39th Coca-Cola Zero Suzuka 8 Hours
FIM Endurance World Championship
Suzuka Circuit, Japan
July 29, 2016
Qualifying Practice Combined Results:
1. Yamaha Factory Racing Team (Katsuyuki Nakasuga 2:06.908/Pol Espargaro 2:07.333/Alex Lowes 2:07.713), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:06.908
2. MuSASHI RT HARC PRO (Michael van der Mark 2:07.425/Nicky Hayden 2:08.479/Takumi Takahashi 2:07.026), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:07.026
3. Team Green (Akira Yanagawa 2:09.673/Leon Haslam 2:07.563/Kazuki Watanabe 2:07.834), Kaw ZX-10R, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:07.563
4. YART Yamaha – Official EWC Team (Broc Parkes 2:08.239/Kouta Nozane 2:11.975/Takuya Fujita 2:13.481), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike, Pirelli, 2:08.239
5. Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance (Takuya Tsuda 2:08.248/Josh Brookes 2:08.959/Noriyuki Haga 2:09.434), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:08.248
6. F.C.C. TSR Honda (PJ Jacobsen 2:08.874/Dominique Aegerter 2:08.403/Kazuma Watanabe 2:09.614), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:08.403
7. TOHO Racing (Gino Rea 2:09.117/Tatsuya Yamaguchi 2:08.426/Ratthapark Wilairot 2:10.614), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:08.426
8. Team Kagayama (Yukio Kagayama 2:09.188/Naomichi Uramoto 2:10.911/Ryuichi Kiyonari 2:08.474), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:08.474
9. Moto Map Supply (Josh Waters 2:09.227/Nobuatsu Aoki 2:10.683/Yoshiniro Konno 2:09.331), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:09.227
10. Team JP Dogfight Racing Australia (Mark Aitchison 2:09.269/Corey Turner 2:13.322), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:09.269
11. Satu HATI Honda Team Asia (M. Zaqhwan Zaidi 2:09.890/Dimas Ekky Pratama 2:09.290), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:09.290
12. GMT94 Yamaha (David Checa 2:09.986/Niccolo Canepa 2:09.299/Lucas Mahias 2:10.880), Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, Dunlop, 2:09.299
13. Honda Suzuka Racing Team (Daijiro Hiura 2:09.371/Takashi Yasuda 2:11.520/Yudai Kamei 2:11.608), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:09.371
14. EVA RT TEST TYPE-01 Trick STAR (Osamu Deguchi 2:10.694/Hitoyasu Izutsu 2:12.010/Erwan Nigon 2:09.699), Kaw ZX-10R, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:09.699
15. Rosetta Motorrad 39 (Kenny Foray 2:09.935/Lukas Pesek 2:10.707/D. Sakai 2:09.793), BMW S1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:09.793
16. au&Teturu Johara RT (Damian Cudlin 2:10.118/H. Ohkubo 2:10.031/K. Akiyoshi 2:09.905), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:09.905
17. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Philippe 2:09.928/Anthony Delhalle 2:10.394/Etienne Masson 2:11.442), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:09.928
18. TTS & Teluru Kohara RT (Keiji Nakamura 2:12.212/Taiki Sato 2:13.447/Kokoro Atsumi 2:10.206), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:10.206
19. Mistresa with ATS (Takahiro Nakatsuhara 2:10.626/Ryuta Kobayashi 2:10.233/Taro Sekiguchi 2:10.206), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:10.233
20. Team Frontier (Kazuki Tokudome 2:13.659/Satoru Iwata 2:12.903/Tomoyoshi Koyama 2:10.591), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:10.591
21. Team SRC Kawasaki (Gregory Leblanc 2:10.601/Matthieu Lagrive 2:11.697/Jeremy Guarnoni 2:11.319), Kaw ZX-10R, Superbike, Pirelli, 2:10.601
22. Akeno Speed WJR Yamaha (Makoto Inagaki 2:13.051/Tsubasa Okuno 2:13.501/Anthony West 2:11.199), Yam YZF-R1, Superstock, Bridgestone, 2:11.199
23. Team R2CL (Aaron Morris 2:11.334/Sebastien Suchet 2:12.199), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:11.334
24. Honda Endurance Racing (Julien Da Costa 2:12.068/Sebastien Gimbert 2:11.432/Freddy Foray 2:12.088), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:11.432
25. Team Hooters with Shota Saito (Kazuma Tsuda 2:11.541/Takaya. Okuda 2:14.912/Masahiro Shinjo 2:15.209), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:11.541
31. Team Bolliger Switzerland (Horst Saiger 2:12.460/Michael Savary 2:13.403/Gianluca Vizziello 2:13.389), Kaw ZX-10R, Superbike, Pirelli, 2:12.460
More, from a press release issued by Eurosport Events:
YAMAHA, HONDA AND KAWASAKI NECK AND NECK
Despite changes in the fastest times posted, the timesheet positions haven’t budged. Yamaha Factory Racing Team is still on top after the two qualifying sessions, ahead of Musashi RT Harc-Pro’s Honda and Team Green’s Kawasaki.
Katsuyuki Nakasuga’s 2’06.908 lap this morning enabled the Yamaha #21 to hold on to its provisional pole at the Suzuka 8 Hours. Only provisionally, though: the post-qualifying top 10 will have to throw their hats back into the ring tomorrow at the Top 10 Trial, the Superpole for which each team fields two riders.
So, in the Top 10 Trial, we’ll be seeing Musashi RT Harc-Pro, who reduced their fastest lap time to 2’07.026 thanks to Takumi Takahashi, and Team Green’s Kawasaki with Leon Haslam once again the fastest rider, lapping 2’07.563.
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team has picked up a superb 4th place with Broc Parkes posting a 2’08.239 lap, slipping ahead of Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance and F.C.C. TSR Honda. Toho Racing (Honda), Team Kagayama and Moto Map Supply (both on Suzuki) and Team JP DogFightRacing Australia (Yamaha) round off the top 10 who will be back to compete for the first 10 spots on the grid starting at 3.20pm local time (GMT+9) tomorrow.
FIM EWC teams not far behind
GMT94 Yamaha finished qualifying within shouting distance of the top 10 in 12th place, with Niccolò Canepa setting a time of 2’09.299. Among the other teams competing for the FIM EWC 2016 title, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team clocked a best time of 2’09.928, while Team SRC Kawasaki posted a lap time of 2’10.601. Team R2CL (2’11.334) is ahead of Honda Racing Team (2’11.432), Team Bolliger Switzerland (2’12.460) and Team April Moto Motors Events (2’13.296), the current championship leader. All the teams will have to finish the race in the top 20 to score points. The winner gets 35 points.
Motobox Kremer Racing (2’14.245) and Team Flembbo Leader Team (2’15.836) will also be holding their own at the Suzuka 8 Hours. The race will be flagged off at 11.30am local time (GMT+9) on Sunday.
More, from a press release issued by Honda Endurance Racing Team:
Tough start to the Suzuka 8 hours for Honda Endurance Racing
Suzuka 8 Hours
Suzuka Circuit, Japan
The Honda Endurance Racing team will start Sunday’s 39th “Coca-Cola Zero” Suzuka 8 hours from 24th position after today’s two-stage qualifying at Honda’s home track, Suzuka in Japan.
Honda’s trio of endurance specialists pushed hard during the sessions and worked to optimise the settings on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP, ready for the evening’s night practice and tomorrow’s final free practice.
The squad and its riders Freddy Foray, Julien Da Costa and Sébastien Gimbert each took it in turns over two qualifying sessions, where each rider had 20 minutes in both sessions to record the fastest time. Gimbert posted the best lap time for Honda Endurance Racing (2,11.432) and the team will line up in 24th place on the grid for Sunday’s race.
The Suzuka 8 hours takes place this Sunday (31 July) at 11.30 Japanese Standard Time (GMT +9). For all the latest news on the team follow @HondaRacingCBR on Twitter.
Freddy Foray 111
The problem sometimes with racing is you never have enough time and for us here in Suzuka this is the case. We have worked on a few different settings since we arrived, but we haven’t quite found the perfect one yet. We have improved a lot since yesterday’s practice session, but it is a little difficult to accept starting the race from 24th. So now we have to put our focus to the practice we have left and then also for the race on Sunday.
Julien Da Costa 111
For sure we are behind a little with our starting position, but that can be racing at times. We have struggled here to find the right setting for us, but we continue to improve our times and hopefully we can work through the practice sessions we have left to really optimise our setting here. We work very hard with the team to find a solution so for the race we can be ready.
Sébastien Gimbert 111
You know today has been difficult and we have been working on a lot of settings and trying different things for the Fireblade, endurance is not easy at times! The field of riders is very strong as there are about 70 teams taking part in this race. We all pushed hard throughout qualifying but we have to be careful with the tyres as we only have a certain amount allocated in the rules for qualifying and the race. We will work during the two practice sessions that we have and hope that we can find the right setting to push us on in the race.
Jonny Twelvetrees
Assistant team manager
We are a little disappointed to be starting the 8 hours from 24th position; it’s not what we were hoping for when we arrived here. The pain and also beauty of endurance is that in the rules we’re only allowed 20 tyre tickets, which means we can only use 20 tyres for qualifying and for the race. So of course if you go crazy using all your tyres, you will be left with nothing for the race, so you have to choose carefully and only use what you need to. We have been working closely with Dunlop and going through our options, which we can now try out in the two practice sessions we have left, as the allocation doesn’t cover practice. But we have learnt a lot and have a lot of data, so we now need to focus on the race and pushing up through the field, which I know the boys and also the Fireblade are capable of.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Yamaha Factory Racing Storms to Provisional Pole in Dominant Suzuka Qualifying
The Yamaha Factory Racing Team picked up today in Suzuka exactly where they left off last year, dominating every single session to secure provisional pole ahead of tomorrow’s top ten shoot out for the 2016 Coca-Cola Zero Suzuka 8 Hours. The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team were not far behind, delivering an impressive qualifying performance to secure fourth in the overall times. GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team’s plans for a top ten result were pushed slightly off target by the sheer mass of on-track traffic during qualifying, leaving them just outside the top ten in 12th.
The combination of All Japan Superbike star Katsuyuki Nakasuga, MotoGP’s Pol Espargaró and WorldSBK’s Alex Lowes proved unstoppable today with all three consistently keeping the pressure on. Nakasuga sent a strong message of the team’s intentions in this morning’s qualifying, wasting no time in delivering a 2’06.908s to set the pace in the rider 1 session. The rider 2 session saw a similar performance from Espargaró, the MotoGP rider repeating his teammates performance with an immediate flying lap of 2’07.333s to secure the top spot. Lowes’ first qualifying proved unfortunate for the Brit as he crashed out on his first flying lap. He was thankfully uninjured and ready to fight back in the afternoon.
The second round of qualifying brought more of the same pace, Nakasuga again topping his heat with a 2’08.177s lap. Espargaró was quick to lay down a similar pace, taking second in his stint with a 2’08.321s lap. Determined to make up for his morning error, Lowes was on fire in his second qualifying attack, smashing under the 2’08 mark with a 2’07.713s for the fastest lap of the afternoon.
The team had already made a good start the day prior to qualifying, ruling the morning two-hour practice with all three breaking under the 2’08 mark to wrap up with a session best time of 2’07.806s, courtesy of Nakasuga.
YART Yamaha’s impressive qualifying result was in no small part due to the efforts of experienced endurance racer Broc Parkes. The Australian had worked hard alongside his young Japanese teammates Takuya Fujita and Kohta Nozane during the morning practice, lapping into the 2’09s as he prepared the race set up for Sunday’s Suzuka 8hrs race. Come qualifying and Parkes surpassed expectations with the Pirelli tyres, cracking an impressive 2’08.239s to ensure the team a place in the top five for tomorrow ‘s top ten shoot out.
Both Fujita and Nozane spent the day steadily improving as they adjusted their riding styles from Bridgestone to Pirelli, Nozane getting down to a 2’11.975s and Fujita to a 2’13.481s.
As is normal for the French outfit, GMT94 Yamaha spent the large part of qualifying focused on perfecting their race set up ahead of Sunday’s main event. The team only received their new spec of Dunlop tyres yesterday so they have been working from scratch to build a race-ready set up on their YZF-R1. Despite this complication the pairing of David Checa, Niccolò Canepa and Lucas Mahias has been inspiring, Checa and Canepa leading the way whilst Mahias builds his pace as he learns the track, having missed the earlier Suzuka test days.
The Dunlop qualifier tyres proved to be almost too good, with Checa suffering a small crash in his second qualifying heat due to the level of the new Dunlop rear over the used front. Luckily there was no damage to rider or bike, but the new information required further set up changes that ate into the qualifying time. The change was invaluable for Canepa following in the next heat, with the Italian looking on target to bring the team into the top ten shoot out. Unfortunately he was frustrated by traffic on his flying laps, scoring a best time of 2’09.299s, putting GMT94 Yamaha just outside the top ten in 12th position.
Wataru Yoshikawa – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“Alex [Lowes] crashed unfortunately in his first qualifying session, but thankfully he was unhurt and there was little damage to the bike. We later had Nakasuga head out on the repaired machine in his second qualifying session to verify that everything was working properly, and Pol [Espargaró] and Alex both finished their second sessions without incidents. Since the three of them are feeling good, they all went out today looking for fast times. They succeeded in doing that, but Alex’s fall reminded both the team staff and the riders themselves that this is an endurance race and that we have to work together. So, our solidity as a team is even stronger now. All of our riders have the speed to set a time fast enough to take pole position in the Top 10 Trial tomorrow, so please look forward to our runs.”
Katsuyuki Nakasuga – Yamaha Factory Racing Team
“In the first qualifying I set a 2’06.908, but that was with slower riders in front of me, so if I’d had a clear track I could have gone even faster. Alex [Lowes] crashed in his first qualifying session, so my job in my second session was to do a shakedown run with the repaired bike to make sure everything was OK. I was in the 2’08s with it, so there aren’t any problems. Though Alex crashed, our staff and mechanics pulled together to get it fixed and I helped out too by checking the bike. Of course, we’d rather have no issues at all, but I think this actually served to further unite our team. Looking at the team as a whole, I think we’re in good shape. But tomorrow’s Top 10 Trial is definitely more important than today’s qualifying sessions, and even more important is the race on Sunday. In any case, we’ll be aiming to take pole position for the team in the Top 10 Trial tomorrow.”
Pol Espargaró – Yamaha Factory Racing Team
“The qualifying today was actually really good. It wasn’t an amazing lap time for me but I’m quite happy with the result. The bike is working well and the team is working really good. Nakasuga-san was really fast and Alex was able to improve his lap time after his crash so it ended well. I missed some tenths in qualifying, I found some traffic at the end but tomorrow we have the track more empty for us. Today we needed to qualify in the top ten and we did so it’s an important day. It’s difficult with so many bikes on the track and some of them you just don’t know what they are going to do! It’s difficult to manage but this is racing, it’s interesting and it makes this race special!”
Alex Lowes – Yamaha Factory Racing Team
“It was really good today. Honestly I made a small mistake and lost the front of the bike on my first lap in Q1. I was pushing a little bit, normally in endurance racing you find a nice rhythm but in the qualifying I wanted to try and do a good lap time and I made a mistake. For the afternoon session I was happy, I made it into the 2’07s on older tyres, and that was quite good. My rhythm was good and I felt the same on the bike as I did before the crash in the morning. The team did a fantastic job, this morning in the practice we did a good job together as a team, all the riders were very fast in the 2’07s which is very fast. It’s important that we have a consistent pace so it’s looking promising. I’m really enjoying the experience, it is a real team event and it’s very special. It’s so different to normal racing, as you share the bike you have to compromise on set up etc so I’ve learned a lot to take back with me to WorldSBK.”
Mandy Kainz – YART Yamaha Official EWC Team Manager
“For sure we did not expect with Pirelli to be top five so for today we are really satisfied. Broc’s lap time was great. The young boys improve practice by practice and are fighting hard. They have to adapt their riding style from Bridgestone to Pirelli so its good work. I know that today we achieved the fastest lap time possible for the conditions so a good day for Yamaha I think.”
Broc Parkes – YART Yamaha Official EWC Team
“Today has been awesome for us, we didn’t expect to be so strong in qualifying. To do a 2’08.2s is nearly a second faster than last year so it’s a big step for us. The bike feels really good this year and we’ve had some extra help from Yamaha with the engine and that I think has improved the bike a lot. We used kit electronics from YEC that I think are also really good. Tomorrow we have to try and do it again, but everybody is in the same position. It’s up to me to do the best. I’m so happy to be were we are, we wanted to be top ten so to be fourth is a bonus. For the race I think we have a good pace and we know the race tyre which is good.”
Kouta Nozane – YART Yamaha Official EWC Team
“The team’s goal today was to get into the Top 10 Trial so Broc took the lead for the time attack and set the fourth fastest lap overall, so we’re guaranteed a spot tomorrow. That’s great for our team in general, but for myself, I still wasn’t able to sort out all the issues I’ve been having, so I still need to improve. This isn’t an ideal situation for me, but I’ll do my best in the race to hit good laps and stay up in the order.”
Takuya Fujita – YART Yamaha Official EWC Team
“The atmosphere among the team as we count down towards the race is great and we all know our strategy so I think we’re making good progress. Broc [Parkes], Nozane and I know the roles we need to play, but I still wish I could iron out a few more details with a race simulation. Qualifying sessions end today and tomorrow is the Top 10 Trial, but what’s really important is the race the day after tomorrow. I’ll focus on my riding and never give up until the chequered flag.”
Christophe Guyot – GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team Manager
“Today has been cold and hot! Cold because in the qualifying two David had a little crash, no damage but David was out for a good lap time. It was hot because Niccolò’s pace was unbelievable, flying in the 2’9s, so we were happy. Unfortunately he met two bikes on track in traffic that prevented him on his hot laps. The pace and progression has been great so big thank you to Dunlop. They brought new tyres that are very good here. The only issue is we have them quite late so we are still working on the set up. Lucas is learning the track very quickly, I’m impressed with his times so far in the 2’10s. I am confident that for the race and for championship points we can do something good on Sunday.”
David Checa – GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team
“The first qualifying session was ok, we worked to adjust the bike for the race. In the second session we had a new rear tyre to test and in the second lap I lost the front. Then we had to set up the bike again because for sure the rear was better and it pushed the front. It’s a bit of a pity because if you have to work on setting in the qualifying you lose valuable time. It’s a shame to crash but I prefer to do this today than in the race. The bike didn’t have too much damage, I managed to save the crash but the corner stone is really high so we jumped over a bit. I’m happy that the mechanics didn’t have too much work to do and we got some valuable information for tomorrow. I’m a bit disappointed because Niccolò had the possibility to make the top ten trial for tomorrow but for two laps he was held up in traffic in the middle so for a little we lost the top ten. Anyway the race is eight hours so we will do our best.”
Niccolò Canepa – GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team
“It’s been a good day. I’m quite satisfied with the bike and we have been working hard. Unfortunately we received the new Dunlop tyres too late to test them in the test so we had to work in today’s qualifying to find a good set up. Thanks to David because after his crash he understood that we needed something different on the setting so he really helped me to be fast in the qualifying with the qualifier tyres. Unfortunately two riders stayed in the middle of the track on my hot laps which was unfair as they prevented me from delivering possibly my best laps with the qualifier so I missed the top ten. In the end I’m satisfied with the bike and with the performance of the team, I know that we can be strong in the race. Lucas has done a great job considering it’s his first time here so I think we are ready. We have a little more work to do on the bike but we can be fast on Sunday.”
Lucas Mahias – GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team
“It has been a good qualifying for me, especially so as it’s the first time I’ve come here. It’s difficult when you are not fast immediately but David and Niccolò did a great job working on the bike set up. I did not have the opportunity to use the new tyres in the qualifying session because of the rules of the championship we did not have enough stickers, but these are the rules. It’s a shame because I think I could have been faster with the new tyres. In the end I’m happy overall as I met my target to be lapping in the 2’10s on my second day.”
Results Friday – Qualifying
1. Yamaha Factory Racing Team, Yamaha, 2’06.908
2. MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO., Honda, 2’07.026
3. Team GREEN, Kawasaki, 2’07.563
4. YART Yamaha Official EWC Team, Yamaha, 2’08.239
5. Yoshimura Suzuki Shell ADVANCE, Suzuki, 2’08.248
6. F.C.C. TSR Honda, Honda, 2’08.403
7. TOHO Racing, Honda, 2’08.426
8. Team KAGAYAMA, Suzuki, 2’08.474
9. Moto Map SUPPLY, Suzuki, 2’09.227
10. TEAMJP DOGFIGHTRACING AUSTRALIA, Yamaha, 2’09.269
12. GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team, Yamaha, 2’09.299
22. AKENO SPEED: WJR-YAMAHA, Yamaha, 2’11.199
25. Team HOOTERS with Shota Saito, Yamaha, 2’11.541
30. HKC&IMT Racing, Yamaha, 2’12.100
33. TEAM MASSA-R, Yamaha, 2’12.759
38. CLEVER WOLF Racing, Yamaha, 2’13.220
39. T-MOTOKIDS-ICU-Kawauso RT, Yamaha, 2’13.243
48. Motobox Kremer Racing CWR, Yamaha, 2’14.245
49. Iwata Racing Family, Yamaha, 2’14.545
51. NCXX RACING, Yamaha, 2’14.630
54. Team Etching Factory, Yamaha, 2’15.001
59. Team Favorite Factory, Yamaha, 2’15.158
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
YOSHIMURA & KAGAYAMA SUZUKIS IN THE MIX AT SUZUKA
As temperatures rose at the Suzuka International Circuit in Japan today, the Yoshimura and Kagayama Suzuki teams upped their pace to finish well-in the top-10 ready for tomorrow’s all-important qualifying sessions for the 39th Coca-Cola Zero Suzuka 8-Hour World Endurance Championship third round on Sunday.
Following initial practice sessions yesterday, Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance (third in Thursday’s free practice) put-in the fifth-fastest time today with a combined time of 2’08.248 aboard their GSX-R1000 with riders Takuya Tsuda, Josh Brookes and Noriyuki Haga.
Eighth overall is Team KAGAYAMA SUZUKI riders Yukio Kagayama, Ryuichi Kiyonari and Naomichi Uramoto (2’08.474); and ninth on the timesheets, Moto Map SUPPLY’s Josh Waters, former Suzuki MotoGP rider Nobuatsu Aoki and Yoshihiro Konno (2’09.227).
Defending Endurance World Champions, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, (SERT) currently sits 17th with a time of 2’09.928, but are looking for more in tomorrow’s final sessions.
Takuya Tsuda:
“I rode slower than I thought because the condition is considerably different from a test. Still, the average of three of us is high, and putting all this together, I think it is far from a bad position. I’m looking forward to the final, and I would like to ride well in the Top-10 Trial tomorrow.”
Noriyuki Haga:
“I had some trouble with the conditions that were considerably-different from a test. But I think that the balance of the whole machine is good, but it is not able to give the performance with the tyre for the road-surface condition well. However, I understand the solution to it, so I think it is not a big problem: It keeps me on my toes because the Suzuka 8-Hours is a long stretch and I have to focus on the final qualifying, but I still have no image of the race at all.”
Josh Brookes:
“I think I will be able to perform well in the race, because my team has the solution to some issues I have at the moment, but no big deal. Maybe, Takuya and Nori will ride in the Top-10 Trial tomorrow, so I would like to concentrate and focus on the race.”
Yukio Kagayama:
“I checked the machine that is for Suzuka 8-Hour, choose tyres yesterday, and everything is going well. There is a limit of tyres, so our team made the direction with management that we make Kiyonari’s feeling: I’m grateful for his work. He understands my ideas and helps my challenge that a young rider like Uramoto is growing and improving here. I am very happy and enjoying the race week with the good atmosphere in our team.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari:
“We are improving our machine all the time, but to be honest, I am surprised with the other team’s time scores. Our team’s work-flow is right and going well, I think. Anyway, I have to do what I can, so I will more focus on working hard.”
Naomichi Uramoto:
“The feeling of the first outing was good, but I slipped-off, but then I got a better feeling and I could ride with the good rhythm in this morning’s free practice. The qualifiers were both with the used tyres, but I just want to do my best for our team.”
Yoshihiro Konno:
“There was a limit of tyres, so Josh and I planned to attack and that was going well. Nobuatsu Aoki gave us some good advice and it enabled us to put it together early, which led to a good result.”
Nobuatsu Aoki:
“This team has the job of tyre development and testing in a real race environment, so there are some difficult tasks…but, the potential is improving: It seems that we will show it and this will be proof of our job. Our Suzuki machine is good and we are positive about the race.”
Josh Waters:
“The conditions were different from the test, and the slow machines caused a traffic jam in many places. But the performance of the Suzuki is good, and I was able to attack with confidence. I enjoy the race because my team-mates are the best, and the atmosphere of the team is good. I hope to give a good performance in the Top-10 Trial tomorrow.”
Vincent Philippe:
“I was disappointed at today’s session a little because I couldn’t get clear laps with the traffic jam on the course. The tyre grip is also not good. But, we are the Champion team and our GSX-R1000 Suzuki is good. We must get as many points as possible and, of course, we aim at a winner’s platform.”
Anthony Delhalle:
“Today I was able to raise confidence, but because I crashed by a slight mistake, I lost a bit, but I got my confidence back. I ran with a race tyre in the second session and I have got a good feeling for the race now.”
Etienne Masson:
“The track conditions are different from the test, so I was perplexed. There are lots of bikes on the course. It troubles me a little and I need more time riding, so I would like to spend more time tomorrow doing this before the race.”