Honda HRC had originally planned to race with a three-rider lineup including Xavi Vierge. However, on Thursday, July 31, the day before qualifying, it was officially announced that they would compete with a two-rider team of just Takahashi and Zarco. During a joint Honda-Yamaha press conference held on the same day, Takahashi commented on Vierge’s withdrawal, saying, “It’s unfortunate, but Zarco and I have experience racing as a duo at the Suzuka 8 Hours, and we’ve been physically prepared for it. Zarco is a MotoGP rider, and his physical strength is well known. We’ll still aim for victory even with just two riders.” Zarco added, “Going from three to two riders changes our strategy. There’s a big difference between getting one hour versus two hours of rest, but we’ll manage our pace and do our best.”
The day after the press conference, Friday, August 1, saw a forecasted high of 39°C. The qualifying sessions took place with extreme heat warnings issued.
Free practice was held from 8:30 to 10:30 AM, followed by two qualifying sessions at 12:00 PM and 3:30 PM, with Blue, Yellow, and Red riders each taking 20-minute sessions in that order. In the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), qualifying results are determined by the average of the two fastest riders’ best laps per team. Based on Friday’s results, the top 10 teams earn the right to send two riders each to the Top 10 Trial on Saturday, August 2, which determines grid positions 1 through 10. All teams from 11th onward are placed according to their qualifying results.
In free practice, Honda HRC clocked a 2:06.144 to place third. Team ATJ with docomo business (Satoru Iwata, Kouki Suzuki, Takuma Kunimine) placed sixth with a 2:06.280. SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda (Teppei Nagoe, Yuki Kunii, Keito Abe) placed eighth with 2:06.552. Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda (Kazuki Ito, Daijiro Hiura, Joshua Brookes) clocked 2:06.936 for 10th—marking the last entry in the 2:06 range. Teams from 11th onward were all in the 2:07 bracket: Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing (Kohta Nozane, Kohta Arakawa, Ryusei Yamanaka) ranked 13th with 2:07.112, Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo (Nakarin Atiratphuvapat, Azroy Hakeem Anuar, Md Zaqhwan Bin Zaidi) was 14th with 2:07.411, and F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Alan Techer, Corentin Perolari, Taiga Hada) was 16th with 2:07.599. The session was red-flagged four times and ultimately ended under red flag conditions.
In the following first qualifying session’s Blue Rider time attack, Takahashi of Honda HRC set a time of 2:06.038 to rank third. Nozane of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing followed in fourth with 2:06.222. Nagoe of SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda posted 2:06.829 for eighth, and Iwata of Team ATJ with docomo business came in ninth with 2:06.830. Nakarin of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo took 13th with 2:07.023, while Techer of F.C.C. TSR Honda France posted 2:07.348 for 15th.
In the subsequent Yellow Rider session, Zarco of Honda HRC immediately dropped into the 2:05 bracket upon entering the track and took the lead on the leaderboard. He then continued to improve, recording a blazing 2:05.023, nearly breaking into the 2:04s—showcasing his MotoGP-caliber speed. Third place went to Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda’s Hiura, known as the “Suzuka Meister”, who posted a 2:06.273, while Abe of SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda placed seventh with 2:06.651. Suzuki of Team ATJ with docomo business recorded a 2:06.777 for 10th. Arakawa of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing came 13th with 2:07.037, Azroy of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo was 17th at 2:08.018, and Perolari of F.C.C. TSR Honda France finished 20th with 2:08.134.
In the Red Rider session, Yamanaka of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing broke into the 2:05s with a 2:05.910, jumping to the top of the leaderboard and drawing significant attention in his Suzuka 8 Hours debut. Kunii of SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda followed in third with 2:06.411. With Yamanaka having competed in Moto3 and Kunii in Moto2, riders with international experience dominated the top positions. Kunimine of Team ATJ with docomo business posted 2:07.301 for sixth. Ito of Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda clocked 2:08.775 for 13th, followed by Zaqhwan of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo in 14th (2:08.805) and Hada of F.C.C. TSR Honda France in 16th (2:09.057).
In the second qualifying session’s Blue Rider time attack, Honda HRC’s Takahashi improved his time to 2:05.554, placing second. Iwata of Team ATJ with docomo business ran a 2:06.471 for sixth, Nozane of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing recorded 2:06.540 for seventh, Nagoe of SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda posted 2:06.891 for ninth, and Techer of F.C.C. TSR Honda France came 12th with 2:07.515.
The second Yellow Rider session was marred by red flags. Shortly after recording the top time, Yamaha’s Jack Miller crashed hard in Turn 1, sending his bike flipping into the air and triggering a red flag. After the restart, another crash brought out another red flag. Once the session resumed, Zarco of Honda HRC set the fastest time with a scorching 2:04.820. Hiura of Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda followed in fifth with 2:05.951. Abe of SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda placed ninth with 2:06.807, Suzuki of Team ATJ with docomo business was 12th with 2:07.317, and Perolari of F.C.C. TSR Honda France placed 15th with 2:07.713.
In the second Red Rider session, Kunii of SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda—who had been in second—crashed in the Degner Curve but still managed a 2:06.171 for third. Yamanaka of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing followed in fifth with 2:06.283. Hada of F.C.C. TSR Honda France posted 2:06.591 for seventh. Ito of Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda came in 10th with 2:07.385, Zaqhwan of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo was 13th with 2:07.514, and Kunimine of Team ATJ with docomo business placed 14th at 2:07.642.
After two rounds of qualifying, Honda HRC topped the standings, with Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing in sixth, SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda in eighth, and Team ATJ with docomo business in 10th all securing their spots in the TOP10 Trial.
Grid positions from 11th downward were finalized based on the qualifying results, with Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda in 11th, F.C.C. TSR Honda France in 14th, and Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo in 16th.
A night session followed the qualifying, where Honda HRC once again recorded the fastest lap.