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Buggyra Racing initially began the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season with the intention of fielding two cars for twins Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc, but those plans have been shelved after four of six rounds as the team prepares for the 2023 Dakar Rally. Consequently, the team will not run the final two race weekends in Belgium or Croatia.

“After the last race at Autodrom Most, which saw a lot of unnecessary and dangerous contacts, the team management has decided to focus all its energy now firmly on the preparation of the 2023 Dakar Rally,” reads a team statement.

Aliyyah Koloc had been twenty-fifth in the EuroNASCAR PRO standings with a best finish of twelfth in Race #1 at Most, and fourteenth in EuroNASCAR 2 with two top tens. She and Yasmeen had intended to race the full schedule, but the latter withdrew before the opener due to injuries sustained in a 24H Series crash and focusing on Dakar. Their father Martin Koloc owns Buggyra.

“I am putting everything into my preparation for the Dakar Rally,” said Aliyyah. “It’s my long-term goal. And the risk of injury and therefore endangering this long-term goal is too high for me at the moment.”

Nicknamed the “Dakar Sistaz”, the Kolocs will make their débuts in Can-Ams in the T3 SSV category. To gain desert experience, they have been competing in the Fia World and Middle East Cups for Cross-Country Bajas alongside 2009 Dakar Quad and 2021 Light Prototype winner Josef Macháček and 2021 World Cup T4 runner-up Saleh Al-Saif. Al-Saif topped the Jordan Baja in February to become the first Light Prototype to win the overall in an FIA-sanctioned rally raid, with Aliyyah finishing second in T3.

Scuderia AplhaTauri‘s head of Vehicle Performance, Guillaume Dezoteux, was less than happy after the third free practice session and qualifying proved to be extremely challenging for both drivers after the team struggled to execute a well-balanced set-up for a dry track.

Pierre Gasly struggled the most out of the two drivers after the team made a last-minute decision to replace the front left brake disc, which failed to make much difference as Gasly qualified in seventeenth, significantly further down the grid than the team had hoped for.

“The third free practice session was difficult. It was our first opportunity to set up the cars for a dry track and we struggled to find the correct balance, especially on Pierre’s side of the garage. It pushed us to take more risks than we would usually do, and we made several significant setup changes on both cars ahead of Qualifying.“

Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda both encountered breaking issues, which Dezoteux has admitted needs investigating as the team is yet to understand the sudden loss of confidence with the cars breaking. After the unfortunate crash during last week’s Singapore Grand Prix, the Japanese driver managed to push his AT03 further than his team-mate and put in a good lap, which secured his appearance in Q2.

“Unfortunately, we were hampered by brakes material issues that we need to understand and analyse in detail. Both drivers struggled a lot in Q1 with front wheel locking, and while Yuki did manage to perform a good lap, Pierre couldn’t and got knocked out. In Q2, Yuki managed to improve, and he extracted more from the car, but still the confidence in braking wasn’t there.“

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal of Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN is confident that the team can finish strongly tomorrow as they will give it their all to finish in the points.

Both Alfa Romeo drivers were knocked out of the second round of qualifying around the Suzuka International Racing Course. Valtteri Bottas will start Sunday’s race in twelfth and his team-mate Zhou Guanyu will start in fourteenth on the grid, with the Finnish driver missed out on Q3 by less than a tenth of a second.

Vasseur says this gives the Alfa Romeo team a great opportunity to score points tomorrow and with the weather forecast still in the balance for the race, there is everything to play for.

Vasseur believes that today’s qualifying shows just how close the midfield pack are but, he feels optimistic that with the new upgrades on the C42 this weekend and the possibility of wet conditions, that this could give the team a better chance of scoring points.

“Today was another demonstration of how close the midfield is, as we missed out on a place in the top ten by less than 0.1s with Valtteri. I am also pleased for Zhou – Suzuka is a very complex track, and he did really well as in his first experience on this circuit.”

Daniel Ricciardo has openly admitted that he is set to sit out the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season after failing to secure a drive following his departure from the McLaren F1 Team.

The Australian will be replaced at McLaren by his countryman Oscar Piastri, and following the news on Saturday that Pierre Gasly will join the BWT Alpine F1 Team and Nyck de Vries will join Scuderia AlphaTauri, the only remaining available drives for next season are with the Haas F1 Team and with Williams Racing.

However, the Haas drive appears to be a straight fight between Antonio Giovinazzi and Nico Hülkenberg, while Williams are hoping that Logan Sargeant secures his Superlicence in the finale of the FIA Formula 2 championship to promote him.

Talking during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, Ricciardo admitted that a sabbatical is likely for 2023 and he will be targeting a return to the sport in 2024.

“The Gasly news I was aware of,” Ricciardo is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com.  “I knew they were they were talking for a while, and I knew they were very interested in Pierre. Let’s say I was prepared for that, and no surprise.

Scuderia AlphaTauri‘s Yuki Tsunoda finished thirteenth after Qualifying at his home race, the Japanese Grand Prix. Even though the thirteenth position means he failed to make it to the third stint of qualifying, Tsunoda’s performance had notably improved compared to the results of the Third Practice Session earlier in the day.

“I’m reasonably happy with today. We made a good step up from FP3 but were unfortunately held back by the brakes, I struggled a lot with them and had a big lock-up in Q1, then lost a lot of confidence in Q2.”

The team were hoping to reach the third stint of qualifying but missed out by just a few places. Tsunoda’s spirits remained high as he spoke about the positive reception he had received from the fans at the Suzuka International Racing Course.

“I think the balance of the car was looking good and we could have looked to get into Q3, so it’s a bit of a shame we weren’t able to. That aside, it’s been great to see all the fans here, it’s a special opportunity for me, as I’ve never experienced this level of fans in our team kit, wearing my caps and clapping so much at every corner – it’s been fantastic and given me a real boost.”

With such a positive response from fans, the team will be hoping to improve in Sunday’s Grand Prix. Tsunoda said he has his focus on the potential conditions of his home race and is looking for any opportunity to climb up the grid and deliver a competitive drive.

Valtteri Bottas admitted that he was disappointed to miss out on a Q3 spot by only a tenth of a second but feels confident that the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN can get a good result in the race at the Suzuka International Racing Course as they were not far off the pace compared to their rivals around them.

The Finnish driver qualified in twelfth place in Qualifying for Sunday’s race at Suzuka and will be hoping that the new upgrades that the team have brought to Japan will help them to remain competitive as they aim for a potential double points finish.

Bottas reflected on his and the teams result in qualifying and feels confident that with an unclear forecast for tomorrow’s race, he admitted that he wouldn’t mind some wet conditions as they looked strong in the rain on Friday and it may boost their chances of gaining some places.

“It feels like we really got everything out of our lap and we didn’t leave anything out there: unfortunately, that was not enough for a spot in Q3, and we missed out by less than 0.1s. Both my Q2 laps were pretty good, but it shows how close the midfield is that a mere few hundredths of a second can make such a big difference: it’s disappointing, but we’re not far off and we know we will be battling for the points.”

“Tomorrow is when it really matters and the forecast is still not clear yet. We looked good in the rain yesterday, so I wouldn’t mind some wet weather we can use to climb a few places.”

After his Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team achieved their sixth Qualifying Three appearance of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, Team Principal Mike Krack believes the Silverstone-based team are well placed to fight for the point’s in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel was able to expertly navigate his way out of both Qualifying One and Two to secure his fourth Q3 appearance of the season. Aston Martin elected to send Vettel out midway through the session to give the German driver a clean track to set his lap time which would place Vettel in ninth-place for Sunday’s race around the Suzuka International Racing Course.

On his in-lap back to the pits, Vettel appeared to be rather emotional over the radio as he made his way around the Suzuka Circuit for the final time in a qualifying session. 

After an impressive outing for the four-time world champion, Krack believes that Vettel has placed himself in a strong position to fight for a back-to-back points finish at the Japanese Grand Prix.

“Sebastian drove a strong lap in Q3 today and will line up in P9 for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix as a result. From there, he is in a good position to drive for points.“

Sebastian Vettel ensured his perfect FIA Formula 1 World Championship qualifying record of achieving a top-ten start at the Suzuka International Racing Course remained intact at his last Japanese Grand Prix weekend.

After his impressive qualifying outing, Vettel even admitted to being sad about his impending retirement from the sport at the end of the season. The German driver will line up on the fifth row of the grid in ninth-place for Sunday’s Grand Prix and after making Qualifying Three for just the fourth time this season.

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team elected to send Vettel out midway through Q3 to provide the four-time world champion a clear track to set his time and a chance for the four-time Japanese Grand Prix race winner to soak up the atmosphere on what will be his last qualifying session around the Suzuka Circuit.

While the Aston Martin driver was delighted with his qualifying performance, Vettel revealed that the result came with a tinge of sadness due to this being the last time he would experience a Formula 1 car in qualifying trim around Suzuka.

“It is so much more fun around here than at the other circuits! I mean, the cars and the speeds are great – but at this place you feel alive. I have enjoyed it so much over the years – and I had a wonderful day today. We will see what we can do tomorrow, but I am just very happy about today. At the same time, I am a bit sad – because it is the last time I will ever tackle this track in qualifying trim.”

Mattia Binotto, the Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari, is hoping for both clarity and transparency from the FIA over why there was delay in publishing their findings when it came to the cost cap from the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Rumours around the Formula 1 paddock were rife surrounding possible breaches of the cost cap, with both Oracle Red Bull Racing and the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team thought to be the most likely to have exceeded the maximum $145 million budget allowed across the year.

Initially, the FIA were to publish their findings this past Wednesday ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, but an announcement saw it delayed until Monday, and Binotto hopes the FIA are completely transparent about their findings and decision to delay releasing them.

“There are points which the FIA is contesting and the team is trying to defend itself,” said Binotto to Sky Italia.

“Regardless of what comes out, and I fear it will be snow melting in the sun, I think all these decisions, how they have interpreted the regulations, what they have granted – because they will certainly have granted something – it all comes out clearly and transparently.”

With Lando Norris qualifying tenth and Daniel Ricciardo eleventh at the Japanese Grand Prix, McLaren F1 Team Principal Andreas Seidl admitted that the team’s “primary competitors”, BWT Alpine F1 Team, have outperformed them so far this weekend. 

McLaren moved ahead of Alpine in the standings for fourth place after the Singapore Grand Prix, where Alpine suffered a double retirement due to technical issues. Alpine’s Saturday result of fifth and seventh place was, however, representative of the team’s performance advantage. 

Seidl said that although the team is not quite pleased with the result, there is great potential to move further up the grid on race day– especially with the prospect of rain being involved at the fan-favourite venue. 

“We’re not entirely satisfied with P10 and P11 in qualifying at Suzuka today. Maximising everything would likely have gained us another place or two. At the same time, we have to acknowledge our primary competitors in the Constructors’ Championship have, this weekend, been better so far.

“But the points get distributed tomorrow, and that’s a whole new day. Our starting positions give us a decent chance of being in the battle for good positions.”

McLaren F1 Team’s Lando Norris is set to line up in tenth after qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix. Norris felt that he had the potential to be a couple places higher up in the order after the tight session. 

“Tricky qualifying, probably the most difficult we’ve had this year. I think there was a little bit more to find, but probably only one or two more positions on the grid.” 

A close call in Q3 saw Norris’ qualifying put at risk when Max Verstappen snapped to the left on a slow out-lap, and Norris was approaching quickly from behind. Norris avoided Verstappen by veering past on the grass. 

The FIA reported that Norris described the occurrence as an “simply an unfortunate incident.” Verstappen was given a reprimand nonetheless, but will not face a grid penalty for the event. 

With McLaren overtaking BWT Alpine F1 Team for fourth in the standings after the Singapore Grand Prix, Norris said that the team has set their focus on upwards momentum on race day in order to continue their lead. 

Andrew Shovlin felt the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team were lacking pace over a single lap at the Suzuka International Racing Course on Saturday, and it meant a difficult Qualifying session for the team.

Lewis Hamilton was the best placed Mercedes driver in Qualifying in sixth, while George Russell was only eighth as the BWT Alpine F1 Team showed good pace to interject themselves in the battle for the third row. 

They were a long way off the pace of both Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari, however, and Shovlin, the Track Engineering Director at Mercedes, says they were losing a lot of time compared to their rivals on the straights, and the compromises they made to change that affected them in the corners.

“We’ve been struggling with the car in the dry today; the race work in the morning wasn’t bad but the single lap was proving difficult, and the tyres just weren’t biting,” said Shovlin.  “We’re losing a lot of time on the straights, but the corners are not especially strong either.

“By qualifying the balance was in a reasonable place but the lap time just wasn’t coming.”

Lewis Hamilton admitted that the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team knew coming into the Japanese Grand Prix weekend that they would not be fighting for pole position or the front row, and it proved to be a correct assumption as he qualified only sixth on the grid on Saturday.

Hamilton felt both Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari were in ‘a different league’ compared to Mercedes in qualifying trim at the Suzuka International Racing Course, and he also found himself outqualified by BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon.

And the seven-time World Champion felt ‘fundamental limitations’ with the W13 prevented him from qualifying any further up the grid despite having a clean session on Saturday.

“We knew coming to this circuit that we wouldn’t be competing for the front row or the win – the Red Bull and Ferrari are in a different league here, and we have some fundamental limitations with our car,” said Hamilton.

“It feels good to drive and it was a clean session for me, but we are just a long way off in terms of the ultimate pace. We are pushing as hard as we can and it feels strong in the corners, but we are losing on the straights at this circuit.”

Alan Permane, the Sporting Director of the BWT Alpine F1 Team, was pleased to see Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso qualify fifth and seventh respectively for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, and it showed the A522 is working well this weekend.

Permane felt the team put together ‘three solid’ sessions at the Suzuka International Racing Course and were top eight contenders all afternoon long, and Ocon was able to get ahead of both Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team drivers, while Alonso was able to split them.

“We are very happy with our Qualifying performance today and, clearly, our car is working well at this magnificent circuit where it’s brilliant to be back racing,” said Permane.  

“We put together three solid Qualifying sessions today where everything clicked into place and I think that is reflected on the timesheets.

“Esteban did a great job to keep finding improvements throughout the day to qualify in fifth place.”

Esteban Ocon admitted to being satisfied by the way the BWT Alpine F1 Team have bounced back from the disappointment of their double retirement from last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix this weekend in Japan.

The Frenchman will start the eighteenth round of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season from fifth on the grid, the best of the rest behind Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari, and he felt it was a ‘great result’ for the Enstone-based outfit.

Ocon, who will have a new team-mate at Alpine in 2023 after the announcement of Pierre Gasly earlier in the day, feels the team have a great opportunity to score a lot of points on Sunday afternoon as they look to fight back against the McLaren F1 Team in the battle for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

“I’m delighted with today and how the weekend has unfolded so far,” said Ocon.  “Fifth place is a great result for us, just behind the Red Bulls and the Ferraris.

“After the disappointment of last weekend, it is very satisfying to bounce back in this manner and show our potential. The upgrades are working well, and our car suits this circuit, so it’s a job well done from everyone trackside and at both factories.