YART 3rd in FP to Start 2024 Suzuka 8 Hours Race Weekend!

The Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team returned to Japan about one month after the June 19-20 pre-event test for the 45th "Coca-Cola" Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race. To get ready for the race weekend, teams had a chance to get back on track for a day of testing on Wednesday, July 17. With hot conditions and brief rain shower midway through, the riders and team were able to confirm their setup in a variety of track conditions likely to be similar to those in the race. YART riders Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz, and Karel Hanika were able to get re-acclimated to the track, and once they were up to speed, did longer runs to confirm their race pace and fuel consumption.

In the first session of the day, Canepa suffered a big crash. His YZF-R1 was severely damaged, but he said, "It was great to be back at Suzuka, but only for 2.5 laps! I had a huge crash and hit the wall, but I was lucky because I feel good!"

Session 1: 2'07.105 (1st overall)
Session 2: 2'07.195 (1st overall)
Session 3: 2'07.570 (2nd overall)
Session 4: 2'20.483 (9th overall, wet conditions)
Session 5: 2'07.429 (4th overall)

On the Thursday before the event (July 18), there were no track sessions, with only motorcycle inspections and rider interviews being carried out around the paddock. Friday, July 19 saw the riders return to the track, with the first 120-minute Free Practice session held under difficult conditions, with high temperatures and humidity, and track surface temperatures between 40C and 50C.

For the session, YART's fastest rider was Canepa with a 2'06.389, which he set during his first three laps. He completed a total of 18 laps over two outings, where he consistently lapped in the 2'07-8 range. Fritz completed 14 laps, lapping mainly in the 2'07 range with a best time of 2'06.420.

But it was Hanika who had a standout performance, with a total of 18 laps done over two outings and a fastest time of 2'06.867. The standout part was that half of his laps were in the '06 range, and another half were in the '07 range. This was a clear indication that he has strong pace at Suzuka right from the start of the weekend. YART finished the session in 3rd overall, behind Team HRC with Japan Post and Yoshimura SERT Motul.

8 Hours Free Practice

Pos.	No.	Team	Machine	IBest lap
1	30	Team HRC with Japan Post	Honda	02:06.238
2	12	Yoshimura SERT Motul	Suzuki	02:06.343
3	1	YART - YAMAHA	Yamaha	02:06.389
4	40	TeamATJ with docomo business	Honda	02:07.143
5	104	TOHO Racing	Honda	02:07.162
6	73	SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda	Honda	02:07.304
7	0	Team SUZUKI CN CHALLENGE	Suzuki	02:07.344
8	76	AutoRace Ube Racing Team	Suzuki	02:07.361
9	17	Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing	Honda	02:07.391
10	2	DUCATI Team KAGAYAMA	Ducati	02:07.418
38	15	IRF with AZURLANE	Yamaha	02:13.156