Sasaki & Veijer take the first two rows of the Buriram grid
For the 17th time this season, the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 team around title contender Ayumu Sasaki and rookie Collin Veijer successfully fought for front-row grid positions in qualifying. For the Thailand Grand Prix, the Japanese rider grabbed the third grid position on the first row, closely followed by his Dutch teammate Veijer on row 2 in fifth place.
Just in time for the start of Qualifying 2, the experienced Ayumu Sasaki fired up his Husqvarna rocket again and smashed a 1'42.119 onto the 4.55km Thai tarmac, which eventually earned him third the grid position for the 17th race of the season. Prior to that, the Japanese did strong set-up work which, together with the slipstream of his teammate, enabled him to launch an attack in Q2. With a four-point deficit in the World Championship, nothing less than its lead is at stake for the 23-year-old on Sunday.
With many positive impressions, class rookie Collin Veijer is also getting ready to compete for further success in Thailand. The Dutchman once again made a colossally good debut on the race track, which was unfamiliar to him, and worked his way up to the front ranks with targeted steps already in P2 and P3. In Qualifying 2, which he reached in fifth place overall, he was just 0.257s off Deniz Öncü's pole position time. The 18-year-old youngster will be a force to be reckoned with in the 19-lap battle, as Veijer has been increasingly asserting himself in the past few races and is now hoping to make his dream of a first GP podium come true.
When the lights go out for this final stop of this triple header on Sunday at 06:00 (CET) - note the time change! -, there should be plenty of excitement and action with these minimal gaps.
Results
P1
1. Jaume MASIA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'42.318
2. Diogo MOREIRA/ BRA/ KTM – 1'42.561 (+0.243)
3. Ryusei YAMANAKA/ JAP/ GASGAS – 1'42.745 (+0.427)
5. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 1'43.060 (+0.742)
14. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'43.325 (+1.007)
P2
1. Jaume MASIA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'42.319
2. David ALONSO/ SPA/ GASGAS – 1'42.430 (+0.111)
3. Diogo MOREIRA/ BRA/ KTM – 1'42.555 (+0.236)
4. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.628 (+0.309)
14. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 1'43.239 (+0.920)
P3
1. Deniz ÖNCÜ/ TUR/ KTM – 1'41.907
2. Diogo MOREIRA/ BRA/ KTM – 1'41.932 (+0.025)
3. Ryusei YAMANAKA/ JAP/ GASGAS – 1'42.034 (+0.127)
5. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.210 (+0.303)
13. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.565 (+0.658)
Q2
1. Deniz ÖNCÜ/ TUR/ KTM – 1'42.061
2. Diogo MOREIRA/ BRA/ KTM – 1'42.118 (+0.057)
3. Ayumu SASAKI/ JAP/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.119 (+0.058)
5. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.318 (+0.257)
