Suzuka WTCC: Alain Menu quickest in final practice
Alain Menu completed a clean sweep of Saturday practice sessions in the final half hour of running before Suzuka World Touring Car Championship qualifying
Earlier Menu had edged out Chevrolet team-mate Yvan Muller by a tiny margin, but in practice two it was the RML squad's third driver Rob Huff who took the close second place, 0.058 seconds down on Menu.
Muller was only fourth this time, behind surprise third-place man Fernando Monje's SEAT.
Gabriele Tarquini held the top spot for a while before the Chevrolets flexed their muscles and pushed the SEAT back to fifth.
That left Tarquini just in front of the car he will race next year - the new Honda driven by ex-SEAT man Tiago Monteiro for its debut in Japan.
Hiroki Yoshimoto was again the best of the local guests in seventh, followed by regulars Pepe Oriola, Norbert Michelisz and James Nash.
Tom Coronel only completed a handful of laps and was slowest, amid exhaust problems on his ROAL BMW.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Alain Menu Chevrolet 53.750s 2. Rob Huff Chevrolet 53.808s + 0.058s 3. Fernando Monje Tuenti SEAT 54.041s + 0.291s 4. Yvan Muller Chevrolet 54.058s + 0.308s 5. Gabriele Tarquini Lukoil SEAT 54.184s + 0.434s 6. Tiago Monteiro Honda 54.195s + 0.445s 7. Hiroki Yoshimoto Tuenti SEAT 54.260s + 0.510s 8. Pepe Oriola Tuenti SEAT 54.444s + 0.694s 9. Norbert Michelisz Zengo BMW 54.446s + 0.696s 10. James Nash Arena Ford 54.458s + 0.708s 11. Alex MacDowall Bamboo Chevrolet 54.604s + 0.854s 12. Stefano D'Aste Wiechers BMW 54.662s + 0.912s 13. Tom Boardman Special Tuning SEAT 54.786s + 1.036s 14. Darryl O'Young Bamboo Chevrolet 54.937s + 1.187s 15. Aleksei Dudukalo Lukoil SEAT 54.939s + 1.189s 16. Mehdi Bennani Proteam BMW 54.949s + 1.199s 17. Tom Chilton Arena Ford 54.979s + 1.229s 18. Franz Engstler Engstler BMW 55.012s + 1.262s 19. Alberto Cerqui ROAL BMW 55.048s + 1.298s 20. Rene Munnich Special Tuning SEAT 55.054s + 1.304s 21. Charles Ng Engstler BMW 55.317s + 1.567s 22. Masaki Kano Engstler BMW 55.363s + 1.613s 23. Tom Coronel ROAL BMW 55.719s + 1.969s
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