Rd.3 - 8 Hours of Suzuka - Qualifying

YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL LINES UP IN 7TH ON THE SUZUKA GRID

YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL took 7th place in qualifying for the 46th edition of the Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours, the third round of the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship season.

Reigning world champion YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL will contest this race with its three official riders, Gregg Black, Dan Linfoot and Cocoro Atsumi. As last year, Etienne Masson has been seconded to the Suzuki CN Challenge team, to participate in the experimental category.

All contenders took part in yesterday’s two qualifying sessions. Dan Linfoot performed particularly well, setting an excellent time of 2:05.520 to finish second in his session. Also, very fast on the Japanese circuit which he knows well, Cocoro Atsumi confirmed the potential and solid set-up of the team’s Suzuki GSX-R1000R with a time of 02:05.828. Absent last year due to injury, Gregg Black recorded his best lap time of 02:06.339.

Based on the average of its two best qualifying times, the Suzuki team was in fourth place ahead of the unique-to-Suzuka Top 10 Trial, a two-rider fast sprint session which determined the top 10 final positions on the starting grid for the race.

Atsumi was the first rider from the team to take to the track for the Top 10 Trial. He set a time of 2:06.828. A few minutes later, Linfoot managed to improve on his teammate’s performance with a time of 2:06.247

Yohei Kato – Team Director
Unlike last year, when we had to deal with several issues during our preparation week, this year everything went smoothly.
We were therefore able to focus on the bike’s performance and our results were very positive, both during free practice and qualifying. We are very competitive against our main rival in the championship.
The Top 10 Trial ended with a seventh-place finish. I was hoping for a better position, but it’s not particularly important for the race. Tomorrow is another day.
We will need to be patient at the start of the race and manage it well but also put pressure on our main rivals. It’s going to be a difficult race, but the whole team is motivated. We will achieve our goal!

Damien Saulnier – Team Manager
We had a very good qualifying session, finishing just behind the three big Japanese teams. We were the first permanent team, so we achieved our goal.
After the superpole, the team lost a few places. Of course, this is not what we were hoping for, but it’s a long race and we are very well prepared. Tomorrow, things will be back to normal.
The bike is sound and reliable, and our team is always very efficient during pit stops. We will obviously do our utmost and be just a little aggressive to bring home as many points as possible.

Gregg Black – Rider Blue
In qualifying, we proved that we were fast. The team did a remarkable job on the bike because the conditions here are difficult. It’s really hot and the track temperature rises to 60°c.
We worked a lot on the race setup for the bike during qualifying, which didn’t necessarily put us in the best position for the Top 10 Trial, which is always a very special exercise.
In any case, we know that all three of us have good pace for the race. We are confident and are aiming for the podium.

Dan Linfoot – Rider Yellow
We worked consistently as usual to find the best settings and the best feeling between all three riders. And the results were there. I felt good during the qualifying sessions and gathered information about the bike that we were able to discuss with the whole team.
But I think we made a small mistake in the free practice this morning, just before the Top 10 Trial, and I lost a little confidence. Seventh on the grid isn’t where we want to be but, of course, the priority is the 8-hour race, not the qualifying lap. We’ll get back to where we belong tomorrow. I’m sure Gregg can make a good start and get us out front!

Cocoro Atsumi – Rider Red
This week of preparation was very positive for us until the two qualifying sessions. We had a good pace and all three of us felt good on the bike. This morning, during free practice, we struggled a bit to find the same performance, and that happened again during the Top 10 Trial. I was initially a bit disappointed with our final position on the starting grid, but then I changed my mind. We have a very good pace for the race, which is the most important thing.