09/09/2023

Sasaki misses Misano pole by 0.243s, Veijer with top 10 grid position

It was impressive what the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP team's Moto3 riders showed in qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix at the Misano World Circuit, as Ayumu Sasaki grabbed second place on the grid despite a minor crash, while rookie Collin Veijer will lead the fourth row into the twelfth race of the season from 10th position with an injured foot.

Behind Ayumu Sasaki lies a nerve-wracking Saturday. In the morning, in the third practice, the Japanese slipped from his until then second position to 12th, but still stood safely in Q2, where he had a small slide at the beginning of the 15-minute session. With time ticking down, his crew got him back on track after a quick check-up, where he returned to second place thanks to a 1'41.881, just 0.243s behind pole-sitter Jaume Masia. The 22-year-old hopes to make further progress before the race at 11:00 (CEST) to fight for his first win of the season.

Youngster Collin Vejjer has impressed since getting back on his Husqvarna on Friday. It was only a week ago that the young Dutchman suffered multiple fractures to his left foot in Barcelona qualifying. Through clenched teeth, the 18-year-old improved so well over the three practice sessions in total that he went straight into Q2 vying for a hopeful grid spot for Sunday's 20-lap race. Veijer eventually secured the tenth place on the grid as the leader of the fourth row.

The LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP duo are now focusing solely on the world championship points up for grabs and hope to be able to assert themselves in the world championship once again.

Results

P1
1. Jaume MASIA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'42.323
2. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.619 (+0.296)
3. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JAP/ HONDA – 1'42.627 (+0.304)
19. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'43.710 (+1.387)

P2
1. Jaume MASIA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'42.154
2. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.229 (+0.075)
3. Deniz ÖNCÜ/ TUR/ KTM – 1'42.283 (+0.129)
11. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.735 (+0.581)

P3
1. Deniz ÖNCÜ/ TUR/ KTM – 1'41.614
2. Jaume MASIA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'41.655 (+0.041)
3. David ALONSO/SPA/GASGAS – 1'41.845 (+0.231)
11. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.998 (+0.384)
12. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.091 (+0.477)

Q2
1. Jaume MASIA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'41.638
2. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.881 (+0.243)
3. Kaito TOBA/ JAP/ HONDA – 1'41.900 (+0.262)
10. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.234 (+0.596)

Ayumu Sasaki

P2 - 1'41.881 (+0.243)

"It was a stressful Qualifying. I was pushing to understand the bike because we had a change from FP3 and didn't know whether the bike was working or not. At the same time, I knew people were following, so I needed to break the group and while I was pushing, I made a mistake and fell. It was windy and generally, the conditions were different from P3. I crashed but the Team did a great job to fix the bike and even though it wasn't perfect, I was able to ride again. After finishing in P2, I know we were missing a bit but it was still a great improvement from FP3 which is important. I think my Team and I will find a few more things for the race but Masia is super fast. Luckily we aren't far off. We need to stay calm and fight strong in the race."

Collin Veijer

P10 - 1'42.234 (+0.596)

"Today we had an alright morning. We improved again and rode a lot on our own. Finally, in the Qualifying, I missed the last seconds which I am still very angry about but I think the speed is there. Either way, I feel ready for the race."

Misano GP 2023 - Saturday Moto3

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