Qualifying got underway today in Suzuka ahead of Sunday’s 2018 “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours in relatively cooler temperatures than Japan has experienced with the intense heat earlier this week. The Yamaha Factory Racing Team continued their highly competitive form of the last three years, wrapping up the day with 2nd overall. The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team worked hard during their sessions to end the day of qualifying in 8th and Championship hopefuls, the GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team, completed a qualifying day that was plagued by red flags in 14th place. All three teams made a big impact on track riding in the special red and white livery to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iconic Yamaha YZF-R1.