Suzuka Circuit
Honda HRC secures Pole Position for the 47th Suzuka 8 Hours
Honda HRC will start Sunday’s 47th FIM Endurance World Championship “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race from Pole Position
Honda HRC will start Sunday’s 47th FIM Endurance World Championship “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race from Pole Position after Saturday’s Top 10 Trial was cancelled due to rain at Suzuka Circuit. With the starting order reverting to Friday’s qualifying results, Honda HRC claimed the top spot with a combined qualifying time of 2’04.738, based on Jonathan Rea’s 2’04.422 and Takumi Takahashi’s 2’05.055.
Earlier in the day, under overcast skies and in much cooler conditions than Friday, with air temperatures around 25°C, all teams took part in the 45-minute Free Practice session 2. Honda HRC completed its final preparations for the eight-hour race with the CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP in race configuration. Takumi Takahashi was first on track, setting his fastest lap of the session in 2’06.267 on his fifth lap. Jonathan Rea then took to the track, setting a personal best of 2’07.354, before handing the bike over to Somkiat Chantra for the final seven minutes. Chantra’s best effort was a 2’06.325, leaving Takahashi’s lap as Honda HRC’s benchmark which placed the team second in the session, just 0.173 seconds behind the BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM.
Attention then turned to the eagerly awaited Top 10 Trial. However, as showers reached Suzuka shortly before the scheduled start, the decision was taken to cancel the session, meaning the starting grid was determined by Friday’s qualifying classification. Honda HRC therefore secured Pole Position for the 47th Suzuka 8 Hours, which will start in its traditional style tomorrow, July 5, at 11:30 am JST.
Takumi Takahashi 30 Honda HRC
Today the rain finally came, and tomorrow's forecast is still quite uncertain, so we don't really know what to expect. If I could choose, I'd rather it was around 35°C! Anyway, I trust my team and teammates completely; they're both incredible riders. All we have to do is give it our best, avoid making even the smallest mistakes, and make it to the finish after eight hours. That's the key factor. Right now, it's clear that many teams are fast, and not just the factory teams. Having said that, I don't think there's anyone who has raced at Suzuka more than I have, so I have confidence in my experience. I also trust I've been able to pass that on to the team. Since Wednesday we've continued to improve step by step, and everyone has been riding well without any real issues. So I'm not particularly worried. If we can simply perform to the best of our ability and get everything out of ourselves, then I believe the result will follow.
Jonathan Rea 30 Honda HRC
I was really happy with my lap time yesterday. It wasn't easy to put that lap together because of the traffic, so I'm pleased with what we achieved. Of course, it's a shame we couldn't do the Top 10 Trial because I really like the format of going out for one flying lap. But with the conditions, cancelling it was the right decision because it wouldn't have been fair for everyone. To be honest, I was quite nervous about going out in those conditions anyway. We'll take yesterday's result, but tomorrow is what really matters. Our competitors are very strong and we have a lot of respect for them because they have so much experience of all the different situations endurance racing can throw at you. If you imagine us as the Mr. Men, we have Mr. Talent (Somkiat), Mr. Calm (Takumi) and Mr. Old (myself!). If we can put all those qualities together, I'm sure we'll have a really good package for the race. Every time I check the weather forecast it has changed, so there's not much point trying to predict it. Personally, I'd rather have either a completely wet race or a completely dry one. These constantly changing conditions turn everything into a bit of a lottery, but whatever happens, I think we're well prepared and ready to do a good job.
Somkiat Chantra 30 Honda HRC
For me, this will be my first Suzuka 8 Hours with this line-up, so I'm really looking forward to it. Watching yesterday's qualifying, I was impressed by just how competitive everyone was. The lap times were incredibly fast and the gaps were very small, which really showed how close the competition is. At the same time, it also made me feel that our team is strong. Tomorrow is what really matters. It's a long race, but we have a very good package. Our tyres are working well, the bike is fast and the team is strong, so I'm not worried. Now we just have to stay focused and do our best.
