All 3 YART Riders in 2:05s, Break Team Record for 3rd Overall

The main feature on today's schedule was the Top 10 Trial, but unfortunately it was cancelled and replaced with a 40-minute timed qualifying session featuring the fastest ten teams from qualifying. In it, the Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team's three riders each went out for a time attack. All three set very fast times in the 2:05s, showing their strong pace and consistency.

First on track for YART was the team's fastest rider of the weekend so far, Niccolò Canepa. With fresh tires on the YZF-R1, he rode to a 2:05.981. Though this was not an improvement on his 2:05.863 from yesterday, he put the team in 2nd overall behind Team HRC.

Next up was Marvin Fritz. In yesterday's qualifying sessions his fastest was a 2:06.138, so his goal was to break into the :05 range. It was a tense few laps, but he overcame the pressure to set his fastest ever time around Suzuka Circuit, and at the same time improved on Canepa's time with a 2:05.776. In the meantime however, Kawasaki Racing Team Suzuka 8H had improved their own time to take over 2nd and relegate YART to 3rd.

Riding last for YART was Karel Hanika. He had suffered some bad luck yesterday, crashing in his first time attack and getting rained on in his second, ending up with a best time in the 2:20 range. Had the normally scheduled Top 10 Trial taken place, Hanika would not have been able to ride, but in this revised timed qualifying session he got his chance.

His first attempt resulted in a time in the 2:06s, but on his second time attack he achieved a stunning feat, besting his own personal fastest Suzuka lap time, breaking the team record that had only been set minutes before by his teammate Fritz, and in the end notching up Yamaha's fastest ever lap around Suzuka Circuit in an 8 Hours event with a 2:05.769. The final qualifying order saw Team HRC on top with a 2:04.934, Kawasaki Racing Team Suzuka 8H in 2nd with a 2:05.149, and YART in 3rd overall. While some teams had only some of their riders do time attacks, it was notable that all three of YART's riders made attempts and all three lapped in the 2:05 range. They were the fastest-qualifying regular EWC team, showing the strong potential of EWC riders and machines. In tomorrow's race, their goal is to finish as the highest-placed EWC team and to take YART's first ever Suzuka 8 Hours podium finish.

Qualified 3rd: Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team (2:05.769)

Karel Hanika

"I had a bit of pain from yesterday, so it was a bit of a surprise that I rode with no problem today. I was nervous because the last time I rode properly in the dry was yesterday morning and since that I've only had two laps today, so my first lap was not so good, and also in my fastest lap I did many mistakes. I'm super happy for the team because we set the fastest lap of Yamaha for the 8 Hours. Overall we are happy to start in 3rd position. We were working on race pace for the first two days, and we seem to be better in the dry conditions, but yesterday we showed that we are competitive in the wet and at night. We know we are fighting with two very strong teams, but our team is the most close to each other, our pace is very similar, and this is our strong point so we'll try tomorrow to do everything to be in the front. I believe in our team."

Niccolò Canepa

"I'm satisfied about the position, and really proud about all my team and my teammates because we are all in the 2:05s. This is a great achievement. Before coming here we thought it was not possible to do it, but we find now that we are all three in the 2:05s. I have goosebumps thinking about it. About my lap, I'm a little bit sad because I know that I could improve, but this doesn't count today. What is most important is that we feel strong with our pace, we are all three in the same lap times. We are experienced riders in the EWC, so we have to use this experience to do even more tomorrow. We know that our target is to be on the podium, and if something more comes we will be extremely happy. A podium would be something the YART team has never done, and to fight with the factory teams is something incredible for us on a bike that normally does 24 hour races. We have no pressure because we have nothing to prove. That's because we already showed that we're really strong. The pressure is on others. So we have to do our own race, run our own pace, and let's see what happens at the checkered flag."

Marvin Fritz

"I felt amazing. When I crossed the line and I saw the 2:05.7 I was so happy, smiling under my helmet. I'm so proud of all the team and all the work we did here in testing. Also super proud that we all did 2:05s. I think we are the team with the strongest three riders. For the race we will just focus on ourselves. Of course YART's first podium is the big goal, but more than that our target is to finish in front of FCC and SERT to get points for the championship. This is the most important. The 8 Hours are really long and tomorrow's weather forecast looks mixed, so we never know what can happen. I feel like we were really fast in the dry and also in the wet, so I think we have a really good setup and should be fine for the race. I think our experience in the EWC is a bonus for us. I think we have to just focus on ourselves, don't push too much, don't make mistakes and aim for the podium."

Mandy Kainz

"We were the only team with all three riders this close in lap times. We're really happy about this. We had no incidents, and all went to plan. We know that the three YART riders are the fastest EWC riders. That's why we always get pole positions. Not only are all three riders fast, but we have a perfect R1. This is in combination with the perfect tires, and I think it's reflected in today's results. The 8 Hours is unpredictable. Many riders on track, changing weather, changing track conditions, pace cars, anything can happen. We did our best to prepare for the race. So far all is perfect. I hope that the race will also be perfect. We did the maximum that we can do, but the rest is not in our hands. We will try not to watch the two factory bikes, and instead we will try to ride our own race, and to do it as safely as possible."

Pos.	No.	Team	Machine	Time
1	33	Team HRC	Honda	2'04.934
2	10	Kawasaki Racing Team Suzuka 8H	Kawasaki	2'05.149
3	7	YART-YAMAHA OFFICIAL TEAM EWC	Yamaha	2'05.769
4	5	F.C.C. TSR Honda France	Honda	2'06.204
5	73	SDG Honda Racing	Honda	2'06.409
6	72	Honda Dream RT SAKURAI HONDA	Honda	2'06.564
7	17	Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing	Honda	2'06.607
8	25	Honda Sofukai Suzuka Racing	Honda	2'06.668
9	37	BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM	BMW	2'06.897
10	2	EVA RT 01 Webike TRICKSTAR Kawasaki	Kawasaki	2'08.033