Yamaha Factory Racing Team’s Pol Espargaro Blazes To Suzuka 8 Hours Pole Position

Yamaha Factory Racing Team’s Pol Espargaro Blazes To Suzuka 8 Hours Pole Position

© 2016, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

39th Coca-Cola Zero Suzuka 8 Hours

FIM Endurance World Championship

Suzuka Circuit, Japan

July 30, 2016

Top 10 Trial (Superpole) Results:

1. Yamaha Factory Racing Team (Pol Espargaro 2:06.258/Katsuyuki Nakasuga 2:06.435), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:06.258

2. Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance (Noriyuki Haga 2:08.310/Takuya Tsuda 2:06.405), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:06.405

3. Team Green (Kazuki Watanabe 2:07.730/Leon Haslam 2:06.469), Kaw ZX-10R, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:06.469

4. F.C.C. TSR Honda (PJ Jacobsen 2:07.248/Dominique Aegerter 2:07.760), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:07.248

5. MuSASHI RT HARC PRO (Michael van der Mark 2:07.654/Takumi Takahashi 2:07.394), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:07.394

6. Team Kagayama (Yukio Kagayama 2:08.425/Ryuichi Kiyonari 2:07.651), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:07.651

7. YART Yamaha – Official EWC Team (Kouta Nozane 2:10.636/Broc Parkes 2:08.602), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike, Pirelli, 2:08.602

8. TOHO Racing (Gino Rea 2:09.043/Tatsuya Yamaguchi 2:08.716), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:08.716

9. Moto Map Supply (Yoshiniro Konno 2:09.968/Josh Waters 2:09.774), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike, Bridgestone, 2:09.774

10. Team JP Dogfight Racing Australia (Corey Turner 2:14.223/Mark Aitchison no time recorded), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike, Dunlop, 2:14.223

More, from a press release issued by Eurosport Events:

POL ESPARGARO PUTS YAMAHA FACTORY ON POLE

Pol Espargaro was the fastest at this morning’s Top 10 Trial, claiming the Suzuka 8 Hours pole for the Yamaha Factory Racing Team. The factory Yamaha will take top spot on the starting grid, ahead of Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance and Team Green. F.C.C. TSR Honda, which placed fourth, is the first Honda.

The Top 10 Trial yielded a great show of diversity and the promise of a wide open and hotly-fought race. A Yamaha, a Suzuki, a Kawasaki and a Honda – in that order – will be starting the race Sunday morning in the four top spots.

Pol Espargaro didn’t beat his own 2015 record (pole position with a 2’06.000 lap), but he did convert Yamaha Factory Racing Team’s provisional pole into the number one slot on the grid at the start of the Suzuka 8 Hours, posting a 2’06.258 lap in the Top 10 Trial. The Superpole – a specificity of the Japanese race – enabled Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance to jump to second place on the grid thanks to a 2’06.405 lap by Takuya Tsuda. Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance were in fifth place after yesterday’s qualifying. Team Green confirmed its earlier performance and took third place on the grid after Leon Haslam completed a 2’06.469 lap.

F.C.C. TSR Honda moved up one place to 4th after Patrick Jacobsen delivered a 2’07.248, making the team the first Honda on the grid, ahead of Musashi RT Harc-Pro. The Top 10 Trial was a letdown for Musashi RT Harc-Pro. Michael van der Mark and Takumi Takahashi were unable to top their best performances in qualifying, which had provisionally won them second place.

Team Kagayama (Suzuki) will start from 6th on the grid ahead of YART Yamaha Official EWC Team, Toho Racing (Honda) and Moto Map Supply (Suzuki). JP DogFightRacing Australia held on its qualifying 10th place after a lone 2’14.223 lap by Corey Turner following Mark Aitchison’s crash on his run.

The 39th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours will be flagged off at 11.30am local time (GMT+9) on Sunday.

What they said

Pol Espargaro, Yamaha Factory Racing Team rider and pole sitter

“I’m very happy with this new pole position. We managed to tweak the settings to get a high-performance bike that suits all three riders. Katsuyuki Nakasuga will be at the start.”

Takuya Tsuda, Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance rider

“We’ve worked hard these past few days to amp up our bike’s performance. The work paid off and enabled us to pick up second place on the grid.”

Noriyuki Haga, Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance rider

“I’m very happy with our result. Even though I made a mistake on the track, I still posted a better lap in the Top 10 Trial than in qualifying.”

Leon Haslam, Team Green rider

“It’s the first time I’ve taken part in the Top 10 Trial and I’m happy I got so close to the best time. Our bike is working well and we’re fast. I’m feeling confident, but it’ll be a very close-fought race.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

YOSHIMURA SUZUKI SHINE IN SUZUKA TOP-10 TRIAL

Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance will start tomorrow’s 39th Coca-Cola Zero Suzuka 8-Hour World Endurance Championship third round in Japan from second on the grid after a blistering lap in this afternoon’s Top-10 Trial.

Takuya Tsuda lapped the team GSX-R1000 at 2’06.405, which was just 0.147-seconds off Pole Position; and the fastest Suzuki lap so far in this year’s event.

Following a night practice session on Friday and further practice this morning at the Suzuka Circuit, the Top-10 Trial started at 15:20 local time with yesterday’s ninth-placed qualifiers, Moto Map SUPPLY, the first of the three Suzuki teams on track. Yoshihiro Konno recorded a 2’09.968-lap on his GSX-R1000, followed by Team KAGAYAMA’s Yukio Kagayama on a 2’08.425. Moto Map’s Josh Waters then put-in a time of 2’09.774 and then Ryuichi Kiyonari a 2’07.651 aboard the Kagayama Suzuki. Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance, fifth in yesterday’s qualifying, put-out Nori Haga first and he scored a 2’08.310 before Tsuda took his stint to lap at 2’06.405.

Takuya Tsuda:

“There were some troubles until the qualifier, but the condition of our machine was finalized in yesterday afternoon’s session. We confirmed it in the Top-10 Trial and we have found the best setting for the race. This has been a fruitful day for us today.”

Noriyuki Haga:

“I was very disappointed that I made a mistake on the final corner before the attacking lap. However, I got my best time of the week and we could find a good setting. We are helping each other and aiming for the top of the podium tomorrow.

Yukio Kagayama:

“I am concentrating on making everything work well for the team and so that Ryuichi can ride with a good feeling. I received a big confident from his riding today and we are ready for the race.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari:

“I confirmed the bike behavior with a full tank of fuel at the free practice session.

The bike is good and things are going well and I understand what we need to do tomorrow.”

Yoshihiro Konno:

“Our machine’s improvement is going well in this race week.

We took a soft tyre for the Top-10 Trial but the road surface temperatures were a little bit higher than we thought. It is little bit disappointed that I could not show the original performance today, but we got some very good preparation for the race.”

Josh Waters:

“I have enjoyed the Top-10 Trial. Compared to the qualifier on Friday, there is no traffic jams on the course and I got a good feeling. Out team’s combination is very good and the team atmosphere is great. I think we can do a good race tomorrow.”

Defending World Endurance Champions SERT, who will start from 17th on the grid, made good use of Friday evening’s practice and today’s earlier sessions, run in increasing heat and track temperatures, making final changes to settings on their GSX-R1000. Riders Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and Etienne Masson also proved these revisions were successful, improving their lap-times into 11th at one stage. Said Delhalle: “It’s the toughest race of the season, because of the heat, but mainly because of the fierce competition from the Japanese teams, who’ll stop at nothing to win! But we’ll do our absolute best to score as many points as pos¬sible tomorrow and inch closer to the title”

Top-10 Time Trial Results: 1 Yamaha Factory Racing Team (Yamaha) 2’06.258, 2 Yoshimura Suzuki Shell Advance – Tsuda, Brookes, Haga – (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 2’06.405, 3 Team Green (Kawasaki) 2’06.469, 4 FCC TSR Honda (Honda) 2’07.248, 5 Musashi RT Harc-Pro (Honda) 2’07.394, 6 Team KAGAYAMA – Kagayama, Uramoto, Kiyonari – (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 2’07.651, 7 YART (Yamaha) 2’08.602, 8 Toho Racing (Honda) 2’08.716, 9 Moto Map SUPPLY – Waters, Aoki, Konno – (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 2’09.774, 10 Team JP Dogfighting Australia (Yamaha) 2’14.223. 

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