YFRT Qualifies 5th Overall, Advancing to Top 10 Trial

Pride in the factory team, mutual respect, and a passion for victory. The Yamaha Factory Racing Team's three riders are united by these shared values, are finally set to take on the 47th Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race, aiming for Yamaha's ninth victory in the event.

July 3 was the first day of on-track action in the official Suzuka 8 Hours race weekend. The day began at 8:30 a.m. with Free Practice as the Yamaha Factory Racing Team (YFRT) took to the track in the following order: Jack Miller, Andrea Locatelli, and Katsuyuki Nakasuga.

Half way through the two-hour practice session, Miller led the timing sheets with a 2'05.419. Although he ultimately finished the session in 4th, all three riders posted consistent lap times in preparation for the race.

The first qualifying sessions starting at noon were separated into three 20-minute time trials in which riders wearing blue armbands (Rider Blue), yellow armbands (Rider Yellow), and red armbands (Rider Red) took to the track in that order. For YFRT, Nakasuga was Rider Blue, Miller was Rider Yellow, and Locatelli was Rider Red.

Nakasuga, who was mostly focused on fine-tuning his setup, posted a 2'05.984 in the first qualifying session to be 9th among the blue riders, and a time of 2'06.256 in the second session to place 14th. Although he qualified 12th overall for blue riders for the day, he prioritized race preparation over qualifying as he steadily refined his setup.

Jack Miller--Rider Yellow--struggled with the newly repaved track but still set a 2'05.422 in the first session to place 3rd. In the second session, he clocked a 2'05.616 to finish 5th, making him 5th overall for the Rider Yellow qualifying.

Locatelli put in a spirited performance as Rider Red. In the first qualifying session, he rode to a 2'05.436 placing him 3rd, then in the second session he managed to shave off more than 0.4 seconds from his lap time. With a time of 2'04.971 seconds, he was 3rd overall in the Rider Red standings.

At the Suzuka 8 Hours, final starting order is determined by the average lap time of the two fastest riders from each team. Then, the top 10 teams advance into tomorrow's Top 10 Trial. YFRT secured 5th place with an average lap time of 2'05.196, which was set by Miller and Locatelli, qualifying them for the Top 10 Trial.

Held between sunset at 6:30 p.m. and complete darkness at 7:30 p.m., a night practice session saw YFRT top the timesheets with the fastest lap. The productive session allowed the team to make steady progress in optimizing their package for the demanding night stints of the race.

YART Yamaha Secure Fourth to Qualify for Top 10 Trial

The Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team continued their strong start to the Suzuka 8 Hours weekend by qualifying fourth overall on Friday, securing their place in Saturday's Top 10 Trial as they look to defend their EWC championship lead.

Arriving in Japan as the reigning EWC champions and current series leaders, YART holds a 22-point advantage at the top of the standings after opening the season with victory at the 24 Heures Motos and finishing second at the 8 Hours of Spa Motos.

Qualifying at Suzuka follows a unique format: each rider takes part in two 20-minute sessions, split by rider group. The combined classification is decided by the average of the two fastest riders from each team, with the top 10 progressing to Saturday's Top 10 Trial, where the final grid positions will be decided.

Conditions at Suzuka were hot and humid, although not as extreme as usual, and YART put together a strong, consistent qualifying performance across all three rider groups. Across the two qualifying sessions, Fritz, Hanika and Mercado all showed competitive pace on the #1 Yamaha R1, with the team working through the programme efficiently and ensuring their place inside the top 10.

Fritz endured a disrupted opening qualifying session after an electrical issue forced him to stop twice, but the team identified the problem quickly, and the German rider regained confidence in the afternoon. Despite encountering yellow flags and an oil flag on his best lap, he still produced a strong 2:05.150 to finish second in the combined Yellow Rider classification.

Hanika also enjoyed a positive day after limiting his laps in the morning. The Czech rider built confidence in Q1 while using race tyres as part of the team's strategy, before improving by a tenth in the afternoon despite higher track temperatures. His best lap of 2:05.189 placed him fifth in the combined Blue rider classification.

Mercado was also quick and consistent throughout the day, helping YART underline the strength of their three-rider line-up. Although the Argentinian was not completely satisfied with his second qualifying lap after struggling with chatter and not putting all of his sectors together on new tyres, he remained positive about the feeling with the bike and the team's preparations for Saturday and Sunday.

Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99 produced one of the standout performances of Friday qualifying on the #99 Yamaha R1, securing third overall and a place in Saturday's Top 10 Trial. Delbianco delivered a superb 2:04.712 in the Red rider session, combining with Marino's 2:05.208 from the Yellow rider sessions to give the Belgian-based squad a 2:04.960 average and an excellent third place in the combined classification.

With KM99 third, YART fourth and YRFT fifth, three Yamaha teams finished inside the top five on Friday, underlining the strength of the R1 at Suzuka and setting up an exciting fight for the final grid positions in Saturday's Top 10 Trial.

Saturday's action begins with Free Practice before the Top 10 Trial takes place at 14:15 local time, with the Suzuka 8 Hours getting underway at 11:30 on Sunday.

Yamaha Factory Racing Team: 5th Overall (2'05.196)

Katsuyuki Nakasuka

"As a team, I feel like we're coming together well, but it was a bit frustrating that we couldn't turn that into results. I personally struggled with conditions that made it tough for me to set a fast lap time, this is just qualifying. We're totally focused on the race. While my single-lap time wasn't quite there, our average lap time looked good, and our teamwork was solid. I think the race will be a different story."

Jack Miller

"Qualifying didn't go as I'd hoped. I had a good feeling this morning during free practice when I was on used tires, but I lost that in qualifying. The track surface is different from last year, and it doesn't seem to match our base setup very well. We need to pinpoint the exact cause. I'll be able to ride in the Top 10 Trial, but I'm not satisfied with 5th today. I'll keep looking for where the speed is hiding during the night session, work on my riding a bit more, and see how things go tomorrow."

Andrea Locatelli

"I did everything I could, but it wasn't quite enough. I mean, in my career I've never had a result where I said 'Eh, this is good enough' (laughs). The fact that I'm lacking a good feel overall might be because of the track resurfacing. The feel is quite different from last year, so we need to make some adjustments for the race. So far I'm having fun riding at Suzuka, but I'm aiming for a higher level. I'm sure we'll find a good solution before the race. I'm also really happy that so many fans came out to see us today. I received so many gifts that I'll have to buy an extra suitcase (laughs). I want to say a big thank you to Yamaha for bringing me to this wonderful race with such amazing fans."

Team Manager Wataru Yoshikawa

"To be honest, things didn't go as planned, and it turned out to be a difficult qualifying day. Nakasuga, in particular, ended having a lot of work to do, and I feel bad that he didn't have a chance to set a single fast lap. I tried to make sure Jack and Loca could go all out on their timed laps instead, but there were some areas where we struggled, including adapting to the new track surface. But we were definitely able to collect some solid data, so I'm not worried about the race."

Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team: 4th Overall (2'05.150)

Marvin Fritz

"It was a positive day, but not an easy one. This morning we tried the qualifying bike for the first time, and I only had two flying laps, so I did not have the confidence straight away. Then in Q1, I had to stop twice because of an electrical issue, but the team found the problem immediately, which was good. After that, I got my confidence back and felt good on the bike. I was a bit unlucky with the yellow flags and an oil flag on my best lap, but I still managed a 2:05.1, so it was not so bad. Overall, it is positive; we are through to the Top 10 Trial, and now we are looking forward to tomorrow."

Karel Hanika

"It was a really good day. In the morning, I did not do as many laps, but in Q1 we had a good strategy: using one set of race tyres for all the riders. I think that was the right choice because I gained some confidence, felt good, and posted a decent lap time. In Q2, I tried to improve, but the asphalt was hotter, and I was pushing as hard as I could. I only improved by 1/10, which is okay, but I wanted a little more. Overall, I am happy. We are P4; all three riders were very close with the lap times, the bike was working well, and I had a lot of fun today. Thanks to the team and my teammates for a great job, and now we are looking forward to tomorrow."

Leandro Mercado

"It was a good day, and it was important to be ready for tomorrow and the Top 10 Trial. The feeling with the bike is good, and I think we did a really good job as a team. To be honest, I am not really happy with my personal lap time in the second qualifying because I did not put the sectors together with the new tyres, and I had some chatter, so it was not exactly what I expected. But anyway, it was still a good lap, and the important thing is that we are working well and getting ready for tomorrow and for the race."

Team Manager Mandy Kainz

"It was a positive qualifying day for us. The target was to make it through to the Top 10 Trial, and we achieved that with all three riders showing strong and consistent pace. It was not a completely straightforward day, especially with Marvin's issue in Q1, but the team reacted very well and solved the problem quickly. Marvin, Karel and Tati were all very close on lap time, which is important here because Suzuka is not just about one fast lap; it is about the strength of the whole team. We are leading the championship, so every point matters, and tomorrow will be another important day before the race. The focus is to keep working, stay calm and be ready for Sunday."

Overall Qualifying Ranking

Pos.	No.	Team	Machine	Time
1	30	Honda HRC	Honda	2:04.738
2	37	BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM	BMW	2:04.813
3	99	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99	Yamaha	2:04.960
4	1	YART Yamaha Official EWC Team	Yamaha	2:05.169
5	21	YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM	Yamaha	2:05.196
6	5	F.C.C. TSR Honda France	Honda	2:05.321
7	17	Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing	Honda	2:05.323
8	12	Yoshimura SERT Motul	Suzuki	2:05.359
9	76	AutoRace Ube Racing Team	BMW	2:05.461
10	73	SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda	Honda	2:05.851
18	50	MARUMAE TEAM KODAMA	Yamaha	2:06.576
19	59	Team BabyFace TitaniumPower	Yamaha	2:06.598
27	36	3ART Best Of Bike Hamaguchi	Yamaha	2:08.029
29	65	Motobox Kremer Racing by 321	Yamaha	2:08.160
33	711	BAKUON!!Team NAGANO&Y.S.S.RD	Yamaha	2:08.455
41	26	Verity & fenice with KIRINJISHI	Yamaha	2:10.450
43	57	HIMEJI NICHIRIN RACING	Yamaha	2:10.961
44	111	Team Matsunaga KDC x GEARS	Yamaha	2:11.838