Alongside team-mate Giuliano Alesi, Sasahara headed into the penultimate round of the season 15th and last in the GT500 standings with just nine points to their credit in the opening six races of 2023.
But Sasahara kicked off the Autopolis weekend with the fastest time in practice on Saturday morning, which he followed up with the quickest time in the first segment of qualifying, and although Alesi was only fifth-fastest in Q2, Sasahara was fastest again in warm-up.
