Matsukura takes final qualifier at 200mm Worlds

Naoto Matsukura took the sixth & final round of qualifying at the 200mm Worlds Championship in Florida.  The Japanese driver continued Infinity’s reign over the qualifiers as he registered the fastest time ahead of team-mate Teemu Leino.  Matsukura’s second TQ run of the day, having opening proceedings with a TQ run, it was to be the fastest of the event with the round also seeing Leino join the elusive 24-lap run group, 1-second off.  Robert Pietsch would complete the Top 3 as only the fourth driver to make 24-laps a further 3/10th off Leino while Mugen team-mate Shoki Takahata ended up fourth fastest.  Top Qualifier Dario Balestri was left counting his blessing that he wrapped things up a round earlier as faulty power connector ended his run just before the 3-minute mark.

‘I’m super happy to make a new record in my total time but we made a little set-up change that made the car easier to drive but also a little less pace on the best lap’, was how Matsukura summed up his TQ run.  Qualifying second overall in between team-mate Balestri and Andy Moore, meaning he will go last in the Super Pole, he continued, ‘I will go back to my set-up from before for Super Pole but for the final I will use the set-up I just ran’.  The class rookie also made an engine change for his final run but said, ‘It was also good but it made a lot of smoke so we will adjust this for the Super Pole’.

Failing to make Super Pole, ending up 9th in the final qualifying classification, Leino was pleased with was his best run of qualifying.  The reigning European Champion said he could have been in contention for Super Pole but a flame out during refuelling in the previous round robbed him of a top run.  Overall though the Finn was happy with the pace he had shown in the concluding qualifier adding ‘now the car is good and the engine which is good going into the Semi Final’.

Pietsch, who qualified fifth overall behind reigning champion Dominic Greiner who got a Stop & Penalty in the final qualifier, was content with his P3 for the round despite suffering a brake issue.  Top Qualifier the last time the 200mm Worlds was hosted in the US he explained, ‘in the beginning (of the qualifier) it was better and I could challenge Naoto but after 5-minutes the brake started getting tight and I had to adjust my driving and lost pace’.  Asked about the pending Super Pole, the 2nd to 5th place qualifiers having 6-laps each to set the best time and join Balestri directly in Saturday’s final, laughing he replied, ‘It will be very difficult.  I’m not the youngest in the Super Pole session’.

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