Suzuka 8 Hours: Top 10 trial cancelled – here’s the starting grid

The weather has thrown a spanner in the works for the organisers of the Suzuka 8 Hours. The traditional Top 10 Trial, in which the ten fastest teams compete for pole position in individual starts, was cancelled on Saturday without replacement. As a result, the results of Friday’s combined qualifying session will serve as the official starting grid for the endurance classic.

The organisers also decided against holding a 30-minute qualifying session as a replacement. The reason: conditions at the Suzuka Circuit were neither clearly dry nor properly wet, meaning it would not have been possible to create fair conditions for the competitors.

Honda on pole, but Rea only moderately satisfied

Honda HRC stands to benefit from the decision. The works team featuring Jonathan Rea, Takumi Takahashi and Somkiat Chantra had narrowly edged out the BMW works team (Reiterberger, Odendaal, van der Mark) on Friday with an average time of 2:04.738 minutes and will therefore start the 8-hour race from pole position.

Jonathan Rea überzeugt mit seinen Leistungen in Suzuka

Foto: FIM EWC

Jonathan Rea would have liked to have attempted a 2:03 lap, but the opportunity did not present itself on Saturday. “I actually wanted to set a 2:03 lap,” said the six-time Superbike World Champion. At the same time, the Northern Irishman was relieved that they had avoided running in difficult mixed-weather conditions. “I was really nervous about riding in drizzling rain. We’ve secured pole position for tomorrow’s race. My team-mates have also done a great job.”

Joy and frustration at BMW

The BMW works team were relieved on the one hand, but on the other they were lamenting the missed chance to challenge Honda for pole position after all. Markus Reiterberger was annoyed by the small mistake on his fastest lap, without which the BMW would have finished ahead of Honda.

Nevertheless, following strong performances in testing and second place in qualifying, BMW heads into the race brimming with confidence and aiming to make history. No European manufacturer has ever won the Suzuka 8 Hours. The weather forecast is a cause for concern: rain is predicted for Sunday.

Three Yamaha teams lying in wait

Behind Honda HRC and the BMW works team, no fewer than three Yamaha teams follow on the starting grid: The Marc VDS Racing Team (De Puniet, Marino, Delbianco) qualified ahead of the defending champions YART (Hanika, Fritz, Mercado) and the Yamaha works team featuring Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Jack Miller and Andrea Locatelli.

Andrea Locatelli auf der Werks-R1

Foto: FIM EWC

Starting grid for the Suzuka 8 Hours:

1. Honda HRC (Rea, Takahashi, Chantra)

2. BMW works team (Reiterberger, Odendaal, van der Mark)

3. Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (De Puniet, Marino, Delbianco)

4. YART (Hanika, Fritz, Mercado)

5. Yamaha Factory Racing Team (Nakasuga, Miller, Locatelli)

6. F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Techer, Perolari, McPhee)

7. Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing (Nozane, Hada, Arakawa)

8. Yoshimura SERT Motul (Black, Linfoot, Atsumi)

9. AutoRace Ube Racing Team (Uramoto, Guintoli, Ponsson)

10. SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda (Kunii, Nagoe, Abe)