F.C.C. TSR Honda France will start 14th on the grid for the Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours after qualifying sessions that were partly devoted to work on a good race pace despite the difficult weather conditions in Japan.

The Suzuka circuit is once again hosting the legendary Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours race, the 3rd round of the 2025 FIM EWC championship.

The permanent teams have turned out in force to challenge the Japanese teams that are regulars at the event.

The F.C.C. TSR Honda France team, racing at home, took advantage of the practice sessions earlier in the week to adapt to Japan’s very humid climate and work on the performance of the Honda CBR 1000RR-R Fireblade in race conditions.

Due to the extreme heat experienced by the teams on the circuit on Friday 1 August, the qualifying day, the Franco-Japanese team made the strategic decision to continue working on race settings during the first qualifying session in order to save new tyres for the second session, which was expected to benefit from better weather conditions.

Frenchman Alan Techer made the most of the used tyres and the race configuration of the #5 Honda, setting his best time in the first session with a lap of 2:07.348. His compatriot Corentin Perolari and Japanese rider Taiga Hada, meanwhile, performed better in the second session, taking advantage of good grip from the new tyres despite the heat and humidity. They recorded their fastest laps in 2:07.713 and 2:06.591 respectively.

Based on the average of the best lap times of the two fastest riders, the Fuji San team secured 14th place on the grid with an average time of 02:06.970.

The riders will set off for the 2025 Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours on Sunday 3 August at 11:30 a.m. (local time). The race will be broadcast live and in full on Eurosport Player, and partially on Eurosport 2 and La Chaîne L’Équipe in France. Other media will be broadcasting the event around the world.

Alan Techer – rider

“We worked well today. We used the first qualifying session to work on our race pace with the race tyres. Our average pace isn’t too bad, even if it’s not as good as we expected. The most important thing is still the race, and we can aim for the top 8 or top 5 on Sunday.”

Corentin Perolari – rider

“I was able to ride with new tyres for the first time today, and I’m happy because I had a lot of grip. We didn’t go all out in qualifying as we usually do; we preferred to focus on the race to get a good pace. I think that will be the case. We’ll have to try to ride as relaxed as possible, and it will be a great race.”

Taiga Hada – rider

“The start of the week was difficult, but today, we switched to a new bike with a completely different feel, but overall, I was able to ride in a decent condition. There were still a few uncertainties, but I managed to put in a solid qualifying lap. We’re starting from 14th, which is a bit lower than we’d like, but I’ll focus on maintaining a steady rhythm in the race and pushing toward the front.”