BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team tops testing ahead of Suzuka

Ran dry from start to finish, with the field tightening up across the five sessions. Yamaha Factory Racing Team closed the day with the best time, 2’04.920, set on the final run. BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team followed just 178 thousandths behind, ahead of Honda HRC in third, 577 thousandths back. YART Yamaha Official EWC Team and Elf Marc VDS Racing Team rounded out the Top 5. Further back, Yoshimura SERT Motul and Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing sat within a second of the best time. Ten teams in total dipped under 2’07, a sign of just how tight the EWC field is in dry conditions.

Wednesday morning brought the same weather script. BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team went to the top this time, setting 2’04.680 in the very first session, the best reference of the two days. F.C.C. TSR Honda France followed 450 thousandths back, then YART Yamaha Official EWC Team at 533 thousandths. Honda HRC, SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda and Yamaha Factory Racing Team sat within hundredths of each other just behind.

Rain then moved in around midday, from the third session onward. Times jumped overnight, so to speak, from the 2’05-2’06 range to over 2’18, with some teams even dropping past 2’30. The rest of the schedule, three more sessions, ran entirely in the wet, without shaking up the order set that morning. The day’s best times all came from the dry running, before the clouds rolled in.

Standings

• DAY 1

• DAY 2