Yamaha Factory Racing Fly to Third Consecutive Suzuka 8Hour Pole

Action resumed again on track today for the 40th Anniversary of the 2017 Coca-Cola Suzuka 8Hours. The afternoon saw the top ten teams from provisional qualifying contest the Top 10 Trial to decide the first ten grid positions. The Yamaha Factory Racing Team proved unbeatable, taking pole with a scorching 2’06.038s lap. The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team were also on form, the fastest of the non-Factory teams with a 2’07.634s lap for sixth on the grid.

Action resumed again on track today for the 40th Anniversary of the 2017 Coca-Cola Suzuka 8Hours. The afternoon saw the top ten teams from provisional qualifying contest the Top 10 Trial to decide the first ten grid positions. The Yamaha Factory Racing Team proved unbeatable, taking pole with a scorching 2’06.038s lap. The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team were also on form, the fastest of the non-Factory teams with a 2’07.634s lap for sixth on the grid.

After two previous years of the pressure of being the last rider out on track, Nakasuga was able to finally enjoy a less pressured Top 10 Trial today as the first YFRT rider to qualify. The local hero didn’t disappoint and had the Suzuka crowd on their feet as he turned each split time red on the timing boards on his way to the fastest lap of the day. Next up as the second Yamaha Factory Racing Team rider was Alex Lowes. The young Brit has been on top form all weekend so far and was determined to match his teammate’s pace. Lowes was on fire through the first splits, turning them red and looked likely to break under the lap record until a small mistake in the final chicane cost a few tenths of a second. The lap proved to be faster than everyone except Nakasuga, Lowes laying down a 2’06.225s time at the line.

Third teammate Michael van der Mark was denied the chance for a proper ride in the day’s earlier practice as a red flag brought the session to an early end. Despite this the Dutchman has already found a race pace to match Lowes and Nakasuga, putting the threesome in a strong position to fight for Yamaha’s third consecutive Suzuka 8Hours victory tomorrow.

The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team came out fighting in the Top 10 Trial, determined to prove their position as the fastest of the non-Factory racing teams. Kohta Nozane was left a little disappointed not to have dipped under the 2’08s mark with a 2’08.481s lap, but was happy to have completed the Trial successfully safe in the knowledge that there was more to come from YART. It was teammate Broc Parkes, the second rider out, who delivered the statement. Parkes was almost inch perfect, delivering a flying 2’07.634s lap to secure YART’s place in sixth on the grid. . Third rider Marvin Fritz has been quick to find a comparative race pace around the circuit on his first ever Suzuka race weekend, ensuring the team are ready to give 100% in tomorrow’s race.