Brits take on Suzuka

The British-based Diablo 666 team has begun the battle against the top Japanese factory teams at the Suzuka 8 Hours event in Japan.

The team has been busy preparing since the previous round at Zolder, when they unfortunately crashed out of third place. Yesterday, Wednesday July 26, was spent unpacking the bikes from shipping crates and preparing the pit garage, with practice starting today, Thursday July 27, following scrutineering.

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Practice was split into two sessions due to the number of teams participating. The fastest in Group A was the No.48 FCC TSR Honda (2:09.637), followed by the No.101 Toy Story Honda team (2:09.997). Suzuki Castrol was the first of the permanent championship contenders in seventh place with 2:12.178, with Britain’s Yamaha Phase One on 2:17.270, and Diablo 666 Kawasaki with 2:20.995.

The session was red-flagged due to one accident, and then the safety cars were then called out again following a further accident.

In Group B, the fastest bike was the No 778 FCC TSR Honda (2:10.534), followed by the No 7 Seven Stars Honda (2:10.673). Yamaha Austria were the quickest permanent team (2:16.994), ahead Bolliger Kawasaki (2:18.712), Suzuki Endurance Moto 45 (2:22.583), the Shell Endurance Academy (2:22.885) and Suzuki No Limits (2:23.405).

Timed qualifying begins on Friday, July 28, with a ‘Top Ten Trial’ Superpole-style event on Saturday, July 29.