Sasahara bagged pole position in his first race back with Mugen after a 2021 season spent mostly on the sidelines, edging out Team Goh’s star rookie and Red Bull junior Sato during Saturday morning’s Q2 shootout.
But the race was practically over before it even began for Sasahara as he stalled on the grid and was left stranded for some time before he could get his Mugen machine going again.
Read Also:
That had already dropped him to the back of the field before he lost even more time with a left-rear puncture midway through the race – finally finishing two laps down.
While boosted by his performance on a day prior to which few had him tabbed as a serious contender for victory at Fuji, there was no doubt it was a big missed opportunity.
“When the lights went out, I released the clutch, and just as I thought it was going to be a good start, I lost power,” recalled Sasahara post-race.
“I don’t know if it was my mistake, but we didn’t change anything about the start…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Motorsport.com – All – Stories…