Row 3 for Sasaki at wet Silverstone
A rainy Silverstone Saturday gave LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP rider Ayumu Sasaki a third-row start in a session dominated by yellow flags, while fellow rookie Collin Veijer will start the ninth race of the season from row eight.
Britain is known for changeable conditions between sunshine and heavy rain and meanwhile lived up to its reputation this weekend at the British Grand Prix.
While Friday's conditions were dry, albeit cool, the tide turned for qualifying Saturday. Starting ninth on the combined times, Ayumu Sasaki took his time in the rainy Qualifying 2 to study and build up his rhythm. Just as the 22-year-old was trying to launch his time attacks, rivals landed in the gravel of the 5.9km circuit causing laps to be cancelled, which was also Sasaki's fate in the final run and having secured four red sectors already. Row 3 and grid position 7 still offer the success-hungry Japanese rider every opportunity for a profitable race Sunday.
For Collin Veijer, all beginnings were difficult. A track that the young Dutchman does not yet know well, slipstream battles and changing weather conditions did not make the undertaking any easier for the Moto3 class rookie. In the combined standings, the third practice on Saturday morning left him in 18th place, which meant the 18-year-old had to fight in Q1 to get a chance at Q2 and thus a grid spot inside the top 14. The persistent rain got to him, however, and at the end of the 15-minute session, he was good enough for 9th place, so from grid position 23 the ambitious rider will do what he has proven so many times this season: fight, chase, and try to score points.
The Moto3 race starts at 11:15 (12:15 CEST).
Results
P1
1. Ivan ORTOLÁ/ SPA/ KTM – 2'12.817
2. Jaume MASIA/ SPA/ HONDA – 2'12.827 (+0.010)
3. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 2'12.839 (+0.022)
12. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 2'13.888 (+1.071)
P2
1. Jaume MASIA/ SPA/ HONDA – 2'11.403
2. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JAP/ HONDA – 2'11.516 (+0.113)
3. Diogo MOREIRA/ BRA/ KTM – 2'11.853 (+0.450)
9. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 2'12.289 (+0.886)
18. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 2'13.323 (+1.920)
P3
1. Ivan ORTOLÁ/ SPA/ KTM – 2'31.106
2. Deniz ÖNCÜ/ TUR/ KTM – 2'31.373 (+0.267)
3. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JAP/ HONDA – 2'31.499 (+0.393)
13. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 2'12.289 (+1.983)
23. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 2'13.323 (+4.008)
Q1
1. Xavier ARTIGAS/ SPA/ CF MOTO – 2'26.187
2. Taiyo FURUSATO/ JAP/ HONDA – 2'26.598 (+0.411)
3. Joel KELSO/ AUS/ CF MOTO – 2'26.739 (+0.552)
9. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 2'28.968 (+2.781)
Q2
1. Jaume MASIA/ SPA/ HONDA – 2'25.072
2. Scott OGDEN/ GBR/ HONDA – 2'25.435 (+0.363)
3. Daniel HOLGADO/ SPA/ KTM – 2'25.607 (+0.535)
7. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 2'25.890 (+0.818)
