F.C.C. TSR Honda France qualified in 8th position for the Suzuka 8 Hours (Japan), the third round of the 2024 FIM EWC Championship.

・Class / FORMULA EWC ・Machine / HONDA CBR1000RR-R
・SUZUKA circuit (JAPAN)
■Result / Overall Qualifying Classification / 9th
・Blue Rider / Josh Hook / 02:06.871 ・Yellow Rider / Mike Di Meglio / 02:07.529
・Red Rider / Alan Techer / 02:07.090　・Average of 2 Best Laps / 02:06.981
■Top 10 Trial
・8th / 02:06.836

Currently 10th in the FIM EWC championship with 26 points, the F.C.C. TSR Honda France team has had a difficult start to the season. For this 45th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours, the Franco-Japanese team is playing at home and therefore wants to shine in order to ensure its recovery in the championship standings.
The third round of the 2024 FIM EWC season, following the 24 Heures Motos in Le Mans (France) and the 8H Spa EWC Motos (Belgium), the famous Japanese event represents a very special stage in the championship calendar. The race is considered to be one of the most difficult because of the very demanding profile of the Suzuka track and the extreme weather conditions, combining intense heat and high humidity, which prevail at this time of year in Japan.
The event is also notable for the presence of a number of high-performance local teams and riders, all aiming to shine on home soil. Finally, it is an additional challenge for the Honda teams, as the circuit is owned by the world’s leading manufacturer.
The 46 teams entered took part in the two qualifying practice sessions held on Friday, in the late morning and early afternoon. The F.C.C TSR Honda France team were unable to attend the preparatory tests held at the end of June, so they used the qualifying sessions to adapt the brand new Honda CBR1000RR-R to the specific characteristics of the Japanese track. The three Honda riders will be combining their efforts over the two sessions to find the right set-up while putting in some fast laps. Josh Hook was credited with a time of 2.06.871. Mike Di Meglio, who missed Spa due to injury, made his comeback with a time of 2.07.529. Finally, the competitiveness of the 2024 Honda was confirmed by Alan Techer’s performance, who set a time of 2.07.090. On the basis of the average of his two best times, the team was credited with a time of 2.06.981, which placed it 9th in qualifying. This performance secures the team a place in the Top 10 Trial, scheduled for today from 3.30pm to 5pm (local time).
It is this final confrontation, carried out over a single flying lap for two riders per team, that determines the top 10 final positions on the starting grid.
Alan Techer was the team’s first rider to enter this tricky exercise. The Frenchman set the provisional best time of 2.06.836. Josh Hook then set off with the same determination. The Australian rider completed his lap in 2.07.142, not quite as fast as his qualifying time. At the end of this final battle against the clock, the F.C.C TSR Honda France team finally inherited 8th place, a position that the Franco-Japanese team will occupy on the grid for the 2024 Suzuka 8 Hours, which gets underway tomorrow, Sunday July 21, at 11.30am (local time).

■Josh Hook – rider
“Qualifying wasn’t our priority because we knew we didn’t have the pace of the leaders. So there was no need to take any unnecessary risks. We’re happy with this top-10 position and I think we can get a good result in the race thanks to the work we’ve done on the set-up and the race pace we have. We would have needed more time but it’s very positive to see the bike much more competitive today than when we arrived..”

■Mike di Meglio – rider
“Qualifying was positive because we made progress in every session. And Alan did a great job in the Top 10 Trial! We knew we could push harder but it was important not to make any mistakes as we had to use the race bike following some problems with the other machine. Congratulations to him for achieving this time despite the extra pressure. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow with the very hot conditions forecast.”

■Alan Techer選手コメント
“Everything went well today. Our objective is really the race but I’m very happy to have set my first time in 2.06. The main thing was to avoid crashing with the race bike to save spare parts. The team and my team-mates did a great job throughout the week. Now we are focused on the race.”

Click here for PDF version　→　https://tsrjp.com/press/release/TSR_Press_Release-Eng-20240720.pdf