EWC: Lowes leads Yamaha to top of Suzuka qualifying

Brit Alex Lowes has led the factory Yamaha squad to the top of the qualifying order for Saturday’s Suzuka 8 Hour race, after a blistering lap time from the World Superbike rider was enough to take teammates Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Michael van der Mark’s combined time to the top spot.

However, it doesn’t guarantee the team pole position just yet, as they are now joined by the top ten teams for tomorrow’s superpole session, where each team will nominate two riders to go into a single lap shoot-out for the front of the grid.

The defending champions finished just ahead of the Yoshimura Suzuki squad of MCE British Superbike regulars Josh Brookes and Sylvain Guintoli, joined by Suzuki MotoGP test rider Takuya Tsuda.

The Musashi Harc Pro Honda squad were the leading team for the hosts, with Jack Miller, Takumi Takahashi and Takaaki Nakagami coming home third, while Leon Haslam and Team Green Kawasaki made it four manufacturers in the top four.

FCC TSR Honda (with Dominique Aegerter, Randy de Puniet and Josh Hook onboard) will line up fifth, ahead of Endurance World Championship regulars and title contenders Yamaha Austria.

BSB veteran Yuki Kagayama and his Team Kagayama Suzuki squad were seventh, ahead of three-time BSB champion Ryuichi Kiyonari and Moriwaki Honda, with Honda Suzuka Racing and Honda Team Asia rounding out the top ten.