Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Team Cabin Honda’s Makoto Tamada won round six of the All-Japan Road Race Series on Sunday, September 1 at Sportsland Sugo in Japan. Riding a RC51 Superbike, Tamada actually finished second in the 25-lap race, seven seconds behind Team Suzuki’s Yukio Kagayama on the prototype Suzuki GSV-R 990cc, four-stroke, V-4 racer.

Prototype machines are allowed to race in All-Japan Road Race Series events on a exhibition basis and are not eligible for race wins, points or purse money.

Kagayama qualified on pole with a time of 1:29.913 and turned the fastest lap of the race at 1:30.456, while Tamada turned the fastest Superbike lap of the race at 1:30.587.

For reference, Neil Hodgson was the fastest rider in timed qualifying for the 2002 World Superbike race at Sugo with a 1:28.778 on his Ducati 998F01, and Noriyuki Haga won Superpole with a time of 1:28.806 on his factory Aprilia RSV1000.

Officially, YSP Racing & Presto’s Wataru Yoshikawa finished second in the All-Japan Sugo race on his Yamaha YZF-R7, two seconds behind Tamada and nine seconds behind Kagayama.

All-Japan Road Race Series Superbike point leader Atsushi Watanabe finished a distant fourth at Sugo and retains a slim, one-point lead in the series over Tamada, 101 to 100.

The next event for the nine-round series will be held September 15 at Suzuka Circuit.