Honda Previews This Weekend’s Suzuka 8-Hours, Ukawa Predicts CBR1000RRW Victory

Honda Previews This Weekend’s Suzuka 8-Hours, Ukawa Predicts CBR1000RRW Victory

© 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by Honda Racing:

Preview: Suzuka 8 Hours.
Suzuka, Japan July 25, 2004.

Honda Teams Chase Suzuka 8 Hours Glory with the CBR1000RR

The 27th running of the Suzuka 8 Hours takes place on Sunday July 25 and Honda will field two factory machines in the classic Japanese event. The race, round four of the World Endurance Championship, is an eight-hour high-speed dash round the ultra fast 5.831km circuit close to Nagoya City.

Team HRC will debut the new CBR1000RRW at Suzuka with two machines racing in the colours of Seven Stars. The experienced Tohru Ukawa and Hitoyasu Izutsu racing together for the second successive year, while the youthful Ryuichi Kiyonari and Yuki Takahashi form a hard charging partnership aboard the second 4-cylinder factory machine.

Ukawa now 31, will be chasing a fourth victory in the race that will equal the record total wins held by Australian Wayne Gardner. Izutsu has never won the race despite several valiant attempts, his best result a third place in 1999. The two men are closely matched in speed and determination and will go to the start as favourites to give Honda their 19th 8 hours victory.

The partnership were forced out of the race in 2003 after a second hour crash caused insurmountable problems that eventually side-lined the machine. This time round the two home based riders have left nothing to chance scoring a fine win at the Suzuka 300km race held in May.

“We did a good simulation during the Suzuka 300km race held in May, in which I won with Izutsu on CBR1000RRW.” Ukawa said. “Till last year, I was taking part in the GP, so I wasn’t prepared for an 8 hour race. But this year I am fully prepared. I have been contesting the 8 hours since 1994 and Honda has always won when they have introduced a new machine. So this year, the CBR1000RRW will win the race. This is my 10th 8-hour race and I have three wins in my pocket. Wayne Gardner has four in his so I want to win this one and make it equal so that I can beat him in the future. Only one thing I am aware of is that we did all the testing in dry conditions so I hope the race day will be dry as well.”

Team mate Izutsu goes into the race in more confident mood than on his Honda debut in 2003. He said. “The set up of the machine has been done more smoothly than last year. We have gained precious data during the 300km race. Anything can happen during the 8 hours and you can never be sure of a win until you get to the checkered flag. Last year it was my mistake to crash then our machine had a problem and we had to retire. I felt miserable when I crashed. I joined Honda (from Kawasaki) to win the race and the JSB Championship. Everyone expects me to do so. But for me that kind of expectation or pressure is necessary as a race without any pressure is not so interesting. This year, I have done a lot of hard training and I’m really eager to win the race with Ukawa. Good thing about Ukawa is he is flexible concerning the set up of the machine. So we don’t have to compromise so much. He can go fast with my set up and I respect him for that.”

The two will have to be at their very best to hold off the challenge of Takahashi and Kiyonari on Sunday who are eager to pit their skills and youthful exuberance against the experience and race craft of Ukawa and Izutsu.

Kiyonari is the most experienced of the CBR1000RRW riders as he has spent the season campaigning the machine in the British Superbike Championship. However, Suzuka has not been a lucky venue for Kiyonari in recent years, he failed to finish in 2001 while last year his partner, Nicky Hayden, was brought down by an oil spill on the second lap ending their race.

Kiyonari said. “I really like racing at Suzuka, I started my career at the ‘Suzuka Racing School’ and have had some success at the track but not at the 8 hours, maybe this will be my year.”

With Kiyonari racing abroad Takahashi has undertaken the bulk of testing the CBR100RRW breaking the Superbike lap record at the final shakedown test. He is in good form and is the current leader in the All Japan 250cc Championship.

“Last year I was riding the Masked Rider Honda machine and our aim was to beat the Honda factory teams. This year I am riding a factory machine and at first I was a little nervous about it. But now I feel fine and I hope to get to the podium with Kiyonari. The second and the third runs are hard during the 8 hour race but I always try to breathe deeply when I pass the main straight.” Takahashi said.

The Seven Stars teams will have Manabu Kamata acting as their reserve rider for the race and they could not wish for better. Kamata, partnered by Yukio Nukumi, won the race last year and has worked hard on the development of the new machine.

He said. “Last year I won the race with Yukio Nukumi and it was a fantastic experience for me. This year I have been developing the machine and will support both #7 (Ukawa/Izutsu) and #11 (Takahashi/Kiyonari). Our aim is to achieve Honda 1-2 finish.

Sakurai Honda has entered four teams in the race contesting the JSB category, which places more restrictions on chassis modifications than the Superbike class.

Three Sakurai machines will race for team sponsors, Tatsuya Yamaguchi and Kazuki Tokudome will race the Masked rider Blade Honda. Last year Yamaguchi’s race was ruined by the same oil spill that claimed Hayden and Okada but he and teammate Takahashi fought back to finish 10th.

“Last year I was involved in the multi crash during the second lap. Unlike Hayden or Tady, I was able to re-start and joined the race but the position was 65th. Yuki Takahashi and me worked our way up to 10th place from there. I had a crack in my right wrist but didn’t tell that to our team staff. As Masked rider is a hero to young children, we had to finish the race and that is same for this year as well.” Explained Yamaguchi.

The inexperienced 21-year old Kazuki Tokudome, the younger brother of five-time 125cc GP winner Masaki Tokudome is making his 8 hour debut and has entrusted machine set up to his more experienced partner. “This is my first 8 hr race and I am excited about it. I’m relying 100% on Yamaguchi-san.” Said the youngster.

Near veteran Tadayuki Okada is taking time off from his job as HRC team manager for the British Superbike Championship to make a one-off race appearance at Suzuka, racing the Sakurai Honda with sponsorship from the Hanshin Tigers, the Osaka baseball team. Chojyun Kameya will again partner Okada and the two will hope for better luck than in the corresponding race last year when Okada was brought down by the same oil spill that derailed Hayden.

A second Hanshin Tigers liveried CBR will be in the hands of Tamaki Serizawa and 2003 victor Yukio Nukumi while Osamu Deguchi and Kenichi Kiyonari, younger brother of Ryuichi, race their CBR for Team Sakurai Honda.

The competition between the Honda teams will be intense to say the least but they will not have the race to themselves. Yamaha will look to the pairing of former All Japan Champions Shinichi Nakatomi and partner Wataru Yoshikawa backed up by regular Endurance Championship competitors Dean Ellison and Sebastien Scarnato.

Suzuki will have Kenichi Kitagawa and Katsuaki Fujiwara racing the factory GSX-R1000 while Yoshimura Suzuki field the experienced Atsushi Watanabe partnered by Yukio Kagayama.

Race day temperatures could top 35′ with humidity above 50% conditions that will favour the more experienced riding partnerships but the young guns will put their elders under intense pressure on Sunday making race predictions a lottery.

HRC General Team Manager expects a fast hard race. He said. “The race will be hard but we have been satisfied with the performance of the CBR1000RRW machines in testing. We plan a six-stop pit strategy again this year but anything can happen in the 8 Hours as we saw last year. However, I’m confident in the ability of our teams. It will be interesting to see the CBR1000RRW in action at Suzuka.”



Leading Honda teams and Riders Suzuka 8 Hours 2004.

# 7 Tohru Ukawa – Hitoyasu Izutsu Team Seven Stars Honda

# 11 Ryuichi Kiyonari – Yuki Takahashi Team Seven Stars Honda

Reserve rider: Manabu Kamata.


# 4 Tatsuya Yamaguchi – Kazuki Tokudome Kamen Rider Blade Honda

# 80 Tadayuki Okada – Shogoyun Kameya Hanshin Tigers Sakurai Honda

# 53 Yukio Nukumi – Tamaki Serizawa Hanshin Tigers Sakurai Honda

# 71 Osamu Deguchi – Kenichi Kiyonari Team Sakurai Honda.


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