02 April 2022 – Termas de Río Hondo – Argentina
A super condensed schedule the one of the Argentine Grand Prix, caused by the well-known logistical problems that have occurred. Saturday started with free practice 1 at 8.15 local time, with a rather low temperature. This condition, combined with a track with a lot of dust, did not allow the Moto3 drivers to get good times.
The track conditions improved in the second session and thanks to higher temperatures, Ayumu obtained an excellent ninth time, providing him direct access to qualifying 2. In fact, access from qualifications was defined according to the only two rounds of free practice carried out.
Qualifying was held in perfect conditions, since in the air the temperature has reached 25ºC, while on the ground, thanks to a clear sky, 42ºC have been reached. The track conditions improved and Ayumu managed to improve his best lap by just under a second. 1’48.600 is the time that will allow Ayumu tomorrow to start from the second place on the grid. Remember that, as a result of the mistake made in the previous Grand Prix, Ayumu will have to serve a long lap penalty.
Following the words of Ayumu and our Team Owner Max Biaggi.
AYUMU SASAKI : “It was a very decent day in Termas de Río Hondo. Friday was cancelled and on Saturday we had both the practice and the qualifying. Everything went very well. I am a little bit disappointed because I missed the pole position again, but I am happy to be in P2. Tomorrow I have a long lap penalty, so it is good to start in the front row. I think we have a great pace, a great speed, so I will just do a long lap at the beginning and try to focus on my race and catch the front. Hopefully we can catch the front group, fight for the podium and win.”
MAX BIAGGI – TEAM OWNER : “Today was not easy at all, given the tight schedule. A great job has been done in the pits and Ayumu on the track expressed himself very well, without making any mistakes. Tomorrow we will have to try to lose as little time as possible during the penalty, trying to stay among the bests, in order to fight for the podium.”
Risultati Gran Premio Michelin® de la República Argentina 2022 – Qualifying
Pole – Sergio GARCIA (GASGAS) 1’48.429,
2. Ayumu SASAKI (Husqvarna) 1’48.600.
