The YART Yamaha EWC Team will start in fifth place for round four of the FIM EWC at the 8 Hours Oschersleben, after strong laps by riders Broc Parkes, Marvin Fritz and Niccolò Canepa on the YART R1 saw them finish just 0.3s from pole.
At the end of Friday’s first qualifying sessions the YART trio finished in sixth place, improving by 0.2 in the first qualifying sessions and all lapping consistently in the 1’26s. They then found even more time for final qualifying and were able to secure a competitive fifth ahead of the penultimate round.
Electing to run their race tyre for qualifying runs, the YART team have proven race pace at the track and will be aiming to repeat their impressive win at the 8 Hours of Slovakia in May.
The team earn one bonus point for finishing fifth in qualifying, and sit fourth in the standings with the title race still open.
Yamaha extended support teams also performed well on Saturday. WEPOL Racing and VRD Igol Pierret Experiences Yamaha both qualified within the top eight, with 3ART Moto Team 95 and Moto Ain finishing inside the top half of the grid.
Tomorrow’s race at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben begins at 13:00 CET.
Marvin Fritz
YART Yamaha EWC Team
“We worked hard on our setup yesterday. Our times improved a lot over the weekend and got quicker each time we rode, and we were able to qualify fifth which was a good effort. It rained a lot last night which made the track harder to ride, and we decided to use race tyres for qualifying which gave us some really useful data. Our pace on the race tyre is strong and everyone is confident for a good result tomorrow.”
Niccolò Canepa
YART Yamaha EWC Team
“It has been a strong practice and qualifying for us. We felt good coming into this round from Slovakia and all weekend we have had good pace. Qualifying was tough and there are lots of quick teams here who can fight for the podium, but I can’t wait to get racing. We start fifth tomorrow which is competitive, and we are ready to fight for another win.”
Mandy Kainz
YART Yamaha EWC Team Manager
“Qualifying was tight today, and with the top seven covered by less than 0.5s we know the race will be a tough fight too. We know that we have a very good package for the race however, the riders have been consistent all weekend and by qualifying with the race tyres today we have some very useful data to work with overnight. The weather should be dry too but we know that we are also quick in mixed weather. With fifth place we get an extra point which is really important for the championship, and we are aiming for another big points finish tomorrow.”
Broc Parkes
YART Yamaha EWC Team