Best lap time in free practice for Yoshimura Suzuki 12 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team within top-10 Suzuki is opening the hostility as from the first practice session at the Suzuka 8 Hours. The Yoshimura Suzuki 12 with Daisaku Sakai and Atsushi Watanabe got the best lap time on this Thursday in Japan after the free practice session, with a 2’08”284 lap, just ahead of the Yamaha Racing 218 of Yuji Saito, Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Yuichi Takeda in 2’08”320 and the 2006 winner Honda FCC TSR 2, ridden by Takeshi Tsujimura and Shinichi Itoh in 2’08”536. These are the only three bikes below the 2’09 mark. In the top-10 are also the official Dream Honda Racing 11 of Riyuichi Kiyonari and Carlos Checa. The Yoshimura Suzuki 34 of Yukio Kagayama and Kosuke Akiyoshi, who made impression last year in winning the 30th edition of the Japanese classic, signed the fifth time ahead of the Dream Honda 33 of Jonathan Rea and Yuki Takahashi, the second Honda FCC TSR, the Honda Moriwaki Motul Racing and the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, ninth of these free practice session. The French Suzuki, ridden by Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien da Costa, remains the best representative of all the 2008 Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship permanent teams. Repeating this performance in tomorrow’s qualifying session would open them a spot for Saturday’s “Special Stage”. Bolliger Team Switzerland and Yamaha Austria Racing Team are in 2’15, Phase One Endurance and Endurance Moto 38 in 2’16, YMES Folch Endurance and Qatar Endurance Racing Team in 2’17. Some of the riders were discovering the Suzuka track, though. We can easily imagine that lap times will drop down for the qualifying sessions. The two qualifying sessions will take place tomorrow Friday. The order on the starting grid will be determined by the best individual lap times. The best ten teams will enter for the traditional “Special Stage”, a Superpole awarded by a 2 millions Yen check (12 000 € or a bit more than 18 500 $). The definitive starting grid will be redefined according to the “Special Stage” results. The weather might be a major actor at the 31st edition of Suzuka 8 Hours. The sky was slightly overcast for the first practice on Thursday, with a temperature of 35° C and 70 % of humidity, but the weather forecast persists on announcing thundershowers for Saturday and Sunday. QTEL FIM Endurance World Championship Suzuka 8 Hours Suzuka Circuit, Japan July 24, 2008 Combined Practice Times: 1. YOSHIMURA SUZUKI with DENSO IRIDIUM (Daisaku SAKAI/Atsushi WATANABE), Suz GSX-R1000, 2:08.284 2. YAMAHA RACING (Yuji SATO/Katsuyuki NAKASUGA/Yuichi TAKEDA), Yam YZF-R1, 2:08.320 3. F.C.C.TSR Honda (Takeshi TSUJIMURA/Shinichi ITO), Hon CBR1000RR, 2:08.536 4. DREAM Honda Racing Team 11 (Ryuichi KIYONARI/Carlos CHECA/Kazuki TOKUDOME), Hon CBR1000RR, 2:09.046 5. YOSHIMURA SUZUKI with JOMO (Kohsuke AKIYOSHI/Yukio KAGAYAMA/Nobuatsu AOKI), Suz GSX-R1000, 2:09.499 6. DREAM Honda Racing Team 33 (Jonathan REA/Yuki TAKAHASHI/Yusuke TESHIMA), Hon CBR1000RR, 2:10.636 7. F.C.C.TSR (Satoru IWATA/Hiroyuki KIKUCHI/H. MATOBA), Hon CBR1000RR, 2:10.668 8. MORIWAKI MOTUL RACING (Tatsuya YAMAGUCHI/Cal CRUTCHLOW/Jason O’HALLORAN), Hon CBR1000RR, 2:11.028 9. SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM (Vincent PHILIPPE/Julien DA COSTA/Matthieu LAGRIVE), Suz GSX-R10000, 2:11.179 10. Team SAKURAI HONDA 10 (Chojun KAMEYA/Leon HASLAM), Hon CBR1000RR, 2:11.296 60. Maco Moto Racing Team (Warwick NOWLAND/Jason PRIDMORE/Martin KUZMA), Yam YZF-R1, 2:18.205 78. LA FORTEZZA AMADEUS X-ONE (Paolo TESSARI/Will GRUY/Riccardo RICCI), Yam YZF-R1, 2:22.408