Rain threw a wrench in the works, leading to the cancellation of the Top 10 Trial. The starting grid for the 47th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours was, therefore, determined by the results of yesterday’s qualifying session, which awarded the pole position to the Honda HRC team.
So the crew, consisting of Jonathan Rea, Takumi Takahashi, and Somkiat Chantra, will be the one starting at the front of the grid, based on their average lap time of 2’04”738, which gave them a 75-thousandths-of-a-second advantage over the #37 M 1000 RR of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team ridden by Michael van der Mark, Markus Reiterberger, and Steven Odendaal, second on the grid.
Third place went to the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99 trio of Alessandro Delbianco, Randy De Puniet, and Florian Marino, the top Yamaha team ahead of the YART Yamaha Official EWC Team and the Yamaha Factory Racing Team.
Next up were F.C.C. TSR Honda France, Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing, Yoshimura SERT Motul, AutoRace Ube Racing Team, and SDG Team HARC-PRO, rounding out the Top 10.
“I’m happy with this result, despite the traffic on the track,” Rea said. “Given the conditions, it didn’t make sense because it couldn’t be fair for all the riders. To be honest, I was pretty worried about tackling a lap in those conditions. We'll take yesterday’s result, but tomorrow is the most important day.”
Starting second on the grid, van der Mark admitted to being a bit frustrated. “Yesterday went well. We put together a good lap. I made a few small mistakes, and, unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to beat this old guy next to me (ed. Rea). Besides that, I’m very happy with second place on the grid. It’s a shame we couldn’t participate in the top ten trial, because I really enjoy it. Anyway, tomorrow is more important, but all three of us have a great pace, so I can’t wait for the rest of the race.”
Third in qualifying with the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99, Delbianco also regretted the missed opportunity. “I’m happy to be here. Yesterday, we put in a good lap. We pushed hard and did a good job. But we have to stay focused on the race because that’s the most important thing. It was our first time at the top ten trial, and, unfortunately, it was impossible to do it, given the weather conditions. I’m sad, because I like to push to the limit, even if it’s just for one lap. But that’s okay. We have to stay focused on tomorrow and do a good job.”
The weather will also be the big variable for Sunday. Unstable weather conditions have been forecast for the race, which is a factor that could have a big impact over the course of eight hours. The race will start at 11:30 a.m. local time—4:30 a.m. in Italy—and will be broadcast live on Eurosport 2.
The complete starting grid
