Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

The 25th Suzuka 8-Hour endurance race will feature many Americans but few international racing stars, according to a provisional entry list.

In stark contrast to past Suzuka races that included nearly every top rider from international and domestic road racing series around the world, the provisional entry list for the 25th running of the classic endurance event is relatively light on star power. The biggest names for the Coca-Cola-sponsored contest are Tohru Ukawa, Daijiro Kato, Alex Barros and Akira Ryo.

Former Suzuka 8-Hour winners Ukawa and Kato will team on a Team Cabin Honda RC51. Makoto Tamada will ride another Honda RC51 pairing with Cabin Honda Team Manager and former Suzuka winner Tadayuki Okada. Alex Barros will join Yuichi Takeda on a Team Sakurai Honda RC51. Takeda is third in the All-Japan Road Race Series point standings.

Having finished on the Suzuka podium for the past two years, Ryo and Yukio Kagayama will be tough on a factory-supported Suzuki GSX-R750; Ryo and Kagayama have been test riding the prototype GSV-R in 2002.

The top Yamaha team appears to be the YSP Racing & Prest duo of Takeshi Tsujimura and Wataru Yoshikawa, fourth and fifth in All-Japan Series points.

Although an Akira Yanagawa/Eric Bostrom/Chris Walker team on a factory ZX-7RR would have been exciting, Kawasaki will have no official factory team in the Suzuka field this year.

Although the Suzuka race is round four of the FIM Endurance World Championship, few of the series regulars make the long and expensive journey to race in Japan. Among the World Endurance regular teams signed up for this year’s race, Zongshen has entered two Stock Sport teams on Suzuki GSX-R1000s with Stephane Mertens and Warwick Nowland riding the first and Igor Jerman and Bruno Bonhuil riding the second. GMT94’s Sebastien Scarnato and William Costes are scheduled to race on another Stock Sport Suzuki GSX-R1000.

American Jason Pridmore and Brit Mike Edwards will take their usual seats on a QB Phase One World Endurance Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the Stock Sport class. Similarly, Mike Ciccotto and David Estok will ride a Herman Verboven/Hooters/Ti Force Suzuki GSX-R1000 at Suzuka.

It appears as though the Arata-Ex & Tsukigi team has replaced Doug Chandler with Mike Smith as partner to Doug Polen on an X-Formula Honda CBR954RR. Polen’s history at Suzuka is long and varied, but Smith, riding with teammate Takuma Aoki, finished third at the 1993 edition of the Suzuka 8-Hour on a Honda. Scott Russell and Aaron Slight won that race on a Kawasaki with Eddie Lawson and Satoshi Tsujimoto taking second on a Honda. Names appearing below Smith’s on the result sheet included Mick Doohan and Daryl Beattie, fourth on a Honda, Alex Barros and Peter Goddard, seventh on a Suzuki, Kenny Roberts Junior in eighth on a Yamaha, Randy Renfrow and Steve Crevier, 42nd on a Honda and Scott Zampach, Mike Hale and Noriyuki Haga DNF.

The biggest surprise on the Suzuka entry list is Team Corona Extra/EBSCO/Ti Force riders Adam Fergusson and Steve Rapp on an X-Formula Suzuki GSX-R1000.

There are 87 teams entered for the August 4 race, 21 in Superbike, 14 in Stock Sport, four in X-Formula, 38 in JSB1000 and eight in Prototype.