YFRT Back in Action: 3rd Overall on Day 1 of 8 Hours Testing

With the Suzuka 8 Hours only a month and a half away, an official test event called the "Suzuka Test Session" was organized by Suzuka Circuit, which got underway on May 12. On schedule, the Yamaha Factory Racing Team (YFRT) began testing duties by taking the covers off the 2026 8 Hours YZF-R1 for a world-first glimpse. While riders Jack Miller and Andrea Locatelli--who were announced yesterday--were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts, team stalwart Katsuyuki Nakasuga put the YZF-R1 through its paces. Assisting with the on-track work was test rider Soichiro Minamimoto, who returned for the second year in a row.

Regular EWC contenders the Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team did not participate in this test and will join the team for the next test immediately prior to the race.

Day 1 began with mild conditions, as temperatures barely exceeded 20°C. It was much milder than what will surely await the teams for the actual event in the July summer sun in Japan. YFRT was assigned to Group B, and this marked their first run on the West Course since the resurfacing work was completed last February. Consequently, the team focused primarily on assessing how the bike and tires would perform on the new surface. In the first session, the two riders took turns on a single R1 to get a feel for the track, finishing the session in 10th overall with a time of 2'07.027.

In the second 60-minute session, Nakasuga and Minamimoto took to Suzuka Circuit on separate R1s to focus on specific tasks. During the session, there were moments when they pushed the bikes to their limits. Nakasuga made his presence felt by setting a time of 2'05.857 (0.599 behind the leader) to be fourth on the timing sheets. The third 75-minute session started at 4:45 p.m., and in it Nakasuga continued to put in consistent laps. Starting in the 2:06 range, he improved his time to a 2:05.921 to move into 5th, then improved it even further to a 2:05.375--his best of the day--to be 3rd in the session, which was also good for 3rd overall on the day.

Last up was a 60-minute night session, and Nakasuga once again pulled out the R1 to hit the track in the dusk. He had a minor crash in the session, but he wrapped up Day 1 with a strong lap time in the 2'06 range. The team was also able to practice pit stops at the end of each session as they steadily built momentum in preparation for the race.

Tomorrow's schedule starts with Group B on track for the 80-minute fifth session at 9:30 a.m., and the day will conclude with a 90-minute sixth session from 1:25 p.m.

YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM : 2'05.375 - 3rd on Day 1

Katsuyuki Nakasuga

"There aren't any major changes to the bike itself, so the first thing I focused on was getting used to the new track surface. Honestly, I was a bit surprised by the surface on the West Course at first. Some of the bumps that used to be there are gone, so it was flatter and it was hard to find a rhythm. But the more laps I did, I more I got used to it, so I feel like I've gotten my rhythm back quite a bit. The track has better grip now, so I'm being more aggressive with the tires, but I think the track temperatures are a lot different from what they'll be in the race, so it's hard compare today's lap times and tire performance with the real thing. So, I think we'll have to confirm a good bit in the pre-event test and during the race itself. Since my teammates Jack and Loca are only going to be here during the race weekend, tomorrow we're going to focus on long runs so we can quickly find a good setup that feels comfortable to ride for all three of us in the race."

Soichiro Minamimoto

"I haven't raced since the final round of last year's All-Japan Championship, and since I haven't even been on a track since March, it was a long break for me! Even though my lap times were slow and the first run was tough, Nakasuga and the team gave me some good advice, so I got my stiffness out by my second run. I started to feel more in tune with the R1 and I could focus on my main test objectives. I think I've been able to contribute good data to the team, and as my lap times get better and better, I'm gaining confidence and feel like I can make more improvements tomorrow. When we come back tomorrow, I'll keep focusing on risk management as I get through the test items. My goal is still to contribute as much as possible to the team."

Team Manager Wataru Yoshikawa

"Even though we did do a shakedown at Yamaha's test track, this was our first time on track at Suzuka this year, and since it's been resurfaced, the main things we wanted to do today were get the riders reacquainted with the track and check the bike's performance on the new surface. Our rivals have already been testing here, so we were able to see today that they've improved as they always do. That said, we got through all our planned tests successfully on Day 1, and we've got a solid foundation. Also, even though this was Minamimoto's first time on track this year, except for the test track of course, he picked up the pace faster than expected and got through his tests. Nakasuga had a minor crash in the night session but came out with no injuries and did a good job. Tomorrow, both riders will do longer stints to refine our setup even more."