After taking pole in the opening two races of the year at Okayama and Fuji Speedway, Subaru was looking good to make it a hat-trick after Iguchi set the fastest time in the opening segment of qualifying on Saturday.
That was until Yamauchi pulled into the pits during Q2 on his hot lap with a technical issue, which was later diagnosed as a loose turbo hose - leaving the reigning champions a lowly 15th on the grid.
