Matsukura comes good in Q3

Naoto Matsukura has finally come good at the World Championships in Japan, with the pre-event favourite TQ’ing the third round of qualifying from Q1 & 2 pace setter Bruno Coelho.  After a frustrating 2WD event, in which he finished 20th overall, the Kyosho driver had a close battle with Coelho to take the Q3 by 0.266 of a second with David Ronnefalk again completing the Top 3.  Overall it was a better performance from the host nation’s star drivers with qualifying top seed Yusuke Sugiura also putting in his best performance to take a fourth for the round.

Having lost steering in Q1, the speedo traced as the cause of the problem, and then struggled with the settings of a new speedo fitted his Lazer ZX6, Matsukura said Q3 was ‘perfect’.  8th fastest in Q2, the Warm-up Race winner and 2013 Vice-Champion said that his run was hampered by the speedo having a different feeling leading to early mistakes.  Having too much punch, with that rectified for Q3 the 22-year-old said he had a good feeling with the car which he said also had ‘good speed’.  A major confidence boost for the 4-time Onroad World Champion, he said the focus is to ‘keep it going now’.

No stranger to battling with Matsukura, finishing a very close second to the then Yokomo driver at the Touring Car World Championships in Florida, Coelho would lose out on a potential overall TQ due to a mistake.  Asked about the roll the electric offroad novice said ‘I am all the time learning’.  Over jumping at the table top he would land wide and trying to get back onto his line turned too early causing his XB4 to traction roll.  Despite the ‘rookie mistake’, he said it was still a good qualifier and again he was full of praise for his car which again would set the fastest lap for the round.

Describing his third qualifying run as ‘even better’, Ronnefalk is clearly growing in confidence with his HB car.  Putting more weight in his D413 this ‘found steering’ with the Swede able to make a ‘huge improvement’ in pace.  Knocking 2/10ths of a second off his lap times he feels he can now challenge for a TQ run.  Making one error when he overshot the roller and flat landed it he said his ‘times are now pretty close to Bruno and Naoto’s highlighted by the fact that they were the only 3-drivers to run an 18-lap qualifier.

Sugiura said Q3 was better but admitted it was a nervous 5-minutes.  Posting a 10th and 11th for the opening two qualifiers, the Warm-up Race podium finisher said he knew he needed a good result and the pressure of that got to him a bit.  With the P4 lifting the pressure a little he is targeting a repeat run in the day’s closing qualifier.

View the complete overall qualifying standings after Rd3 here (PDF).

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