Having already topped his Q1 group, Oyu found a huge chunk of time in the final segment of qualifying as he successfully broke the 1m36s barrier, securing pole position with a best effort of 1m35.792s.
He beat Sho Tsuboi to the top spot by just 0.043s, the Inging driver having topped his own Q1 group to progress into the pole shootout.
The only other driver to lap in the 1m35s bracket was championship leader Tomoki Nojiri, who qualified 0.114s adrift of Oyu in third after claiming a double pole in the Fuji season opener a fortnight ago.
Nojiri had originally dropped out in Q1 and was set for his worst starting position in Super Formula since 2020, but was given a reprieve when KCMG’s Kamui Kobayashi had his fastest lap time deleted for a track limits infringement.
It allowed the Mugen driver to book a spot on the second row of the grid, where he is joined by the Kondo Racing car of Kenta Yamashita.
Fifth place went to TOM’S driver Ritomo Miyata, who was just 0.020s slower than Yamashita, while Tadasuke Makino finished sixth in the sole Dandelion car that progressed into Q2.
Kazuto Kotaka ensured both Kondo Racing cars qualified inside the top 10 as he set the seventh-fastest time, albeit three tenths off the pace of his more experienced team-mate Yamashita.
Nakajima Racing’s Ren Sato was the only driver with a Honda-powered car to progress into the second part of qualifying from his Q1 group, but he could only convert that into eighth place on the grid with a time that was nearly eight tenths off the pace.
Following his stellar debut weekend at Fuji including a victory in the opening race, Mugen’s Lawson qualified a distant ninth on the grid, ending up 0.919s down on Oyu’s pole lap.
He will be joined on the fifth row of the grid by Impul’s Ryo Hirakawa, while Inging’s Sena Sakaguchi and TOM’S driver Giuliano Alesi were the slowest of the Q2 runners in 11th and 12th respectively.
After showing signs of recovery from his recent slump at Fuji, Nakajima Racing’s Naoki Yamamoto was eliminated in Q1 and will start the race from 16th place.
Yuhi Sekiguchi (Impul) and Nobuharu Matsushita (B-Max) were two other high-profile drivers to miss the Q2 cut.
Ex-Formula 1 driver Kobayashi will line up 21st on the grid after cutting a corner on his sole flying lap.
UPDATE: Miyata was found to have breached track limits exiting Spoon in Q2, dropping him to 12th in the final order.
Q2 results (before Miyata's lap time deletion):
| Cla | # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 53 |  Toshiki Oyu |
TGM Grand Prix | 1'35.792 | |
| 2 | 38 | Sho Tsuboi |
JMS P.mu/cerumo-INGING | 1'35.835 | 0.043 |
| 3 | 1 | Tomoki Nojiri |
Team Mugen | 1'35.906 | 0.114 |
| 4 | 3 | Kenta Yamashita |
Kondo Racing | 1'36.126 | 0.334 |
| 5 | 37 | Ritomo Miyata |
Vantelin Team TOM'S | 1'36.146 | 0.354 |
| 6 | 5 | Tadasuke Makino |
Dandelion Racing |
1'36.280 | 0.488 |
| 7 | 4 | Kazuto Kotaka |
Kondo Racing | 1'36.403 | 0.611 |
| 8 | 65 | Ren Sato |
TCS Nakajima Racing | 1'36.563 | 0.771 |
| 9 | 15 |  Liam Lawson |
Team Mugen | 1'36.711 | 0.919 |
| 10 | 20 | Ryo Hirakawa |
ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL | 1'36.814 | 1.022 |
| 11 | 39 | Sena Sakaguchi |
JMS P.mu/cerumo-INGING | 1'37.023 | 1.231 |
| 12 | 36 |  Giuliano Alesi |
Vantelin Team TOM'S | 1'37.060 | 1.268 |
| View full results | |||||
