Britain’s Bradley Smith is nervous about his Suzuka Eight-Hours debut despite his factory Yamaha team topping the final test session.

Smith, who is riding alongside Monster Yamaha MotoGP team-mate Pol Espargaro and Yamaha test rider Kats Nakasuga, was concerned that sharing the YSP R1 would compromise heavily on setup for the three differently-shaped riders but he thinks they are now almost there.

“Since the three riders share the same machine in the Suzuka Eight-Hours, I honestly wasn’t sure how well things would go. But, during these two days we found that the preferred settings for all three of us were quite close and we were able to get satisfying results in the tests, so in terms of conditions, I feel we’ve managed to get about 95% for both the machine and myself,” said Smith.

“The Suzuka Eight-Hours is not an event where I compete alone; it’s an event where Nakasuga and Pol and the entire team compete together with me. So it’s important that we all think about what we can each bring to the effort and then do our best. For example, in MotoGP, Pol is my rival, but in the 8 Hours we’re working together as good team-mates. But you never know what can happen in racing.

“There are worries and I will be nervous, but there’s also the knowledge that both my mind and body will be challenged in the race and I feel that I’m looking forward to that. This is a team that brings together a fantastic machine, riders and staff. Considering this, it’s only natural that the race should bring good results. I hope everyone will be looking forward to it.”