In the absence of a factory entry from Kawasaki, YART has taken up the mantle as nearest challengers to the works Honda team, topping the opening two legs of qualifying and finishing right behind the pole-sitting HRC squad in the Top 10 shootout.
Karel Hanika and Marvin Fritz combined to set an average lap time of 2m05.817s on the #7 Yamaha R1 they share with Niccolo Canepa, missing out on pole position by just under two tenths to Honda trio Xavi Vierge, Tetsuta Nagashima and Takumi Takahashi.
