Kawasaki Team Green on pole at Suzuka

Red Bull Honda with Japan Post moved up to second place on the grid, ahead of Yamaha Factory Racing Team.

Torrential rain showers led race control to cancel the Top 10 Trial and replace it, as per regulations, with a traditional qualifying session for the top 10 teams based on yesterday’s timesheets.

Bradley Ray fired the opening shot to place Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing as provisional pole sitter, but Leon Haslam wrested back control with a 2:05.984 lap for Kawasaki Team Green, before three-time world champion Jonathan Rea posted a 2:05.722 and 2:05.403 around the 5,821m circuit.

Rea was once again the fastest rider today, but his teammate Leon Haslam joined the select group of riders capable of completing a Suzuka lap in under 2:06.

Kawasaki’s last pole at Suzuka dates back to 1995.

Kawasaki Team Green beefed up its status as a challenger for the win and will start from pole with riders Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam and Kazuma Watanabe, ahead of Red Bull Honda with Japan Post, who posted a 2:06.127 lap.

The Honda HRC team (Takumi Takahashi, Takaaki Nakagami and PJ Jacobsen) significantly upped performance to supersede Yamaha Factory Racing Team, who will now start from third place on the grid.

Fresh from three straight wins at Suzuka, the Yamaha squad have been blighted by misfortune, with Katsuyuki Nakasuga still suffering hand and shoulder pain following a crash during free practice earlier on Saturday.

Yamaha Factory Racing Team will leave it late to decide whether he will ride as planned on Sunday alongside Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark.

Musashi RT Harc-Pro Honda also turned in an improved performance. Dominique Aegerter, Ryo Mizuno and Randy de Puniet will start from fourth place ahead of Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing (Takuya Tsuda, Sylvain Guintoli and Bradley Ray).

The additional qualifying session for the 10 fastest teams in qualifying saw no changes to the remaining spots. YART Yamaha has maintained 8th place on the grid.

The 41st Suzuka 8 Hours will be flagged off at 11.30am local time (GMT+9) on Sunday, with a night-time finish scheduled for 7.30pm.