Nick Cassidy competes in the third round of the Super Formula Series this weekend at Sportsland SUGO, the circuit where he took pole position in the series last season. Normally the SUGO round takes place at the end of the season but has this year been moved to May where conditions will be quite different. It is just two weeks since rain and fog at Autopolis during the second round caused the race to be cancelled.
Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday will be in a knock-out format.
Qualifying session one (Q1) is medium tires only per regulation. SUGO is a short course with not much space for drivers to try and record fast laps.
All 19 cars will be on the track for Q1, but that number gets cut down to 14 for Q2.
At the last part of Q1, the drivers normally all come out onto the track at once and begin vying for position that will help them get into place to record a fast lap.
Soft tires will probably be used in Q2 and Q3, so when drivers try to make their move and record the best times is yet another thing to watch for in the qualifying.
Pole position winner at Autopolis Ryo Hirakawa, and Kamui Kobayashi, who recorded the best lap in Q2 both made their move on lap 2. On the other hand, Tomoki Nojiri, Nobuharu Matsushita, Naoki Yamamoto all came out with guns blazing on the first lap.
At SUGO, some drivers may try to get in fast laps on either lap 2 or 3. As the escape is very narrow, and the red flag often comes out at this circuit, drivers will probably keep it in the back of their minds that the qualifying could come to an abrupt halt.
SUGO is a tough circuit to overtake on, which equivocates to the fact that teams must clearly think out strategies that will allow them to gain an upper hand. There should be a variety of strategies to see as the race plays out on Sunday.
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