Source: Supplied.

Team SRC Kawasaki narrowly beat the YART Yamaha Official EWC Team and F.C.C. TSR Honda to a pole position start at the Portimao 12 Hours, round two of the 2016 FIM Endurance World Championship in Portugal.

Things are shaping up for a close battle on the challenging Portimao circuit after most of the teams really upped their performance at the second qualifying session during Friday’s running.

Six squads were neck and neck within the same second when it came to combined best times. In the end Team SRC Kawasaki were 50 thousandths of a second up on the YART Yamaha Official EWC Team (in the lead after the first qualifying). F.C.C. TSR Honda also clocked much faster times to place slightly ahead of GMT94 Yamaha.

Parkalgar Racing Team took fifth on the grid. Its star pilot Miguel Oliveira, the 2015 Moto3 World Championship runner-up, came back with a bang this morning. Despite a spectacular crash yesterday, Oliveira recorded the fastest lap of the session at 1m45.157s.

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team is in sixth place, having kept up a steady pace. Only one factory-backed team is missing from the roll call of leaders, as Honda Endurance Racing were obviously still having set-up issues with the CBR1000RR and will start from 14th place.

In the Superstock class, Team 3Art Yam’Avenue consolidated its leadership by placing 7th, just behind the pack of favourites to win. Team Louit Moto 33 Traqueur and Yamaha Viltais Experiences are neck and neck in 11th and 12th place respectively, ahead of Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki.