Team HRC with Japan Post’s Nagashima Fastest in 1st Qualifying
Suzuka CircuitQualifying for the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race (Suzuka 8 Hours), a midsummer festivity, began today.
After Unofficial Test Session 6 from 8:30 am to 10 am, and Free Practice Session 1 from 11:30 am, the first qualifying session began at 2:45 pm, divided into three rider groups (blue / yellow / red) for 20 minutes per group.
In the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), starting grid positions are determined by the average lap time of each team’s best two riders. After the second qualifying session on Saturday morning is complete, and provisional rankings are determined, two riders from the top ten teams then proceed to the Top 10 Trial to be held in the afternoon to decide the top ten grid positions. The teams not in the Top 10 Trial retain their positions determined after the second qualifying session.
Session 6 in the morning began in hot, harsh conditions. YART - YAMAHA OFFICIAL TEAM EWC (Yamaha) set the fastest lap of 2 min 6.424s, followed by Team HRC with Japan Post’s 2 min 7.569s and F.C.C. TSR Honda France‘s 2 min 7.708s.
SDG Honda Racing was fourth-fastest, with TTSRacing MurayamaUnso HondaDream sixth, Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing ninth, TOHO Racing 12th and Team ATJ 13th, all setting times in the 2 min 8s range.
Free Practice Session 1 that followed was cut short due to too many riders crashing ultimately leading to a red flag.
In this session, Team HRC with Japan Post set the best time of 2 min 6.458s. TOHO Racing was second-fastest, SDG Honda Racing third, F.C.C. TSR Honda France fourth, Team ATJ sixth and Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing eighth, all in the 2 min 7s range, a second behind the session leader.
Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing was tenth-fastest, and Honda Dream RT SAKURAI HONDA was 11th.
In the afternoon the first qualifying session started with Riders Blue.
Soon after the start, the session turned chaotic as Honda Dream RT SAKURAI HONDA’s Kazuki Ito crashed, followed by Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar’s Randy de Puniet.
Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing’s Ryo Mizuno set the session’s best time of 2 min 7.048s and promptly pitted just before the red flag halted proceedings.
As the session restarted, Team HRC with Japan Post’s Tetsuta Nagashima was the fastest out of pit lane. YART - YAMAHA OFFICIAL TEAM EWC’s Niccolò Canepa set a 2 min 6.513s lap, but Nagashima promptly bettered his rival with a 2 min 5.722 time. Mizuno was fourth-fastest, followed by F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Mike Di Meglio.
Next up was the Rider Yellow qualifying session, which was equally, if not more chaotic as the previous, as F.C.C. TSR Honda France‘s Alan Techer and S-PULSE DREAM RACING-ITEC (Suzuki) rider Josh Waters collided at the Spoon curve. The TSR bike caught fire, halting proceedings once again. Although the session restarted, it was soon red-flagged again.
With 6 min 23s remaining in the session, riders attempted their hot laps. YART - YAMAHA OFFICIAL TEAM EWC’s Marvin Fritz set the best time of 2 min 7.084s, followed by Team HRC with Japan Post’s Takumi Takahashi clocking a 2 min 7.158 lap. Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing‘s Kazuma Watanabe was fourth-fastest in the session.
The Rider Red session was red-flagged practically as soon as it began. Once restarted Team HRC’s Xavi Vierge set the fastest lap of 2 min 6.121s before promptly pitting to greeted by the team’s smiles.
SDG Honda Racing‘s Haruki Noguchi set the second-fastest time at that point of 2 min 7.594s, but was soon pushed down a place after F.C.C. TSR Honda France‘s Tarran Mackenzie set a s min 7.486 lap. YART - YAMAHA OFFICIAL TEAM EWC‘s Karel Hanika beat everyone with a 2 min 6.009s lap, relegating Vierge to second. TOHO Racing‘s Ikuhiro Enokido impressed with the third-fastest lap for the session of 2 min 7.317s, but soon after crashed at the Spoon curve. With minutes remaining in the session, the red flag once again cut proceedings short.
Later in the evening, the Night Free Practice Session was held from 6:30 pm for one hour. YART - YAMAHA OFFICIAL TEAM EWC was fastest with 2 min 7.488. Team HRC with Japan Post was the only other team in the session in the 2 min 7s range, with a 2 min 7.802 lap.
F.C.C. TSR Honda France was third-fastest with 2 min 8.232s, while SDG Honda Racing was 16th and Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA was 18th.
SDG Honda Racing’s team principal Kotaro Honda looking back at the day’s qualifying times said, “Nagoe crashed in free practice and hurt himself, so it was hard to set a good qualifying time, but Noguchi set a good pace in his first Suzuka 8 Hours outing. We confirmed that Uramoto can also set 2 min 6s laps. We’re not quite as fast as we want yet, but we’ll be ready by the race.”
Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA’s Makoto Tamada team principal said, “Zaqhwan fell in the morning session, but was unharmed and rode well in the next session. Andi, who is injured, rode carefully. As a team, we’re getting better each time we’re on the track.”
F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Masakazu Fujii team principal said, “Alan crashed, but Mackenzie did a great job. Di Meglio is also keeping his averages up. We’ll work hard preparing for the race.”
Team HRC with Japan Post spent the morning focusing on checking the bike and its setup in preparation for the race. In Qualifying, the team average times were highly competitive, and Nagashima reached his target time. The team will continue making adjustments for tomorrow.
The second qualifying session will be held tomorrow morning, followed by Free Practice Session 2 in the afternoon. The Top 10 Trial kicks off at 4:00 pm.
In the free practice session, Nagashima rode the first half, and I rode the second half to check the bike. In the qualifying session, I was going to put on harder race tires and do 2 to 3 laps before trying a hot lap, but the timing was bad due to the red flag. I was in the 2 min 8s range on Wednesday, so I wanted to improve my time and aimed for the 6s range, but again, I was hampered by the red flag. Still, I was relieved to see that my time was in the 7s range despite not pushing hard. Both Nagashima and Xavi have set good times, so I think we can remain in the top 10. The team will decide which two riders will be in the trial, so I'll abide by their choice.
I concentrated on checking the bike’s settings in the morning, with about 20 laps on used tires. I was able to do 2 min 7s laps, and finished the session with about 20 laps on used tires. I was able to do 2 min 7s laps, and finished the session on new tires. I was hoping to qualify in the 5s range. The track temperature was over 60℃ and I chose a slightly softer tire, so I wasn't sure if it would work properly, but in Moto2 sliding is normal, so I adjusted to the conditions and got into the 5s range. Both Takahashi and Xavi have improved their times, and I think we can go into the top 10. I don't know who will ride in it yet, but if I can run, I will aim for pole position, as we’re a factory team.
I was able to do some practical testing in the morning, trying out used tires, and in the afternoon I was able to do a hot lap on soft tires. I was able to set good times even with the red flags, so I hope to improve my time in tomorrow's second qualifying session and finish in the top 10. If we’re in the Top 10 Trial, I would love to ride. But it's up to the team to decide, so I'll be looking forward to it. This is my first endurance race, and my first time sharing a bike between three riders. Of course it will be different from the bike I have adjusted for myself, but even so, I am positive that the three of us will be able to fight together.
Compared to the first day, we have made huge progress in bike setup and fuel consumption. I am now able to ride more smoothly, and easily get into a rhythm. I think this is reflected in my lap times. I hope to improve my time in the second qualifying session tomorrow and advance to the Top 10 Trial. If I can, I will try to improve my time significantly.
In the morning I rode about 10 laps straight on new tires to get a good feel for the bike, and then went into qualifying. Since it was a little difficult for Nagoe to improve his time, I felt a little pressure that if I did not improve my time, we would not get into the top 10. I managed to improve my best time and I think I was able to contribute to the team a little bit. It was my first night session, so I couldn't see as far ahead as I expected, but it was a learning experience. I hope to learn a lot every day and keep moving forward.
I am very disappointed because I felt very good in the first qualifying session and I thought I could have done better than 2 min 7.789s and I thought I could have been in the top 10. In the second qualifying session tomorrow, I will push aggressively to keep up with the faster riders. I will try my best to make it to the top 10.
In this morning's free practice, I tried a few settings before the first qualifying session. The conditions were very hot and it was difficult to keep my concentration. I am not satisfied with my times, so I will try to improve my best time in the second qualifying session and enjoy the race more.
The bike felt great on used tires, but I couldn't get a good feel on new tires. So, I am not happy with the qualifying results. Tomorrow I will try some different riding styles and I hope to contribute to the team by setting better times than I did today.
