rookie second ahead of Garcia, Sasaki and Foggia as key rivals gear up to take the fight to Guevara on Sunday.
Leopard Racing’s Tatsuki Suzuki has secured a cherished home Moto3™ pole at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, and on his birthday no less. The Japanese rider got the job done on Honda home turf, taking three tenths out of the field in a very wet Q2. Rookie Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team) made a late dash to take second, with title contender Sergio Garcia (Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team) completing the front row – but despite two crashes. His teammate and Championship leader Izan Guevara took P9, which puts him behind key rivals.
The conditions were wet, wet, wet on Saturday and that added to the challenge as many in the field, including Guevara, ride the track for the first time. The number 28 does have that 33-point buffer, but most of his key rivals line up ahead: Garcia is third, and home hero Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) heads the second row, just ahead of the rider he’s chasing in the standings for third: Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing).
The last Japanese rider to win in any class at Motegi was Hiroshi Aoyama in 250cc in 2006. Will Suzuki or Sasaki be the next? Can Guevara make more gains? The lights go out for the race at 12:00 (GMT +9) so tune in to find out!
Moto3™ FRONT ROW
1 Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) – Honda – 1:57.868
2 Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team) – Honda – +0.322
3 Sergio Garcia (Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team) – KTM – +0.542
Tatsuki Suzuki: “It’s really good to start the home GP right. Also, this track is Honda’s track so it’s really important to start in front of the other riders. I’m so happy to be on pole position but still, we’re here on Saturday. The important thing is always Sunday, so let’s see. We will keep our feet on the ground and try to improve the feeling for tomorrow!”
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