The 10 fastest teams have been selected to participate in this final qualification which will determine the starting order on the grid.
Each team has two riders to grab the best possible place, and, pragmatically, 2 motorcycles are permanently on the circuit, one doing its warm-up lap while the other sets its time.
After a few minutes, PJ Jacobsen achieves a small feat by placing his FCC TSR Honda #5 at the top of the ranking, in 2'07.248. This provisional best time will last a long time, and even his teammate Dominique Aegerter were unable to dethrone him (2'07.760).
He was not the only one, since Josh Waters (Suzuki #32 Moto Map Supply, 2'09.774), Ryuichi Kiyonari (Suzuki Team Kagayama #17, 2'07.651), Noriyuki Haga (Yoshimura Suzuki #12, 2'08.310), Kohta Nozane (Yamaha YART #7, 2'10.636), kazuki watanabe (Kawasaki Team Green #87, 2'07.730) and even Michael van der Mark (Musashi RT Harc-Pro Honda #634, 2'07.654), broke their teeth there.
Then Espargaro Pol released the big attack and positioned the Yamaha Factory #21 on provisional pole, thanks to a very consistent 2'06.258, despite a first partial that was a little slower than last year.
It was then the turn of Takuya Tsuda on the handlebars of the Suzuki Yoshimura #12 to place a very good attack, and even to lower the first partials before finally having to concede a little less than 2 tenths to the Yamaha, in 2'06.405. Nevertheless, joy reigned among the reds who probably did not expect to be so close to first place!
The session continued with the relatively modest 2'08.602 of Broc Parkes on the handlebars of the Yamaha YART #7, before Leon Haslam does not wear the Kawasaki #87 from Team Green in 3rd place, in 2'06.469.
Conversely, disappointment in the Honda clan since Takumi Takahashi (Nicky Hayden did not ride) was unable to do better than 2'07.394 aboard the Musashi RT Harc-Pro Honda #634; Did the shadow of Casey Stoner play on the team's strategy which must absolutely avoid another mistake?
Finally, despite the hopes of Japanese fans, Katsuyuki Nakasuga did not cross the 2'06 mark on the handlebars of the Yamaha Factory #21, and "settled" for a 2'06.435 which is, however, neither more nor less than the 3rd best time in this qualification; it is thus obvious that the Espargaro/Nakasuga/Lowes crew (the latter to a lesser extent) is the overwhelming favorite for this 39th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours.
Now, it’s time for the race which will start at 4:30 a.m. tonight for French spectators…
Live Timing
Unbeatable in exoticism and coverage, Ustream live stream. However, we get tired of it quite quickly…
Eurosport 2 will take the air on Sunday at 4:15 a.m. to cover the entire event, with Gilles Della Posta and Guillaume Dietrich.
L'Team 21 will take the air on Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., from 11:30 a.m. to 13:00 p.m.
