Yamalube YART Yamaha’s Niccolo Canepa, Marvin Fritz, and Karel Hanika captured pole position for the 45th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8-Hours race in Japan. 

During the Top 10 Trial (a.k.a. Superpole) qualifying session Saturday, Yamalube YART Yamaha’s Marvin Fritz recorded a 2:05.130 around the famed 3.6-mile (5.8 km) road course on his Bridgestone-shod YZF-R1 to top the field.

Ducati Team Kagayama (Ryo Mizuno/Hafizh Syahrin/Josh Waters) was second-best with a 2:05.248 on their Panigale V4 R.

Team HRC with Japan Post (Teppei Nagoe/Takumi Takahashi/Johann Zarco) was third with a time of 2:05.531 on their Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.

Suzuka 8 Hours - FIM Endurance World Championship - Top 10 Trial - Final Ranking

More, from a press release issued by FIM EWC:

YART YAMAHA WINS TOP 10 TRIAL TO CLAIM EWC SUZUKA 8 HOURS POLE

*Reigning EWC champion team set to start iconic FIM Endurance World Championship race in first

*Ducati Team Kagayama second for maiden Suzuka appearance following new-for-2024 alliance

*MotoGP star Johann Zarco helps Team HRC to third place in action-packed showdown

For immediate release (20 July 2024): Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team will start Sunday’s 45th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race from pole position after its dramatic victory in the Top 10 Trial, which sets the first 10 positions on the starting grid for Japan’s round of the FIM Endurance World Championship.

Marvin Fritz’s flying lap of 2m05.130s proved decisive after team-mate Karel Hanika crashed during his Top 10 Trial run. The German rider’s effort means YART, which also includes Niccolò Canepa in its line-up, can celebrate three pole positions out of three in this season’s EWC with the five points scored putting it ahead of Yoshimura SERT Motul in the race to win the 2024 EWC title.

It was also Yamaha’s first Top 10 Trial success since Yamaha Factory Team triumphed in 2017 and came after YART had finished ahead in the combined qualifying classification after Friday’s running. 

Ducati Team Kagayama, consisting of Ryo Mizuno, Hafizh Syahrin and Josh Waters, completed the Top 10 Trial in second position followed by Honda-powered Team HRC with Japan Post, which is chasing a third consecutive victory in its home round of the EWC with riders Teppei Nagoe, Takumi Takahashi and MotoGP race winner Johann Zarco.

Having failed to progress to the Top 10 Trial in 2023, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team claimed a fine fourth as Suzuki-powered Yoshimura SERT Motul rounded out the top five. 

With the Top 10 Trial reserved for the 10 fastest teams according to Friday’s combined qualifying classification, the Dunlop-supplied Superstock squads – led by pole-sitting Teramoto@J-Trip Racing – were able to spend Saturday afternoon completing their preparations for Sunday’s eight-hour race. 

Although F.C.C. TSR Honda France reached the Top 10 Trial – one of four permanent EWC teams to do so – Kawasaki Webike Trickstar, KM 99, Motobox Kremer Racing and Tati Team Beringer Racing could instead reflect on encouraging performances during Friday’s running. KM 99 qualified 15th, Kawasaki Webike Trickstar 18th, Tati Team Beringer Racing 31st and Motobox Kremer Racing 43rd. 

YAMAHA-POWERED FRITZ REFLECTS ON FLYING LAP

“It was an amazing lap,” 31-year-old Marvin Fritz said. “At Spa I got the lap record but normally here at Suzuka Karel and Niccolò are a bit faster. But since last year I’ve got a really good feeling, especially in the third sector where I always struggled but it’s my favourite now. The bike was perfect, we work together like we all are a big family, and this is why we are always fast, all three of us. We were celebrating before Karel crashed because we knew the pole was sure, but we were happy when we saw he was standing up and fine. The bike was damaged, but the race bike is ready and we feel comfortable and confident. The main focus in the race is to gain points in the championship. Of course a win would be nice but it’s important to have good points going to the Bol d’Or [season finale].”

Of his high-speed crash in the Top 10 Trial, Hanika said: “I just tried my maximum performance, my 100 per cent and it didn’t work out. Yamaha gave us a perfect machine for this kind of session where only one lap matters. I did my best ever first sector but to be able to go under 2m05s I had to keep going like this and I just carried too much corner speed into Turn 7. Unfortunately, I lost the front and I’m really sorry for this but the most important is Marvin could manage an amazing lap, super-smooth and super-clean, which gave us the five points for the championship.”

Ryo Mizuno, who was fastest in both Blue Rider qualifying sessions on Friday, said: “I was aiming for the pole position so I’m not so super-satisfied but with the second position we did really well. The team did a really good performance and I’m very pleased how we brought everything together. Tomorrow is the day and tonight we’ll have further meetings to plan everything for tomorrow.”

MOTOGP STAR ZARCO SAVOURS TOP 10 TRIAL

Johann Zarco will start his first Suzuka 8 Hours – and his first EWC race – in third position alongside Team HRC with Japan Post team-mates Teppei Nagoe and Takumi Takahashi. After joining Takahashi in the Top 10 Trial, the French MotoGP star said: “It was special and I like it. You feel a different stress in MotoGP but I’m pretty happy I did this experience and also I did an improvement compared to yesterday and that’s important.”

TERAMOTO@J-TRIP RACING STORMS TO SUPERSTOCK POLE

Japan-based Teramoto@J-Trip Racing was the talk of the Dunlop-supplied Superstock contingent by claiming pole position for round three of the FIM Endurance World Cup. The Suzuki-equipped outfit, featuring riders Takeshi Ishizuka, an EWC regular, Takeru Murase and Koji Teramoto, excelled during qualifying for the 45th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race to bank first place in class ahead of Team Étoile and Taira Promote Racing. NCXX Racing with Riders Club beat Kawasaki Plaza Racing Team to fourth position followed by TONE RT Syncedge 4413 BMW and Wójcik Racing Team, which includes Gino Rea in its line-up. Team Tatara Aprilia and points-leading National Motos Honda FMA were next with Edwin Gesundheit Racing rounding out the top 10. 

The 45th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race is counting for the FIM Endurance World Cup for the first time, thereby giving European Superstock teams the chance to contest one of international motorcycle racing’s most iconic events. They’re benefiting from a tyre support package offered jointly by FIM Endurance World Championship promoter Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and Dunlop, the official tyre supplier to the Superstock category. Through the arrangement, 10 sets of tyres are being provided free of charge to each European Superstock team contesting the third event of the EWC season. National Motos Honda FMA, Team Étoile and Wójcik Racing Team are the beneficiaries of this incentive.

More, from a press release issued by HRC:

Team HRC with Japan Post Qualifies Third

On July 19 (Fri), Team HRC with Japan Post was third in qualifying for the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours Road Race (Suzuka 8 Hours) 45th Annual Event.

Free practice was held from 8:30 to 10:30 in the morning, followed by the first 20-minute qualifying sessions for the blue, yellow, and red riders from 12:05 pm.

Qualifying for the EWC is determined by the average lap times of the two fastest riders from each team. Based on the results of today’s two qualifying sessions, two riders from the top 10 teams will compete in the Top 10 Trials on Saturday, determining the grid for positions from 1 through 10. The grid for positions 11 and lower reflect the results of today’s qualifying sessions.

Free practice was repeatedly red-flagged and restarted due to a crashes. The session was finally stopped due to a crashed bike on the hairpin just off-track, with 6 minutes remaining in scheduled time.

Team HRC with Japan Post (Takumi Takahashi / Teppei Nagoe / Johann Zarco) set the fastest lap in free practice of 2 min 6.238s, followed by Team ATJ with docomo business (Satoru Iwata / Kouki Suzuki / Yuta Okaya) in 4th position with 2 min 7.143s, TOHO Racing (Ryuichi Kiyonari / Kazuki Watanabe/ Ikuhiro Enokido) 5th with 2 min 7.162s, SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda (Yuki Kunii / Naomichi Uramoto / Mario Aji) 6th with 2 min 7.304 sec. and Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing (Kohta Nozane / Kisuke Sakumoto / Taiga Hada) 9th with 2 min 7.391 sec.

For Team HRC with Japan Post, Takahashi’s best lap was 2 min.7.567s, Nagoe’s was 2 min 6.390s, and Zarco’s was 2 min 6.238s.

Team manager Teruaki Matsubara said, “We confirmed the base settings, then Nagoe and Zarco prepared for qualifying, and Takahashi worked on the race set-up.”

In the first qualifying session, the blue riders entered the course first, but one rider crashed in the early stage. SDG Team HARC-PRO.Honda’s Aji and Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing’s Nozane collided and crashed at the hairpin, causing a red flag. Aji required a medical examination following the accident. By the end of the session, Team HRC with Japan Post’s Takumi Takahashi was 4th 2 min 6.381s.

The yellow riders were next on track. Although the session was red-flagged due to a crash, Team HRC with Japan Post’s Johann Zarco set the second fastest time of 2 min 6.084s. Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing’s Hada was 3rd with 2 min 6.743s, SDG Team HARC-PRO.Honda’s Uramoto was 4th with 2 min 6.772s, and Alain Techer for F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Josh Hook / Mike Di Meglio / Alan Techer) was 6th with 2 min 7.529s. Andi Farid Izdihar  for Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (Md Zaqhwan Bin Zaidi / Andi Farid Izdihar / Nakarin Atiratphuvapat) was 10th with 2 min 8.017s.

In the red rider qualifying session, SDG Team HARC-PRO.Honda’s Kunii took an early lead with a 2 min 5.942s lap. Team HRC with Japan Post’s Teppei Nagoe then rose to 3rd, setting 2 min 5.980s on the following lap, but returned to the pits in 3rd. At the end of the session, Kunii was 2nd, Nagoe 3rd, and F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Techer was 5th with 2 min 7.090s.

Track temperature during the first qualifying session was 58℃, but in the second qualifying session, dropped to 40℃. Teams were expected to try and improve their lap times on the cooler track, and attention turned to what lap times they could set.

The blue riders entered the track to start the second qualifying session. Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing’s Nozane set a time in the 2 min 5s range, and was 2nd fastest with 2 min 5.923s. Team ATJ with docomo business’ Iwata was 4th with 2 min 7.213s.

In the yellow riders’ second qualifying session, Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing’s Hada topped the leaderboard with a 2 min 6.507s lap, followed by Team HRC with Japan Post’s Zarco 3rd with 2 min 6.795s. In the red riders’ second session, Team HRC with Japan Post’s Nagoe was 6th with 2 min 7.574s.

Once all qualifying sessions were complete, the averages of the top two riders for each team were officially calculated. Team HRC with Japan Post was 3rd, followed by Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing 5th, SDG Team HARC-PRO.Honda 6th, F.C.C. TSR Honda France 9th, Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda (Kazuki Ito / Daijiro Hiura) 10th, TOHO Racing 11th, Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo 13th, and Team ATJ with docomo business 14th. Tomorrow’s Top 10 Trial will determine the top 10 grid positions.

After the qualifying results, team manager Matsubara said, “Each of our three riders rode their first qualifying sessions on new tires. We knew that the track temperature would drop during the second qualifying session, so in this session our riders prepared for the race in their first hot laps as the track temperature would be close to race conditions. Qualifying was fruitful, as our goal was to be in the top 10, which they accomplished, and they also verified the bike’s feel. Other Honda teams are also improving their times, so we will concentrate in the Top 10 Trial tomorrow and the race on Sunday.”

 
Takumi Takahashi  30

The red flag came out just as I attempted a hot lap, so I could not increase my pace. However, I was able to set times in the low 2 min 6s range, and I am happy that I was able to stay in the top 10 and further prepare for the race. I am not worried because, Nagoe, Zarco and I all have more than enough energy. I don’t know who from our team will ride in the Top 10 Trial, but I don’t have to participate in it if the other two want to. I will leave it up to the team.
 
 
Teppei Nagoe  30

I saw many red flags early in the blue and yellow qualifying sessions, so I decided to attack with 10 minutes remaining and concentrate on two laps. I was aiming for the mid 2 min 5s range, but unfortunately it was just barely in the 5s range. To be honest, I am disappointed to lose to SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda who race in the All-Japan championship, but I am confident that I can set good times and I am happy that I’m in the top 10. I would like to ride in the Trial because I haven’t before, and last year I I could not race due to illness. It is a rare opportunity for people from all over the world to see me race, so I would like to be selected. 

 
Johann Zarco  30

I am getting more and more accustomed to the Suzuka Circuit and I feel that I am setting consistent times for the race. In qualifying, the number of tires was limited, so I had to share them with my teammates, which limited the timing of my hot laps. It was a shame that just when I went out on new tires, the red flag came out and I couldn’t find the right timing. As for the team, I’m glad that we were able be in the top 10. The team decides who will race in the Top 10 trial, so I am not sure if I will be selected, but I am willing to give it a try. As an athlete, if I can challenge myself, then of course I want to race.