Kawasaki star Jonathan Rea nearly failed to qualify for Suzuka 8 Hours and defend his crown amid changing weather conditions in opening qualifying. “There was a big tension and emotion.' Here's what happened:
Rain hit the track during the third part of the opening qualifying session in which six-time World Superbike Champion Rea was scheduled to ride, hurting not only the Ulsterman's prospects but also Kawasaki’s chances of progressing to Saturday's Top 10 Trials.
To make matters worse, rain returned when it was again Rea’s turn to take to the track in the afternoon, leaving the defending champion with a real risk of missing the mandatory 108% cut-off as per the FIM Endurance World Championship regulations. “In the first qualifying Jonathan could not push because it started to rain, so we were outside the 108% of the fastest qualifier rules. Rea could not race in the Suzuka 8 Hours after the first qualifying!
“I was really nervous,” admitted Rea. “Being the red group rider I got bad weather in both my qualifying sessions. Honda has been dominant in the Suzuka 8 Hours week so far and secured provisional pole with its #33 factory bike shared by Nagashima, Takumi Takahashi and Iker Lecuona, but Rea remains optimistic about Kawasaki’s chances of defending its 2019 crown.
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