Reigning Suzuka Eight-Hours champions Yamaha set the pace on day two of testing at the Japanese circuit with Kats Nakasuga dropping under the 2’07s lap times as the team bolted on fresh Bridgestones for time attack laps.
Nakasuga managed a 2’06.960 right at the end of the session and was shadowed by team-mate Alex Lowes, whose best was a 2’07.343 and good enough for second place. Team Kagayama took third with a 2’08.377 with Nicky Hayden’s MuSASHI Honda squad in fourth and just over a tenth further back.
Team Toho Honda, which features Gino Rea, were fifth with TSR Honda sixth and Leon Haslam’s factory Kawasaki team in seventh. Josh Brookes and the Yoshimura Suzuki team did top the timeheets with only a little while left to run but opted to remain on used tyres and work on race setup.
Go for a lap with Nico Canepa on the GMT Yamaha