On a very sunny and intense day with hot weather conditions, both riders pushed hard since the morning’s final practice session to improve their lap times. With their minds focused on bringing out their best, they struggled to find the proper potential and couldn’t improve enough to battle for a spot in Q2. As a result, Kunii will start 28th and Atiratphuvapat 29th on the grid. To make things even harder, Kunii will also face a long lap penalty carried over from the previous CzechGP race.
The mission ahead is tough, but in difficult times the inner spirit of fight has to show. Both riders and the team will combine efforts to design the best strategy and deliver a strong race performance. As the weather remains unstable with rain in tomorrow’s forecast, everyone must stay alert – in Moto2, everything can change in a moment.
Hiroshi Aoyama
⠀ ⠀ ⠀
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia
Today we had really nice weather conditions here in Austria, with plenty of sun and stable track grip. Both riders, Kunii and Nakarin, managed to make small steps forward compared to yesterday, but unfortunately those improvements were not enough to significantly climb the order in qualifying. We were expecting to be a bit closer to the midfield, so of course there is some disappointment on our side.
However, this is racing. Days like these are part of the process, and they give us valuable information about where we still need to work. The positive is that both riders remain motivated, and the atmosphere inside the team is strong. We know that if they can feel more comfortable on the bike, especially in the first laps, there is room to recover some positions tomorrow.
The weather forecast says there could be rain, which would make things unpredictable. That gives us an extra opportunity to show resilience and strategy. We will prepare carefully, analyze all the data from today, and I believe if the riders can start with confidence, we can turn this difficult Saturday into a more positive Sunday.
Today we had really nice weather conditions here in Austria, with plenty of sun and stable track grip. Both riders, Kunii and Nakarin, managed to make small steps forward compared to yesterday, but unfortunately those improvements were not enough to significantly climb the order in qualifying. We were expecting to be a bit closer to the midfield, so of course there is some disappointment on our side.
However, this is racing. Days like these are part of the process, and they give us valuable information about where we still need to work. The positive is that both riders remain motivated, and the atmosphere inside the team is strong. We know that if they can feel more comfortable on the bike, especially in the first laps, there is room to recover some positions tomorrow.
The weather forecast says there could be rain, which would make things unpredictable. That gives us an extra opportunity to show resilience and strategy. We will prepare carefully, analyze all the data from today, and I believe if the riders can start with confidence, we can turn this difficult Saturday into a more positive Sunday.
Yuki Kunii
92
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia
Today was the second day of the weekend and, to be honest, it was a very challenging one for me. We couldn’t reach the result we were aiming for, but at the same time I felt some steps forward compared to Friday. My overall feeling with the bike improved a little bit, and that gives me some hope.
Still, the reality is that we struggled to extract the maximum potential. My lap times were not strong enough to fight for Q2, and starting from 28th position with the additional long lap penalty from Brno will make things even more complicated tomorrow. It’s not the ideal situation, but I want to take the positive part: we are making progress, and I feel more confident with every session.
For the race, I will try to use this momentum, stay calm, and push with everything I have. It will be important to remain focused, keep my concentration lap by lap, and adapt quickly if the weather changes. I want to thank my team for the hard work they are putting in for me. Even if the situation is difficult, I believe that with their support we can still deliver a strong race and fight for the best result possible.
Today was the second day of the weekend and, to be honest, it was a very challenging one for me. We couldn’t reach the result we were aiming for, but at the same time I felt some steps forward compared to Friday. My overall feeling with the bike improved a little bit, and that gives me some hope.
Still, the reality is that we struggled to extract the maximum potential. My lap times were not strong enough to fight for Q2, and starting from 28th position with the additional long lap penalty from Brno will make things even more complicated tomorrow. It’s not the ideal situation, but I want to take the positive part: we are making progress, and I feel more confident with every session.
For the race, I will try to use this momentum, stay calm, and push with everything I have. It will be important to remain focused, keep my concentration lap by lap, and adapt quickly if the weather changes. I want to thank my team for the hard work they are putting in for me. Even if the situation is difficult, I believe that with their support we can still deliver a strong race and fight for the best result possible.
Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT
41
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia
Even if we improved our best lap time compared with yesterday, the evolution wasn’t enough. It’s hard as we fight hard to try to improve, but sometimes even when you give your best it’s not enough, there’s still a lot of room for improvement. I have to refine some aspects of my riding style, and thanks to the team I’m getting better on that aspect.
We will analyze properly what happened this afternoon in qualifying and what we can do in order to be better and more competitive in the race. I’m fully motivated to keep pushing, and even if the situation is a bit difficult, I will give my best to bring a good result to be proud of.
Even if we improved our best lap time compared with yesterday, the evolution wasn’t enough. It’s hard as we fight hard to try to improve, but sometimes even when you give your best it’s not enough, there’s still a lot of room for improvement. I have to refine some aspects of my riding style, and thanks to the team I’m getting better on that aspect.
We will analyze properly what happened this afternoon in qualifying and what we can do in order to be better and more competitive in the race. I’m fully motivated to keep pushing, and even if the situation is a bit difficult, I will give my best to bring a good result to be proud of.