30 September 2022 – Chang International Circuit – Thailand
The Thai Grand Prix Friday closes with Ayumu’s best time. At the last of the sixteen laps completed in free practice 2, our Japanese rider got the time of 1’43.503.
As expected, the weather during the day changed suddenly on various occasions. Free practice 1 took place under an overcast sky, but no rain. During the session, however, the track remained wet due to the high degree of humidity. Ayumu in FP1 got the time of 1’52.817, with which he finished fourteenth.
Before the start of the second prectice session, the sky dumped again quite a big load of rain, but it did so for a limited time. The great heat allowed the track to dry quickly and in the middle of the session it was possible to mount slick tires. From that moment on, times dropped dramatically. Ayumu made a series of very fast laps and at the end of the time got the fastest lap of Friday.
John in the combined classification is sixteenth, with a time of 1’45.047 and a gap from his teammate of 1.544 s. Unfortunately, in the last lap our driver was canceled the time, for exceeding the limits of the track. The time he scored would have allowed him to be tenth in the combined ranking. Today’s positions could be decisive for access to qualifying 2. In fact, the morning session is characterized by a high humidity that, in case of wet track, would not allow the same to dry out quickly.
Here are the words of Ayumu, John and our Team Owner Max Biaggi.
AYUMU SASAKI : “It was a very good first day, both in wet and dry conditions. Especially in free practice 2 I had a good feeling with the bike right away. So I ended this first day here in Thailand in the best possible way. We don’t know how the weather will be tomorrow, wet or dry, but anyway we just have to keep calm and try to have fun.”
JOHN MCPHEE : “Today was a strange condition, we had some wet, then dry, then wet again. It made a little bit difficult to come in a good rhythm. At the end of the second session it was dry. Unfortunately, on my fastest lap and quite a few times even in other laps I touched the green and my time was cancelled. This is because I was struggling to keep the bike on the good line and so, for that reason my overall position does not look that strong. We have some work to do for tomorrow. I believe we can be fast enough to be minimum in Q2 and then we can fight for the qualifying position.”
MAX BIAGGI – TEAM OWNER : “I expected a good start from our drivers and unfortunately this occurred only partially. The first time of Ayumu, with the difficult track conditions, is a good starting point, for this weekend here in Thailand. John on his last lap during free practice 2 was doing very well, but he crossed the track limits. Let’s hope FP3 is dry, so John can get better. In Moto3 recoveries are possible, as seen in previous races, but starting in the rear, especially with wet track, exposes us to great risks.”
Results OR Thailand Grand Prix 2022 – Combined FP1 – FP2
1. Ayumu SASAKI (Husqvarna) 1’43.503, 16. John MCPHEE (Husqvarna) 1’45.047.
