India’s Narain Karthikeyan managed only a 11th place on the grid after he struggled to negotiate a tricky last sector at the Fuji Speedway circuit for the third round of the Super Formula championship on Saturday.
Narain will start on the sixth row in the 55-lap race on Sunday, having qualified 0.713 seconds behind pole winner Andrea Caldarelli.
The fastest lap of 1:22.667 was recorded by Caldarelli. Narain’s last outing here in May was fraught with electronics and other mechanical issues.