Sepang 8 Hours Qualifying Results
Yamaha Sepang Racing took pole position in the top 10 Trial overnight, placing ahead of Honda Asia Dream Racing with Showa and F.C.C. TSR Honda France on the starting grid.
Sepang 8 Hour Top Ten Video Highlights
The Top 10 Trial started with Somkiat Chantra setting a blistering pace. The Thai rider posted a fantastic 2:05.440s lap for Honda Asia Dream Racing, sending the Japanese team rocketing from 9th to 1st place. Yamaha Sepang Racing’s Franco Morbidelli was the sole rider to finally knock the Japanese Honda off its perch and claim pole position with a 2:04.647.
Honda Asia Dream Racing with Showa beat F.C.C. TSR Honda France to second place on the grid after Josh Hook posted a 2:05.484.
Jérémy Guarnoni’s lap – a 2:05.826 – enabled Webike SRC Kawasaki France to jump two places and start from 4th on Saturday ahead of BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, YART Yamaha, Team ERC Endurance, BMW Sepang Racing and VRD Igol Pierret Experiences.
Markus Reiterberger – P5
“Thursday was a good day. We’ve made more progress with the bike, especially regarding the chassis and the electronics. This for sure will help us on the race distance of eight hours. Unfortunately, Kenny got injured on Wednesday, and Ilya and me now have to ride as a two-rider line-up. I want to wish Kenny a speedy recovery! Ilya and me shared duties and I think that we did a good job. It was exciting to compete in the Top 10 Trial. I’ve participated in many Superpoles but never in a format like this. It’s great and I really like it. Unfortunately I made a small mistake which cost some time, but fifth on the grid is not bad and now we will see what we can achieve in the race. I think that we are a strong team and well prepared.”
Wójcik Racing Team were the big loser of the Top 10 Trial. Gino Rea had a minor crash during his timed lap. The Yamaha-mounted Polish team, who were 8th after qualifying, will start from 10th place on the grid, just ahead of Suzuki Endurance Racing Team and the first Superstock teams.
Australians Ben Burke and Paul Byrne are racing the event alongside Yoshiyuki Sugai on an Aprilia RSV4 RF and qualified 46th.
After Friday’s all-day FIA WTCR/Oscaro races, the FIM EWC players will be back on the track on Saturday 14 December for the warm up with the race then scheduled to start at 1300 before finishing underfloodlights as the sun currently sets around 1900 in Malaysia.
Sepang 8 Hours Endurance Race – Top 10 Trial
- Yamaha Sepang Racing – Franco Morbidelli 2m04.647s
- Honda Asia Dream Racing Showa – Somkiat Chantra 2m05.440s
- F.C.C. TSR Honda France- Josh Hook 2m05.484s
- Webike SRC Kawasaki France – Jeremy Guarnoni 2m05.826s
- BMW World Endurance Team – Markus Reiterberger 2m06.306s
- YART Yamaha – Niccolo Canepa 2m06.431s
- Team ERC Endurance Ducati – Randy De Puniet 2m06.519s
- BMW Sepang Racing – Azlan Kamaruzaman 2m06.986s
- VRD Igol Pierret Yamaha – Xaiver Simeon 2m07.227s
- Wojcik Racing Yamaha – Gino Rea No Time
Source: MCNews.com.au