42nd Coca-Cola Suzuka 8-Hours Endurance Race

FIM Endurance World Championship

Suzuka Circuit, Japan

July 28, 2019

Race Results:

1. Kawasaki Team Green (Leon Haslam/Toprak Razgatlioglu/Jonathan Rea), Kaw ZX-10RR, SBK, 216 laps

2. Yamaha Factory Racing Team (Katsuyuki Nakasuga/Alex Lowes/Michael van der Mark), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, -18.720 seconds

3. Red Bull Honda (Takumi Takahashi/Ryuichi Koyinari/Stefan Bradl), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, -66.727 seconds

4. F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Josh Hook/Freddy Foray/Mike Di Meglio), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, -1 lap

5. Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing (Sylvain Guintoli/Yukio Kagayama/Kazuki Watanabe), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, -1 lap, 20.707 seconds

6. YART – Yamaha (Broc Parkes/Marvin Fritz/Niccolo Canepa), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, -2 laps

7. MuSashi RT Harc-Pro Honda (Xavi Fores/Dominique Aegerter/Ryo Mizuno), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, -3 laps

8. S-Pulse Dream Racing – IAI (Tommy Bridewell/Bradley Ray), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, -5 laps

9. KYB Moriwaki Racing (Yuki Takahashi/Tomoyoshi Koyama/Troy Herfoss), Hon CBR1000RR, SBK, -5 laps, 57.309 seconds

10. Honda Dream RT Sakurai Honda (Sodo Hamahara/Shinichi Ito/Kosuke Sakumoto), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, -5 laps, 105.262 seconds

11. Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA (Muhammad Zaqhwan/Andi Farid Izdihar/Teppei Nagoe), HoCBR1000RR SP2, SBK, -6 laps

12. Team SRC Kawasaki France (Jeremy Guarnoni/Erwan Nigon/David Checa), Kaw ZX-10RR, SBK, -7 laps

13. Honda Endurance Racing Team (Randy De Puniet/Yonny Hernandez/Sebastien Gimbert), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, -7 laps, 105.639 seconds

14. TONE RT SYNCEDGE 4413 (Tomoya Hoshino/Kokoro Atsumi/Takeshi Ishizuka), BMW S1000RR, STK, -9 laps

15. Bolliger Team Switzerland (Nigel Walraven/Danny Buchan/Osamu Deguichi), Kaw ZX-10RR, SBK, -9 laps, 3.045 seconds

16. Team ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance (Kenny Foray/Julien Da Costa/Mathieu Gines), BMW S1000RR, SBK, -9 laps, 26.843 seconds

17. Team Frontier (Alan Techer/Nicolas Terol/Danny Webb), Hon CBR1000RR SP, SBK, -9 laps, 53.532 seconds

18. Zaif NCXX Racing & Zenkoukai (Kengo Nagao/Stefan Hill), Yam YZF-R1, STK, -9 laps, 54.792 seconds

19. Honda Suzuka Racing Team (Yudai Kamei/Daijiro Hiura/Jun Tadokoro), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, -10 laps

20. Omega Maco Racing (Pawel Szkopek/TBA/TBA), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, -10 laps, 70.565 seconds

Final World Championship Point Standings (after 5 of 5 events):

1. Team SRC Kawasaki France, 132 points

2. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, 127

3. F.C.C. TSR Honda France, 109

4. WEPOL Racing, 101

5. YART – Yamaha, 88

6. Honda Endurance Racing, 79

7. Bolliger Team Switzerland, 73

8. VRD IGOL PIERRET EXPERIENCES, 53

9. TIE, MOTO AIN/GERT56 by GS YUASA, 45

More, from a press release issued by EuroSport Events/FIM:

KAWASAKI RACING TEAM WIN AT SUZUKA

1ST WORLD TITLE FOR TEAM SRC KAWASAKI FRANCE

Kawasaki Racing Team emerged victors at the Suzuka 8 Hours after a disrupted race finish. Yamaha Factory Racing Team and Red Bull Honda rounded off the podium after an incredible finish at this year’s race, which handed Team SRC Kawasaki France their first world title.

After a 5-hour battle in the lead between the 3 factory teams, who were just 6 seconds from each other at the 6-hour mark, a blown engine and a crash totally shook up the last 5 minutes of the race. The race leaders Kawasaki Racing Team crashed with the red flag out 3 minutes from the finish. Despite the crash, and although Jonathan Rea did not reach the finish line, Kawasaki Racing Team were declared the winners in accordance with the rule stating that in case the race is stopped when the red flag is waved, the standings reflect positions on the previous lap.

Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam and Toprak Razgatlioglu have offered Kawasaki its first victory at Suzuka since 1993. After four back-to-back wins, Yamaha Factory Racing Team (Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark, the winners of the last two editions) finished second ahead of Red Bull Honda (Takumi Takahashi, Stefan Bradl and Ryuichi Kiyonari).

F.C.C. TSR Honda France stoutly defended their 4th place against Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing for the entire duration of the race. Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike Di Meglio went all out to achieve their objective but did not succeed in taking a second world championship crown for F.C.C. TSR Honda France.

The first European team past the finish line, YART Yamaha, were 6th, ahead of Musashi RT Harc-Pro Honda who did a superb climb back up after starting the race with a 1 mn-30s penalty.

Four Japanese teams who were in the leading pack right from the start of the race, S-Pulse Dream Racing (Suzuki), KYB Moriwaki Racing (Honda), Honda Dream RT Sakurai and Honda Asia Dream Racing with Showa, rounded off the Top 10.

Title goes to Team SRC Kawasaki France

Just before Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) crashed, there was another spectacular upset at the end of the race. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team were lapping in 9th place and looking certain to win their 16th world title when engine failure put paid to nearly 8 hours of hard slog by Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson and Gregg Black. Team SRC Kawasaki France’s 11th-place finish with riders Jérémy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa enabled the French team to conquer their first-ever FIM Endurance World Championship title.

Four Europeans teams finished in the Top 20. Honda Endurance Racing were 13th and Bolliger Team Switzerland 15th (following a start from 31st), ahead of Team ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance. Omega Maco Racing were 20th.

The 42nd edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours drew 109,000 spectators including 65,500 on Sunday (+8%) despite a typhoon warning on Saturday.

More, from a press release issued by Honda Endurance Racing:

Hard fought 13th in blistering Suzuka 8 Hours heat for Honda Endurance Racing

Suzuka 8 Hours

Suzuka Circuit, Japan

The Honda Endurance Racing team has finished the 42ndEdition of the Suzuka 8 Hours in a hard fought 13th. Honda’s endurance specialists Sébastien Gimbert, Randy de Puniet and Yonny Hernandez overcame all arising challenges to bring the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade home safe and sound.

Starting from 21st position, start rider Yonny Hernandez already had made his way up close to the Top-Ten on the first laps, when a unfortunate small crash in the last chicane prior the main straight stopped his assault for some 30 seconds. Hernandez was able to continue without having to put in an extra stop as the Fireblade needed no repair at all.

Around half way through of the Suzuka 8 Hours the Honda Endurance Racing team had to solve a minor issue on the bike, when Sébastien Gimbert entered into the garage directly after his stint. The bike was sent back out again fairly quick after it had repaired and the dashboard got changed.

Together with Randy de Puniet, Hernandez and Gimbert lapped a solid race pace, surprising themselves with slightly better times than expected. The team had tried some set up changes during today’s warm up session and that proved to be a step in the right direction.

There is some confusion going on about the result of the race with the leading team not making it back to parc fermé being excluded – but later brought back in again due to a special paragraph in the Endurance regulations.

For all the latest news and updates on the team follow @HondaRacingCBR on Twitter.

Sébastien Gimbert

It was not easy; this week was very complicated. We had a strange situation and were fighting the chattering all the time. May lap times have been too slow because I compare that to SERT or F.C.C.. I am not happy because this result is not my objective but it is okay because we finished the race which is the first thing you have to do in Endurance racing and especially at the end it wasn’t easy to do that today. It is strange to finish this season as we did, but now I am focusing on the Bol d’Or because this will be the last race for me and I want to win to finish my career on a high note. I am happy I have such a strong team behind me and my team mates are really, really strong so I am looking to the Bol d’Or with confidence.

Randy de Puniet

It was a really hard week because we had some difficulties during all the sessions, but today we made some big changes and it was a little bit better – the pace today was much better. Without Yonny’s crash and the small technical issue it would have been possible to enter the Top-10. We finished 13th – which is not bad. Yonny crashed but this is not a problem, it is a race and he wanted to stay in a good rhythm – and I crashed in the past as well, so there is nothing to moan about in this point as it always can happen and it was not a stupid crash. I think our team, the riders and the crew, did a really good job. Sometimes it was hard to accept the situation but in the end we improved the setting for the race and it was better than in the rest of the week. We understood many things and can build on that in the future. It was difficult but we all stayed strong together all the time and so did a good job.

Yonny Hernandez

At the end I am not so happy because we know we have the potential to fight further up on the front. But here it was a difficult week during the practices and the race. The race itself was really hard, especially to keep a fast rhythm. I tried to do my best and to understand the bike. I wanted to push on lap times, more was not possible today. Positive is the word for the work we have done with the team during the week to get the setup better though. I have to say a big thanks to the team and we finished the 8 hours which is something always to be proud of. At the end it was not so bad because we were in P12 but for sure we need to find a solution for the Bol d’Or because we know we can do better.

Jonny Twelvetrees

Team Manager

It has been a really, really tough week. It has not really got going for us and every time it did – whether that was practice or qualifying – and we thought we started to get some momentum, there would be a little crash or we hit a ceiling on the lap time. And that happened in the race today: We started to get some momentum and made our way through the field and then it was a crash or we had a bit more fuel consumption than we had planned or a small technical issue. We never really got going, which is a bit disappointing, because I think we could have been a challenger in the Top-10 but it wasn’t to be. The end of the race – well, with the result of some other teams in the last minutes – this shows how unlucky you can be in this sport and how punishing it is, so this puts it all in perspective. We learnt something, got some home work to do before we go to the Bol-test.

More, from a press release issued by Honda Pro Racing:

Drama-filled Suzuka 8 Hours brings double podium joy for Honda

Suzuka 8 Hours

Suzuka Circuit, Japan

In Japan, the 42nd running of the Suzuka 8 Hours produced one of the most dramatic and intense battles ever which went right down to the wire. Nearly one third of the grid were campaigning the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, but all eyes were on the officially-supported teams of, amongst others, Red Bull Honda, reigning World Champions F.C.C. TSR Honda France, MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO and KYB Moriwaki Racing and Honda Endurance Racing.

There was forecast to be showers today, after yesterday’s typhoon cancelled the Top 10 qualifying shootout, but the race got underway in typically hot and humid Suzuka weather – 30 degrees Celsius and 90% humidity.

With a blistering opening lap, F.C.C. TSR Honda France took the lead for the first time across the line from 6th on the grid, with Red Bull Honda close behind. And so an incredible battle raged between the top five, who were split by less than a second after the first hour of racing.

As the race unfolded, and F.C.C. TSR Honda France held fourth, the top three battle intensified as. After five hours, 140 laps and nearly 1000km of racing, the top trio were split by just 1.5seconds as the pace was unrelenting.

At the seven hour mark, Red Bull Honda’s Takumi Takahashi rode brilliantly to overhauling a near-10sec deficit and take the lead of the famous race.

This duel continued through the last round of pitstops, and just in case there wasn’t sufficient drama the rain that had been forecast finally arrived in the final 30minutes and the teams waited nervously to see whether a final stop for wet tyres was required. Takahashi, who was at the end of a gruelling double-stint, dug deep in a remarkable display of grit and determination to finish third.

But the double-twist was still to come, as the leading #10 machine crashed on the final lap on a patch of oil, just as the rain worsened, causing a red flag. After an initial provisional result put Red Bull Honda second and F.C.C. TSR Honda France third, an investigation into the incident resulted in a reinstatement by the FIM of #10, leaving Red Bull Honda in their on-track position of third.

Fourth overall for F.C.C. TSR Honda France secures them second in the FIM Endurance World Championship, and the middle step of the Championship podium at this season finale event.

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Victorious Suzuka 8 Hours For KRT As SRC Kawasaki France Wins The Championship!

After a truly epic and finally dramatic contest the Kawasaki Racing Team Suzuka 8 Hours squad took the race victory on their Ninja ZX-10RR, securing Kawasaki’s first win at this highly prestigious event since 1993. There was double joy for Kawasaki as the FIM World Endurance Championship title went to the Team SRC Kawasaki France squad, after they posted a 12th place finish in the final race of the season.

Forming a two-rider team in the race the experienced Suzuka 8 Hours duo of Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam took turns to take on the serious competition that had been evident from the very first laps, as the first-time 8 Hours rider Toprak Razgatlioglu played his role as reserve rider.

Having made their Le Mans-style start from second place on the grid the early action in the race was incredibly tight for Jonathan and Leon, with KRT third after the first hour – at which point five different teams were covered by just 0.795 seconds.

The KRT riders led after four hours, after five, then six, and then again at the seven hour point.

With Haslam struggling with recent injuries in the final laps of his riding stints Rea, the four-time WorldSBK champion for Kawasaki, re-took the lead in the very last session and looked destined to secure the win for KRT.

In an unbelievable turn of bad luck Rea arrived on another machine’s oil spill in the gloomy and damp conditions that arrived just as the daylight was exhausted. He fell, blamelessly, but was unable to restart.

At that stage the dream of a famous race victory seemed gone and the official Yamaha team were initially declared winners after a red flag was thrown because of the oil.

Despite missing out on the initial podium ceremony, and after a long period of time, the results were amended by the race organisers to put the number 10 Kawasaki back on top. In the final reckoning KRT won the race by 18.720 seconds from Yamaha, with three teams in all on the same lap total of 216.

Even before the final race classification was determined the Number 11 Team SRC Kawasaki France entry of Jeremy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa had already won the FIM Endurance World Championship title outright for the Team SRC Kawasaki France outfit.

Although they lost one place from their immediate Suzuka classification of 11th, to finish an official 12th in the race, their closest rivals Suzuki Endurance Racing Team suffered a technical retirement.

The next-closest team to SRC entering the final round, F.C.C TSR Honda France, could not make up enough points today to deprive the French based Ninja ZX-10RR squad of a famous World Championship success.

After leading but then finishing a disappointed seventh at the Bol d’Or championship opener, the SRC 2018/2019 championship winning season included a race win at the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours race in April.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “I cannot believe what is happening really. From being dejected and feeling that everything was out of our hands, I had already gone back to the hotel, said goodbye to all the guys, with lots of tears. I was in the restaurant already, ordering dinner, when my mechanic Uri called me and said, ‘Hey, are you sitting down?’ I thought he was going to ask me to go to another restaurant – but he then told me we had won the 8 Hours. I think common sense prevailed in that one. I have no words because I am really emotional and happy. The strategy was to work on fuel consumption and race consistency and make no mistakes. I feel we executed that quite well although I got quite tired and cramped at the end. But we prepared the best way possible with the limited time we had. I am so proud to be part of the project and what an effort from KRT, KHI, KMJ who prepared for this race in two tests. During the race it is like hell, the hardest race you can ever imagine, but getting a result like this almost makes me want to come back for more. The emotional roller coaster is unreal.”

Leon Haslam, stated: “From everyone being in tears to getting the news sitting in a restaurant that we actually did win it, I have no words to describe how I feel. The Suzuka 8 Hours is always one of the hardest races of the year. The effort we put in to win, from us, the team and Kawasaki means it has been a big roller coaster of emotion. When the oil went down and the situation happened at the end; words cannot describe the lows we had. But when the good news came through, the highs were just as high. In the second half of each stint I really struggled physically but the bike was working well. I am so happy and I want to thank Kawasaki for this opportunity; also the whole team, Toprak and Johnny, and we pushed as hard as we could. It is a shame that we did not get to stand on the top of the podium but the result is in and we have won the Suzuka 8 Hours.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu, stated; “Today I am very tired after watching the race for eight hours! But I am very happy for Johnny and Leon because that was an incredible job today. We are all happy and thank you to everyone. For me this was my first time here – and our team won.”

Guim Roda, KRT Team manager, stated: “This race has been outstanding and I think for the public, the fans and everyone it has been the most incredible Suzuka 8 Hours. Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki – the riders and the factories – have been amazing everybody and they all saw a great race. The best point is that we finally got the victory after Johnny made an incredible last riding stint. The strategy we planned was very good so at the end we got the victory.”

TEAM SRC KAWASAKI FRANCE QUOTES

Jeremy Guarnoni, stated: “It is unbelievable to win the championship and for me it has been the first time that I have done the full season – and we won it. We deserve it because after the Bol d’Or it was a really difficult moment for the team and me – for my head. Of course we are a bit lucky at the end but we deserve it because we made the job in Le Mans and I have two unbelievable team-mates. The team itself and the bike were – all season – really good. This weekend was a bit more difficult but Suzuka is always a strange race. We are really happy.”

Erwan Nigon, stated: “What a race and what a championship also. We had all weather conditions, 24-hour races are hard and early in the 2018/2019 season we had a victory at Le Mans which is always a good sign for the rest of the championship. We pushed a lot all through this year and in the end we won the championship. First time for me and I want to say thanks to the team because they worked a lot all winter to adjust the bike to make good race settings. Many thanks to my partners, my family and my incredible team-mates. We are friends also so it is a really good feeling to win it with them.”

David Checa, stated: “I do not know what to say. In my first year with Kawasaki and Gilles’s team I am world champion again. It is like a dream. When you change a team it is not easy, when you change a brand it is not easy, but my team and my team-mates did a really good job. The atmosphere in the team is incredible. We are friends and for me this is the main point. When we talk and share everything for sure you push more. I believed that we could win the championship all year. The Bol d’Or was frustrating because we had a problem two hours from the end but we continued to believe. When you dream, and believe, the dream can come true – and we are world champions. Now I want to win the next Bol d’Or for Kawasaki, my team-mates and my team. We are world champions today but we have to think of the future and that future now is the Bol D’Or.”

Gilles Staffler, SRC Team Manager, stated: “We are very happy, the riders made a really good job, my team too, and it is fantastic. To win the title was a dream for us and Kawasaki and all the sponsors. It is a great day.”

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Yamaha Factory Racing Team Finish 2nd in Thrilling 2019 Suzuka 8 Hours

At the 42nd “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours, Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark of the Yamaha Factory Racing Team took the #21 YZF-R1 to 2nd place, securing the fifth consecutive podium finish at Suzuka for Yamaha since the return of the factory team in 2015.

With 2019 marking the 21st year since the YZF-R1 was launched, the Yamaha Factory Racing Team entered the Endurance World Championship (EWC) finale on an R1 sporting a revival of the original Yamaha TECH21 Team livery from 1985. The eight-hour race saw the team engage their rivals in a fierce chase for the win from start to finish, with Nakasuga, Lowes and van der Mark faithfully carrying out their respective stints as planned. As the race approached its final stages and the team running in 3rd, Lowes was handed the TECH21 R1 for the last stint of the day.

The Briton made a pass to take 2nd on the 211th lap, but not long after, the leading bike crashed with just minutes left to the chequered flag. The race was subsequently red-flagged and ended, with the Yamaha Factory Racing Team initially taking the victory on the provisional race results. However, following scrutiny and discussion of the on-track events by officials, the provisional results were later amended with Yamaha taking 2nd place instead. Yamaha Motor requested an explanation of this amendment from FIM Race Direction, and upon hearing the background and reasoning for the judgement made by the FIM, Yamaha Motor accepted the decision.

The YART Yamaha OEWC Team on the #7 YZF-R1 ran a superb race, setting consistent laps among the leading teams for the full eight hours. They finished in the top-five until the amendment to the provisional results put them in 6th. Despite two DNFs among the five rounds of the EWC, their 2nd place finish at the 24 Hour Bol d’Or, a second straight win at the 8 Hours of Slovakia Ring, and this strong performance at Suzuka puts the Austria-based team 4th in the overall standings for the 2018-2019 season.

Yamaha would like to express our deepest thanks to all of our sponsors and suppliers for their incredible support and to all of the fans that braved the summer heat to come to the circuit and cheer for the Yamaha teams competing in this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours.

Yamaha Factory Racing Team

Race result: 2nd (7:55’55.333, 216 laps)

Katsuyuki Nakasuga

Yamaha Factory Racing Team

“I was so happy to be able to ride with these guys again at Suzuka, and I think we had a really enjoyable and fulfilling race week overall. We all gave a 100% effort, and we were able to work together really well in sharing the R1 for our stints. The entire team and staff, not just us riders, showed how strong we are in the race today.”

Alex Lowes

Yamaha Factory Racing Team

“I love the Suzuka 8 Hours and to get the opportunity to ride with Michael rather than against him is nice, as he’s a tough opponent to beat normally. I always enjoy riding with Nakasuga-san too, as we are friends as well as teammates. So this is always a special race for me and today we all did our best. We pushed right up until the end, we never gave up chasing and it was a lot of fun. Thanks to my teammates, and to everyone in the team, for all the hard work they put in to chasing success here in Suzuka.”

Michael van der Mark

Yamaha Factory Racing Team

“It’s a bit of a strange end to what was an incredible race today. I think all three of us did the best we could today. We had quite similar pace but, of course, there are also areas in which we can look to improve, which is what we’ll do before returning next year when, hopefully, we can fight for the win once again.”

Wataru Yoshikawa

Team Manager – Yamaha Factory Racing Team

“Our rivals came back with stronger potential this year, so I knew it was going to be a tough fight from the beginning, and today it really was. With our machine, the riders helped us out so much in getting it set up just right for the race, so I want to be in a position to return the favour to them next year. I’m so thankful to the fans and to our sponsors for lending us their cheers and support for this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours.”

YART Yamaha Official EWC Team

Race result: 6th (7:56:53.579, 214 laps) EWC ranking: 4th

Broc Parkes

YART Yamaha EWC Team

“For me it’s not been so easy this week, but then in the race my lap times during my stints were really good and I could keep the pace. From a team perspective, we did everything we possibly could to beat home one of the factory bikes and to be in the top six, which was great, even if our target was top five ahead of the race. I have amazing teammates and an amazing team, and I’m confident we’ll be even stronger next season.”

Marvin Fritz

YART Yamaha EWC Team

“We’ve been really strong all weekend and I think nobody really expected us to be running so close to the factory teams. Niccolò on our bike was as fast as Alex on the factory bike in qualifying, which is an incredible achievement when you consider the differences in the bikes. We made an amazing job and a fantastic race; I think I was one second quicker on every lap compared to last year. I’m really happy and thanks to the team and my teammates for their support, they all did a fantastic job.”

Niccolò Canepa

YART Yamaha EWC Team

“I am really happy about our performance, both the riders and the team, because it was such a perfect race; not one mistake, the pace was incredible and all week we were fighting with the factory teams, which is quite an accomplishment. In recent years, with this pace, we’d have been on the podium, but the speed has increased this year and, in a race where few of the leaders had any issues, it made it tough for us to progress. I’m really, really happy with sixth place, even if we did miss out on our pre-race target of top five by one place.”

Mandy Kainz

Team Manager – YART Yamaha EWC Team

“It was quite an unexpected race today. In warm up this morning we badly damaged the race bike in a crash, which meant we had to start the race on the spare bike, which the riders don’t have such a good feeling with compared to the number one machine. Even so, we had a perfect race and, normally, our pace would have been good enough to put us on the podium, but today nobody had any problems, which was surprising. It’s quite incredible that a performance like we put in today was good for only sixth, but that’s endurance racing for you. The riders did a perfect job, the team did a perfect job and I think this race will go in the books as one of the most exciting in years.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

SUZUKI SUZUKA CELEBRATIONS

* Suzuki lead from start

* Yoshimura Suzuki finish 4th

* SERT close to championship victory

Sunday morning at Suzuka was cloudy but dry, unlike the previous day where a typhoon forced the top-10 trial to be cancelled. A 45minute warm-up session took place from 8:30 and the teams made their final adjustments for the race.

Before the start, a retirement ceremony was held for Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Manager Dominique Méliand, who has led the team for over 40 years. Former SERT riders such as Keiichi Kitagawa and Yukio Kagayama were among the many guests celebrating Dominique’s successful career. FIM president Jorge Viegas made a speech praising his achievements and Suzuki president Toshihiro Suzuki presented him with flowers. Dominique thanked everyone for the years he has spent competing in the EWC and said he would do his very best in this, his last race as team manager.

The race started on time at 11:30 with a Le Mans start under dry conditions with an ambient temperature of 30 degrees and track temperature of 47 degrees.

An unexpected holeshot from #95 S-PULSE DREAM RACING IAI (S-PULSE) Bradley Ray brought excitement to the Suzuki fans, but at the end of a confusing opening lap, #12 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI MOTUL RACING Sylvain Guintoli was in second, S-PULSE in third and SERT in ninth. #9 MotoMap S.W.A.T (MotoMap) Josh Waters was leading the SST class in an overall 13th position, but #71 TK SUZUKI BLUE MAX Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman couldn’t get off to a good start and fell back.

On the third lap Yoshimura overtook #1 F.C.C. TSR HONDA FRANCE and became the race leader, slowly widening the gap to 2 seconds. MotoMap, who were comfortably leading the SST class, crashed on the 6th lap, and returned to the pits to repair the machine.

Safety cars were needed on lap 12 due to a crash at the 200R section of the track, and this put the race leaders together again. When the safety cars left the track on lap 17, Yoshimura continued to lead the factory teams for another 10 laps.

After the first pit-in, Yoshimura were back to 5th place but riding at a good pace. S-PULSE and SERT continued around 10th place, and the race proceeded without much change until the last hours.

Rain started to fall at around 19:00 and, with only 30minutes to go, SERT was in a position where, if they could maintain position they would take the world title yet again by a margin of one point. Riding carefully in the dark and increasingly wet conditions, and with only 5 minutes to go, the title looked promising, but the GSX-R suffered a rare technical issue and SERT was out of the race, and unable to deliver a final world title to Dominique.

Race leader #10 Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea raced into the final lap but crashed on the left-hander after the S-corner and the Red Flag brought the race to a premature end.

Following an FIM meeting the final positions were taken from the previous lap and the final results showed Yoshimura in 5th, S-PULSE 8th and TK SUZUKI 21st. MotoMap fought back from their early crash to 27th overall and 4th in the SST class.

#12 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI MOTUL RACING:

Sylvain Guintoli: “The start was good; I was able to push hard and stay in the lead for some time. We couldn’t reach the podium but were able to show our strong performance. The team worked extremely hard and the potential of the bike was even higher than last year. I’m glad we were able to finish safely in front of the cheering fans.”

Yukio Kagayama: “I felt I could have done better on the first stint so that’s a bit of a regret. I tried hard to overtake the TSR machine ahead, but we had minor troubles and it wasn’t possible. I’m not totally happy with the result, but we made it to the goal, so I think I’ll just have to be proud about that.”

Kazuki Watanabe: “To be honest, I’m frustrated with the result. We made a mistake with the tyre choice on the first stint and I couldn’t ride as fast I would have liked. However, we were able to gather a lot of data and it was a great experience for me to team-up with experienced riders such as Kagayama and Sylvain. I hope this experience will boost my performance in the following rounds of the Japanese Superbikes series.”

Yohei Kato – Team Manager: “We have had trouble for the past two years so I must say I’m glad we made it to the end safely. However, the factory teams definitely showed us their strength, making us realise there is an obvious gap that needs to be assessed. This is frustrating, but we’ll move on and try harder next time. Thank you all for your support.”

#95 S-PULSE DREAM RACING·IAI:

Tommy Bridewell: “It was yet again a wonderful race for me. Only two riders was a hard task, but the crew worked hard, and we were able to ride the bike in a very comfortable situation. The crew are like a family in Japan and I feel very proud of them.”

Bradley Ray: “I couldn’t believe the holeshot! It was a superb feeling. We worked hard as a team and I think we can be proud about the final result in 8th as a private team. It was a great experience and I thank all the staff.”

Shiro Yoshida. Team Manager: “The holeshot by Bradley really boosted our spirits. We found our pace and finished in 8th, so I’m happy about the race and the result. I thank all the sponsors and fans for the support and promise to keep on trying hard.”

#71 TK SUZUKI BLUE MAX:

Gregory LeBlanc: “I’d say the result was so-so. We were aiming for the top 10 but I don’t think we had enough time to properly prepare for that. I’m glad we have finished safely.”

Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman: “We had some trouble with the bike and had to nurse it along for some time, but I’m relieved we’ve made it to the goal without any spills. I thank Kagayama-san for this opportunity and will be happy to do it again.”

Takuya Tsuda: “Multiple unexpected problems occurred during the week and it was difficult to concentrate. I injured my wrist this morning trying not to crash, and the injury made it difficult to control the bike in the race. I hope to find an answer to these difficulties and fight hard in the latter half of the Japanese Superbikes.”

#9 MotoMap S.W.A.T:

Josh Waters: “Obviously I am very disappointed. I had a crash from the start, but the team did an amazing job all weekend and it showed in qualifying and how fast we were able to go on a stock bike. Our pace throughout the race was the fastest of all the stock bikes. Big thanks to Nobu, to everyone in the team, they have done a fantastic job. So next year, we will win. Third year lucky!”

Dan Linfoot: “I’m happy This is the first time for me to take part in the race. So just being in the team was amazing and having to finish in the night was amazing. We had great pace – I mean everyone, Nobu and Josh and myself, we all had a good pace. Obviously, Josh had a small crash and we lost about nine laps I believe, but we have made the best possible recovery. It was a fantastic experience and I want to come back again. Thanks to all the team, and I mean every single person in the team to make it all happen. I have really enjoyed it so thank you.”

Nobuatsu Aoki: “I had struggled a bit on my lap times and Josh recovered everything for me. I am really sorry for that. Dan also did a fantastic job. The mechanics who fought with us never gave up. They were so perfect, that I would like to do this again with this exact same team members next year.”

Makoto Busujima – Team Manager: “First of all I am very glad that all of the riders came back safely. I have realised how high the potential of the GSX-R1000 is from looking at the lap times. Every year I look very much forward to the race and have a real passion for it. I am actually a bit jealous for Aoki to have such a great team. If I were to have an offer from them once again next year, I would definitely want to join this team again.” 

42nd Coca-Cola Suzuka 8-Hours Endurance Race

FIM Endurance World Championship

Suzuka Circuit, Japan

July 27, 2019

Final Qualifying Results (based on an average of each rider’s best lap time):

1. Yamaha Factory Racing Team (Katsuyuki Nakasuga/Alex Lowes/Michael van der Mark), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, 2:06.619

2. Kawasaki Team Green (Leon Haslam/Toprak Razgatlioglu/Jonathan Rea), Kaw ZX-10RR, SBK, 2:06.633

3. Red Bull Honda (Takumi Takahashi/Ryuichi Koyinari/Stefan Bradl), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:07.106

4. MuSashi RT Harc-Pro Honda (Xavi Fores/Dominique Aegerter/Ryo Mizuno), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:07.183

5. Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing (Sylvain Guintoli/Yukio Kagayama/Kazuki Watanabe), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, 2:07.187

6. YART – Yamaha (Broc Parkes/Marvin Fritz/Niccolo Canepa), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, 2:07.309

7. F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Josh Hook/Freddy Foray/Mike Di Meglio), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:07.478

8. au. Teluru SAG Racing Team (Kosuke Akiyoshi/Tetsuta Nagashima/Taiga Hada), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:07.916

9. S-Pulse Dream Racing – IAI (Tommy Bridewell/Bradley Ray), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, 2:08.311

10. KYB Moriwaki Racing (Yuki Takahashi/Tomoyoshi Koyama/Troy Herfoss), Hon CBR1000RR, SBK, 2:08.758

11. KRP SANYOUKOGYO & will raise RS-ITOH (Akira Yanagawa/Mark Aitchison/Ryosuke Iwata), Kaw ZX-10RR, SBK, 2:09.039

12. Honda Suzuka Racing Team (Yudai Kamei/Daijiro Hiura/Jun Tadokoro), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:09.188

13. VRD Igol Pierret Experiences (Florian Alt/Florian Marino/Xavier Simeon), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, 2:09.287

14. Team SRC Kawasaki France (Jeremy Guarnoni/Erwan Nigon/David Checa), Kaw ZX-10RR, SBK, 2:09.494

15. TK Suzuki Blue Max (Gregory Leblanc/Azlan Kamaruzaman/Takuya Tsuda), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, 2:09.553

16. MotoMap SWAT (Josh Waters/Dan Linfoot/Nobuatsu Aoki), Suz GSX-R1000, STK, 2:09.631

17. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Philippe/Etienne Masson/Gregg Black), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, 2:09.693

18. TONE RT SYNCEDGE 4413 (Tomoya Hoshino/Kokoro Atsumi/Takeshi Ishizuka), BMW S1000RR, STK, 2:09.908

19. Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA (Muhammad Zaqhwan/Andi Farid Izdihar/Teppei Nagoe), HoCBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:10.047

20. Team ATJ with JAPAN POST (Taro Sekiguchi/Satoru Iwata/Takuma Kunimine), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:10.116

21. Honda Endurance Racing Team (Randy De Puniet/Yonny Hernandez/Sebastien Gimbert), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:10.190

More, from a press release issued by EuroSport Events:

YAMAHA FACTORY ON POLE AT SUZUKA

Following the cancellation of the Top 10 Trial, the starting grid of the Suzuka 8 Hours retains the positions taken in qualifying. This means Yamaha Factory Racing Team remain on pole, followed by Kawasaki Racing Team and Red Bull Honda.

Persistent rain on the Suzuka circuit this morning and concerns for rider safety led Race Direction to cancel the Top 10 Trial, the Superpole session in which the ten fastest teams in qualifying were scheduled to face off on a flying lap.

The positions taken on Friday after the two timed sessions were used instead to determine positions on the starting grid.

Yamaha Factory Racing Team, the winners of the past four editions, will hence start from pole on Sunday at the 2019 Suzuka 8 Hours, in front of Kawasaki Racing Team and Red Bull Honda.

Behind this threesome of Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda factory teams, Musashi RT Harc-Pro Honda and Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing round off the Top 5, who will each receive their share of the first points (5 down to 1) awarded at the Suzuka 8 Hours to the teams securing the first five positions on the starting grid.

World title at stake

YART Yamaha and F.C.C. TSR Honda France will start from 6th and 7th place on the grid respectively. F.C.C. TSR Honda France, who are disappointed not to have had the chance to try for a Top 5 spot and a few extra points in the Top 10 Trial, are focusing on their twin objective: finishing as high up the podium as possible and taking a second FIM Endurance World Championship title.

On Sunday, all eyes will also be on VRD Igol Pierret Expériences, who will start from 13th at their Suzuka debut, ahead of championship standings leaders Team SRC Kawasaki France. F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s motivation makes them formidable adversaries, but Team SRC Kawasaki France’s closest rivals are Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, who will start the race from 17th position. There is only a five-point gap between the two teams, both competing for the 2018-2019 FIM EWC title.

The forecast predicts improved weather on race day tomorrow (Sunday), with overcast skies but no rainfall.

The 42nd edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours will be flagged off at 11.30am local time (GMT+9) tomorrow, Sunday 28 July.

More, from a press release issued by Honda Pro Racing:

The Honda teams are ready to fight for a 28th victory at what is described by most riders at the most gruelling Endurance race of the year; the Suzuka 8 Hours. The #33 Red Bull Honda team of Takumi Takahashi, Ryuichi Kiyonari and Stefan Bradl will spearhead the quest from third. F.C.C. TSR Honda France, with riders Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike di Meglio, are targeting a defence of their world title at this final round of the 2018/2019 FIM Endurance World Championship. After three hot and sunny days of testing, practicing and Qualifying, rain hit the 5.821 kilometres long Suzuka Circuit on Friday night. The end of a typhoon followed with heavy rain overnight and all through Saturday, which in the end meant that the Support race of the Suzuka 4 Hours had to be red-flagged just shortly after half time and the result got declared with A.P. Honda Racing Thailand taking the win. The Free Practice Session and the Top-10 Time Trail ahead of the Suzuka 8 Hours were cancelled as well. With that, yesterday’s combined Qualifying decides the grid for tomorrow’s (28. July 2019) 42nd running of the Suzuka 8 Hours. That meant Red Bull Honda earning third on the grid, just fractions of a second in front of MuSASHi RT HARC.Pro. Honda riders Xavi Fores, Dominique Aegerter and Ryo Mizuno. The reigning world champions F.C.C. TSR Honda France have impressed all week at the Suzuka Circuit and fought their way to the Time-Trial, which now means they will start the race from seventh position. Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike di Meglio placed their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 in front of the #090 au . Teluru SAG RT team with Kosuke Akiyoshi, Tetsuta Nagashima and Taiga Hada. The KYB Moriwaki Racing team (Yuki Takahashi, Tomoyoshi Koyama, Troy Herfoss) fought to tenth on the grid, making it five Hondas in the Top-Ten. Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Showa set the 19th fastest time, with Honda Endurance Racing in 21st. The 42nd Edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours gets underway at 11:30 local time (BST +8 hours) on Sunday 28 July. For all the latest news and updates on Honda at the Suzuka 8 Hours follow @HondaProRacing across social media.

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

KRT Second On The Suzuka 8 Hours Grid

Kawasaki Racing Team Suzuka 8 Hours riders Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam and Toprak Razgatlioglu just missed out on pole position for Sunday’s race by 0.014 seconds, after the cancellation of the final Top Ten Trial qualifying session today, due to adverse weather conditions.

The Number 10 Ninja ZX-10RR team has shown great consistency and pace when it mattered at Suzuka and their combined times put them a clear second on the grid for the race.

In normal circumstances the team would have made a final push for pole position in the special Top Ten Trial session today but with persistent bad weather affecting the track conditions it was cancelled. That meant that the final grid line up would be determined from yesterday’s Overall Qualifying Classification, maintaining the KRT squad’s position in second place.

With the no competitive action taking place today the team is more than ready to race tomorrow with a clear aim to win this prestigious race, which is also the finale of the entire 2018/2019 Endurance World Championship.

The race itself, with a ‘Le Mans’ style starting procedure, will be held on Sunday 28 July at 11.30am local time in Japan (02.30 GMT/04.30 CET). Started in daylight, the race will finish in darkness at 19.30. At present, raceday weather conditions are forecast to be overcast but not wet.

With the overall EWC title to be decided at Suzuka the Team SCR Kawasaki France entry of Jeremy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa will race to maintain their leading position in the points after four of the five championship rounds have been completed.

The Number 11 Kawasaki team has a five point lead over the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team at the top of the championship table, and a 23 point lead over the F.C.C TSR Honda France squad.

SRC qualified 14th at Suzuka after the combined lap times were averaged out, with their closest rival three places behind on the grid.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “We are really happy with our preparations although it was an unfortunate situation that we did not get any riding done today because of the weather conditions. But, that means that we keep the second position that we secured yesterday. We are in a great starting place and we feel ready. Obviously, endurance races are long so we just need to minimise our mistakes, be consistent and see what happens. Now we will discuss strategy for the race and what will be, will be. There is a lot of support here for the team, Kawasaki and us so we will be doing our best to get a good result.”

Leon Haslam, stated: “We obviously did not get to go out today for the Top Ten Trial because of the weather conditions but yesterday was good. The average time was competitive for the team because we were all within one or two tenths of each other. The consistency is there and now we just have to wait and see what comes in terms of the weather. If it is raining, Johnny and I have some good experience of this. In the dry we are looking to have strong race pace from all three riders. We will wait and see but I am looking forward to it. I feel ready for tomorrow.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu, stated: “Yesterday, Qualifying was good because it was the first time I had tried the bike on new tyres and I set a strong lap time, as did Johnny and Leon. Very good lap times. We ended up in second position, which was very positive. We could not ride again today, after the Top Ten Trial was cancelled because of the track conditions. We are all good, feeling good, and ready to race. We will see how things are tomorrow.”

Pere Riba, Crew Chief, stated: “During the test on Wednesday we worked on the points that we had identified that we needed to improve during our previous tests. We found a good base and then in the qualifying session it was very positive because all three riders set good lap times, very close to the fastest. The most important thing to confirm was a good set-up for all three riders, and they all showed good pace. We have found a base set-up that seems better than last year, with a more consistent race rhythm rather than a fast one-lap pace. The race will decide everything now but in terms of our preparation I am quite happy.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

SUZUKI RIDERS TAKE TO THE STAGE AT SUZUKA 8 HOURS

•Typhoon #6 causes Top-10 Trial cancellation.

•Friday’s results stand for tomorrow’s start.

•Suzuki Teams take to the stage and meet fans.

(Above) Suzuki riders at the Suzuka 8-Hours.

Typhoon #6 washed-out today’s planned Top-10 Trial at Suzuka Circuit in Japan ahead of tomorrow’s final round of the 2018-2019 Endurance World Championship, the 42nd running of the historic race.

As the morning’s separate four hour race was taking place in atrocious conditions, Suzuki and other manufacturers and shops had various events taking place behind the grandstand, which forced their cancellation last year due to another typhoon, but today all went ahead with a huge amount of support from hundreds of fans at the Suzuki booth, where all the major teams and riders attended.

And despite the heavy rain, the Suzuki booth had on display the new KATANA, the GSX-R1000R and Alex Rins’ Team SUZUKI ECSTAR MotoGP GSX-RR machine for Suzuki fans to sit on and take photos.

From 9:50am, some of the main Suzuki teams came on stage welcomed by ex-Suzuki factory rider Keiichi Kitagawa as event MC to talk about their ambitions for tomorrow’s series finale; in what is expected to be one of the most thrilling in the 42-year history of the event.

#95 S-PULSE DREAM RACING·IAI rider Tommy Bridewell, now in his second year with the team, and currently second in the British Superbike Championship was joined by Buildbase Suzuki’s Bradley Ray – who rode for Yoshimura last year at Suzuka. Said Ray: “The bikes are very similar so there’s nothing to worry about. It would be great if we could beat Yoshimura! We aim to be the top Suzuki team”

Both riders also promised to fight hard for their injured team mate Ogata, who was forced out after a crash, Bridewell adding: “We’ll do our best and if that results a better position than last year, that’s a podium!”

All three riders from the #9 Motomap S.W.A.T team, Josh Waters, Dan Linfoot and Nobuatsu Aoki of were present with Team Manager Makoto Busujima.

“We are competing in the SST class again this year but both the tyres and suspension have changed. The bike is set up around the set that Josh uses in the Australian Superbike Championships” said Aoki, “But basically it’s a stock GSX-R and for the two riders to mark 2 minute 8 second laps is just amazing! This has proven the potential of the GSX-R”

However, how good the lap times are, it is still difficult to race under SST regulations: It doesn’t allow use of quick release devices on cycle parts so the tyre changing can take around 30 seconds while other EWC teams can do it in 10. A loss of 20 seconds at each pit stop is hard but the team aims not only to win the SST class but to finish in the overall top 10.

#71 TK SUZUKI BLUE MAX, with riders Gregory LeBlanc, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman and Takuya Tsuda, are a multi-national team with Frenchman LeBlanc, Malaysian Azlan and Japanese Tsuda. “We met the first time on Tuesday” said Tsuda, because the originally planned rider Uramoto had priorities in the Spanish series he’s competing in and the other two joined the team at the last minute.

Azlan said: “It’s the first time I’m riding a Suzuki. It’s very fast and I’m happy with it. This year’s Suzuka happened all very suddenly but I’ll do my best”

LeBlanc said: “It’s an honour to ride for Kagayama-san’s team and I’ll make the best of this opportunity”

Next on stage was #12 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI MOTUL RACING, with Yoshimura president Fujio Yoshimura, riders Yukio Kagayama, Kazuki Watanabe and Sylvain Guintoli. Being the only team to participate in all of the 42 races in the history of Suzuka Eight Hours, Fujio Yoshimura announced the Yoshimura Spirit firmly. “We do this for the pleasure of beating the Factory Teams!” and a roar of applause rose from the crowd.

“Starting the testing in Sepang, we have prepared carefully for this event, and I feel we have proceeded even further this week and are at yet again a higher level. President Fumio rarely praises our work so I’m going to really try hard to gain approval from President Fumio!” said Kagayama.

Watanabe, who marked the top time in the team, commented he’ll do his best to contribute to the team while MotoGP test rider Guintoli said: “I feel the same DNA as a MotoGP bike in the Yoshimura GSX-R. Obviously it’s not the same but it’s very powerful and fast. It’s my third year with Yoshimura but I’ve been unlucky the past two. I hope we can do well this time around.”

Fujio Yoshimura added: “We are going to win it this year!” at the end of the stage and thanked the crowd for the support.

Last on the stage was #2 SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM with riders Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson, Gregg Black and Team Manager Dominique Méliand, who has been the manager of SERT for over 40 years and guided the team to 15 world titles. He has stated he will retire from his racing career after this race and said: “This is an emotional moment. I’ll do my best to be successful in this last race, for the team and for Suzuki.”

Philippe, who has been with the team for over 13 years, commented: “So many things happened over the years we’ve been together. It has not always been easy, but Dominique has always been close and was supportive. I can’t thank him enough.”

SERT is now only five points behind the Championship leader and has a strong chance to be World Champion again. The three riders are determined to race hard and make Dominique’s retirement perfect, crowned with another World Title.

The retirement ceremony will take place on the main course before the start of the race at 10:10am.

WATCH THE SUZUKA 8 HOURS LIVE

Viewers around the world can watch live coverage of the entire Suzuka 8 Hours, the 2018-2019 FIM EWC’s Grand Finale, on Sunday July 28th.

Full live coverage of the Suzuka 8 Hours, from the race start procedure to the podium ceremony, will be broadcast on Eurosport 2 from 4.15am to 1pm CEST. The 2018-2019 FIM EWC final will be shown in more than 60 countries and on Eurosport Player, with commentary in English and French.

Eurosport Events, the FIM EWC promoter, now releases coverage of the FIM Endurance World Championship races to more than 20 broadcasters around the globe.

Two new channels have been added to the list of networks offering international coverage of the FIM EWC. Motortrend in the United States, Canada, South America and Africa will show the entire race live on its digital platform. The Sky NZ channel will also provide full live coverage of the Suzuka 8 Hours in New Zealand.

Japanese fans can watch live coverage of the entire Suzuka 8 Hours on the digital platform Hulu as well as the Nippon TV group’s channels, G+, BS NTV and BS NTV2.

In France, sports channel L’Equipe will show live coverage from 8am to 12.45pm following a recap of the first few hours of the race. 

42nd Coca-Cola Suzuka 8-Hours Endurance Race

FIM Endurance World Championship

Suzuka Circuit, Japan

July 26, 2019

Combined Qualifying Results (before the “Special Stage,” based on an average of each rider’s best lap time):

1. Yamaha Factory Racing Team (Katsuyuki Nakasuga/Alex Lowes/Michael van der Mark), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, 2:06.619

2. Kawasaki Team Green (Leon Haslam/Toprak Razgatlioglu/Jonathan Rea), Kaw ZX-10RR, SBK, 2:06.633

3. Red Bull Honda (Takumi Takahashi/Ryuichi Koyinari/Stefan Bradl), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:07.106

4. MuSashi RT Harc-Pro Honda (Xavi Fores/Dominique Aegerter/Ryo Mizuno), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:07.183

5. Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing (Sylvain Guintoli/Yukio Kagayama/Kazuki Watanabe), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, 2:07.187

6. YART – Yamaha (Broc Parkes/Marvin Fritz/Niccolo Canepa), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, 2:07.309

7. F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Josh Hook/Freddy Foray/Mike Di Meglio), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:07.478

8. au. Teluru SAG Racing Team (Kosuke Akiyoshi/Tetsuta Nagashima/Taiga Hada), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:07.916

9. S-Pulse Dream Racing – IAI (Tommy Bridewell/Bradley Ray), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, 2:08.311

10. KYB Moriwaki Racing (Yuki Takahashi/Tomoyoshi Koyama/Troy Herfoss), Hon CBR1000RR, SBK, 2:08.758

11. KRP SANYOUKOGYO & will raise RS-ITOH (Akira Yanagawa/Mark Aitchison/Ryosuke Iwata), Kaw ZX-10RR, SBK, 2:09.039

12. Honda Suzuka Racing Team (Yudai Kamei/Daijiro Hiura/Jun Tadokoro), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:09.188

13. VRD Igol Pierret Experiences (Florian Alt/Florian Marino/Xavier Simeon), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, 2:09.287

14. Team SRC Kawasaki France (Jeremy Guarnoni/Erwan Nigon/David Checa), Kaw ZX-10RR, SBK, 2:09.494

15. TK Suzuki Blue Max (Gregory Leblanc/Azlan Kamaruzaman/Takuya Tsuda), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, 2:09.553

16. MotoMap SWAT (Josh Waters/Dan Linfoot/Nobuatsu Aoki), Suz GSX-R1000, STK, 2:09.631

17. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Philippe/Etienne Masson/Gregg Black), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, 2:09.693

18. TONE RT SYNCEDGE 4413 (Tomoya Hoshino/Kokoro Atsumi/Takeshi Ishizuka), BMW S1000RR, STK, 2:09.908

19. Honda Asia Dream Racing with SHOWA (Muhammad Zaqhwan/Andi Farid Izdihar/Teppei Nagoe), HoCBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:10.047

20. Team ATJ with JAPAN POST (Taro Sekiguchi/Satoru Iwata/Takuma Kunimine), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:10.116

21. Honda Endurance Racing Team (Randy De Puniet/Yonny Hernandez/Sebastien Gimbert), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, SBK, 2:10.190

More, from a press release issued by FIM/EuroSport Events:

YAMAHA FACTORY CONFIRM PROVISIONAL POLE

After taking control in first qualifying at the Suzuka 8 Hours, Yamaha Factory Racing Team confirmed pole position on the provisional starting grid ahead of Kawasaki Racing Team and Red Bull Honda. The final grid line-up will be decided tomorrow after the Top 10 trial.

Following a particularly eventful and heated first qualifying session, grid positions remained largely static in the second round of qualifying. Yamaha Factory Racing Team retained their place as leaders with Katsuyuki Nakasuga (today’s fastest rider, who posted a 2:05.922 lap), Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark. Kawasaki Racing Team (Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam and Toprak Razgatlioglu) were right behind in 2nd place, ahead of Red Bull Honda (Takumi Takahashi, Ryuichi Kiyonari and Stefan Bradl).

Although they significantly upped their performance in the second session, Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing (Sylvain Guintoli, Yukio Kagayama and Kasuki Watanabe) remained in 5th place behind Musashi RT Harc-Pro Honda (Javier Fores, Dominique Aegerter and Ryo Mizuno).

YART Yamaha and F.C.C. TSR Honda France in the Top 10

Marvin Fritz shaved more than a half-second off his previous best time, enabling YART Yamaha (Broc Parkes, Marvin Fritz and Niccolò Canepa) to move up a place and overtake the first FIM EWC team, F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike Di Meglio), who are now 7th on the provisional grid.

Au. Teluru SAG RT, S-Pulse Dream Racing and KYB Moriwaki Racing round off the roll call of the Top 10 teams who will face off tomorrow (Saturday) on a flying lap in the Top 10 Trial to redistribute the final positions on the starting grid of the 2019 Suzuka 8 Hours.

Of the other European FIM Endurance World Championship full-season teams, rookie squad VRD Igol Pierret Expériences (Florian Alt, Florian Marino and Xavier Siméon) secured a praiseworthy 13th spot just ahead of current world championship standings leaders Team SRC Kawasaki France (Jérémy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa). Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson and Gregg Black), also world title contenders, will start from 17th place. Honda Endurance Racing (Randy de Puniet, Yonny Hernández and Sébastien Gimbert) are in 21st place, and Wójcik Racing Team 24th. Teams beyond 25th position include Team ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance, who were handicapped by engine shut-offs, Omega Maco Racing, Bolliger Team Switzerland, Eva RT Webike Tati Team Trick Star, GSM Racing and Motobox Kremer Racing.

All the teams that have qualified beyond 10th place will be back on the track at 11.30am local time on Sunday 28 July for the start of the 42nd edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours.

More, from a press release issued by Honda Endurance Racing:

Honda Endurance Racing ready for Suzuka 8 Hours challenge

Suzuka 8 Hours

Suzuka Circuit, Japan

The Honda Endurance Racing team, with its Endurance specialists Sébastien Gimbert, Randy de Puniet and Yonny Hernandez, is ready for the 2018/2019 FIM Endurance World Championship’s Grand Finale at the legendary Suzuka 8 Hours event this weekend.

Suzuka greeted the Endurance World Championship teams with blistering heat and high humidity during both days of testing on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as for the fully-packed programme today. After a two-hour Free Practice in the morning, each rider had two Qualifying sessions around lunch time, followed by the first night practice in which the rain, which had been forecast all day, finally hit. There was a brief rain shower in this morning’s test, but that soon dried.

Honda’s Endurance specialists made steady progress and improved on their lap times from a year ago, but the competition is fiercer than ever for this iconic race. Struggling with front end grip on the 50+ degree Celsius tarmac, the team have been working hard all weekend to make gains and will continue to do so to be ready for the big final race of the season on Sunday, 28th of July.

It was Columbian rider Yonny Hernandez who took the team’s glory of being the fastest man of the trio, and the only one to lap sub 2:10 minutes. All three riders were close in pace though, and that consistency over eight hours of racing is incredibly important in overall race time. The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 #111 will start the race from 21st position.

The 42ndEdition of the Suzuka 8 Hours gets underway at 11.30 local time (BST +8 hours) on Sunday 28 July. For all the latest news and updates on the team follow @HondaRacingCBR on Twitter.

Sébastien Gimbert

My feeling is not so good because this position is not what I have come here for. We have too much problem with chattering and this makes it difficult to ride – especially here on this track. The bike is physical and it is not easy to pass other riders. Also yesterday I crashed two times losing the front. Honestly I had no feeling on the bike but today after the qualification it was a little bit better. For a better result we need to find two more seconds but at the moment I don’t know where to find it. This is not our normal position in the ranking, but we have two more sessions to work on everything and find a solution to our issues.

Randy de Puniet

Since the beginning of this week we struggle a lot in many points. We had hoped for some improvement during today, but finally all we tried did not work out. Hats off to the team that did an amazing job in every direction to get our problems fixed. But in the end we are too slow. On my side, I have chattering everywhere so I can’t ride the bike without taking risks and there is no point to take any risks when you are four seconds slower. Honestly I am really disappointed for everybody at the moment but it is like this. We have another session tonight and one tomorrow to find a solution.

Yonny Hernandez

It was really hard work for the team and the riders so far. We have some problems with the setup and the feeling so far, especially with the grip. We only have the tires we normally ride in Europe and so we have a lot of work to do. I think now we need to focus on riding with the material we have right now. We are all just trying to do our best and I think this is not our position. But we keep working to try to get the best combination so we can do a good race. A big thanks goes out to the team for the really hard work done so far this week. We are having two more sessions where we can find something more. I am not disappointed but I am really surprised about the gap we are having compared to the other teams we were fighting all season so we know we can be faster, we just need to keep working hard to find the solution.

Jonny Twelvetrees

Team Manager

We made an improvement on last year but the improvement is smaller this year compared to other tracks. We are disappointed because we were expecting more. We had our problems at the start of the week and it has been hard to eradicate them whilst keeping a compromise between all three riders. That’s been where we have been struggling. We are working on that more and are slowly coming to a setup that is the compromise between all three and we are going to take it to the night practice and tomorrow’s session. We are planning on doing a bit of a race simulation to see how it works in reality because we have been working on individual setups until now and need to turn our heads to the race to maintain that pace.

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

YOSHIMURA SUZUKI 5TH IN SUZUKA QUALIFYING

Yoshimura Suzuki – 5th

S-Pulse – 9th

TK SUZUKI – 15th

SERT – 17th

Moto-Map – 18th (Top SST)

The 42nd Suzuka Eight Hour Endurance Race, the finale of the 2018-2019 Endurance World Championship kicked off today in Japan with Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing taking fifth position.

Fifteen times EWC Champions Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) took 17th, and will miss tomorrow’s Top-10 Trial, but are well positioned for Sunday’s race.

Following the joint test sat the circuit in mid-July, that was unexpectedly cool and difficult to estimate the situation of the actual race week temperatures, the second official joint testing was set on Wednesday and Thursday due to cost matters and making the situation fair for the overseas teams. This meant that the teams carried out their tests and then went straight into the race week and onto the qualifying sessions today. The downside was that typhoon #6 which appeared somewhat suddenly brought unpredictable weather to the Friday sessions; and also threatens tomorrow’s action.

Many rides crashed out in the two-hour free practice session which took place in the morning, resulting in multiple red flags. Amongst these riders was #95 S-PULSE DREAM RACING·IAI(S-PULSE)rider Hideyuki Ogata, and the spill forced him out of the race.

The weather improved towards lunchtime and by the start of the first qualifying session at 11:50hrs, the course was dry and ready for action.

Two 20-minute time attack sessions were carried out for each rider, and the average of the top times of Rider Blue (first rider), Rider Yellow (second rider) and Rider Red (third rider) became the result for the grid.

The first round of qualifying sessions started off with track temperatures at 54 degrees, but although in dry conditions, many riders suffered crashes, resulting in more red flags. Not being able to get a clear lap is common for the Suzuka race and this was the case again today.

Under these difficult circumstances, all YOSHIMURA SUZUKI MOTUL RACING (Yoshimura) riders clocked in 2-minute 7-second laps and put the team in an impressive fifth position.

Missing a rider (Ogata), S-PULSE challenged the sessions with the remaining two riders. Tommy Bridewell suffered a minor spill, but the team took ninth position. TK SUZUKI BLUE MAX (TK SUZUKI) followed in 14th with SERT in 15th. Motomap topped the SST class in an overall 18th.

The second round of qualifying sessions began at 15:40 in slightly better conditions of 33 degrees and a track temperature of 45 degrees. Motomap took advantage of this condition and two of the riders clocked 2-minute 8-second laps, boosting their overall position to 16th while remaining leader of the SST class. Under strict SST class regulations, the Motomap GSX-R is almost fully standard, and this surprising result proved the potential of the machine.

Final results were two Suzuki teams in the top 10; Yoshimura fifth, S-PULSE ninth, both who will compete in the Top-10 trial tomorrow. Other Suzuki teams followed in 15th – TK SUZUKI, 16th – Moto-Map and SERT in 17th.

#12 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI MOTUL RACING:

Rider Blue – Sylvain Guintoli:

“I clocked 2-minute 7-second laps with new tyres on the first session and felt confident using used tyres in the second session. Both sessions and tyres felt good. My team mates are not the same as last year but we all have good lap-times, so I think we are in good shape for the race.”

Rider Yellow – Yukio Kagayama:

“Unpredictable weather made me decide to go out on new tyres on the first session and get a good lap while it was still dry. However, I wasn’t able to get a clear lap and lost precious time in the heavy traffic. Sometimes you just can’t help it with so many riders out on the course at the same time, but I feel I could have done better. The setup of the bike is good but if can be more consistent with used tyres it would be better. There will be many back markers also in the race, but I consider myself quite good at dealing with these situations and I hope that skill will contribute to the result of the team. I’m in a situation this year where I can concentrate strictly on riding, so I’m thoroughly enjoying the Suzuka Eight Hours so far.”

Rider Red – Kazuki Watanabe:

“We considered the first session to be the one to go for due to the weather; however, I wasn’t successful. Luckily the second session was also dry, and the result was better. I would have liked better lap times but it’s hard to push with so many rides out there. I’s always nice to start in front but with eight hours ahead of us, I don’t think it matters too much. All three riders have a good average pace, so we are strong and ready to fight this tough race.”

Yohei Kato – Team Manager:

“We have spent a lot of effort and time to stay focused and not take any unnecessary detours in our process. That’s always how we do it at Yoshimura, but I think we were especially careful about it this year. There are areas I think could still be improved but as a total we are ready for the race. Challenging the mighty factory teams is tough but with the Yoshimura spirit, we intend to finish this year’s edition as close to the top as possible.”

#2 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team:

Rider Blue – Vincent Philippe:

“Looking at the overall qualifying position and lap times, I must say I’m not pleased with this result. But we hadn’t used the qualifying tyres so we can’t help that. The bright side is that race lap-times are positive, and we feel we have made a big step up this year so we’re happy about that. We intend to fight it through to the end and hope for the championship crown.”

Rider Yellow – Etienne Masson:

“Thanks to so much testing, the bikes at a different level to what it was last year. I admit the result of the qualifying wasn’t too good, but this is all within plans to be successful in the race. All riders have a consistent pace so I am sure the result will be quite different from the qualifying.”

Rider Red – Gregg Black:

“Yesterday wasn’t such a good day for the team, since I fell twice, but today was better and we were able to set up the bike successfully. Lap times could have been better, but many other teams used qualifying tyres while we concentrated on the actual race set up rather than one-off fast laps. I feel confident and hope to finish the race within the top 10, at least!”

Dominique Meliand – Team Manager:

“We have ridden today in race configuration, without qualifying tyres used by some of our competitors. Considering this, we are rather satisfied of our result. But the important thing was to well prepare the bike in order to get the best result in race. The title will be disputed closely, and we have the means to make the difference!”

#95 S-PULSE DREAM RACING·IAI:

Rider Yellow – Tommy Bridewell:

“We were all surprised with Ogata’s crash in the practice session but are glad he’s OK. I was on a confident flying lap on the first session, when I fell at the chicane just before I completed the lap which was a pity. On the second session I was on used tyres but was still able to clock good laps so that was encouraging. We’ve managed to make progress from yesterday and we are in a good mood to race.”

Rider Red – Bradley Ray:

“I found that the bike is very much like the Yoshimura machine I rode last year, but it still took me some time to get used to. I feel we’re getting better step-by-step so I’m sure I’ll feel more comfortable by the time the race starts. I’s a shame Ogata can’t race with us, but Tommy and I will do our best and hope for a good result.”

Shiro Yoshida – Team Manager:

“It’s a pity Ogata was injured and will not be able to race but we’re all happy it wasn’t too serious. The remaining riders rode hard in the qualifying and am sure they will do so again tomorrow in the top-10 trial which we are not sure will happen due to the approaching typhoon. But the two riders from UK are used to harsh conditions so I can sit back and watch them in peace whatever the conditions are. If we can do better than last year, that will be great.”

#71 TK SUZUKI BLUE MAX:

Rider Blue – Gregory LeBlanc:

“It’s an honour to ride for Kagayama-san’s team. I’ve ridden many GSX-Rs, but I could have done with a little more time to get used to this one. Suzuka 8 Hours is full of fast riders and bikes, so it’ll be difficult to get good results, but we have a good rhythm, so I hope to finish in the top seven.”

Rider Yellow – Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman:

“I was signed on to Kagayama-san’s team at the last minute, so it’s been a tough week so far. It was also the first time I rode the GSX-R so that has taken some time to get used to as well. However, the feeling is getting better step-by-step, and although I wasn’t able to put in super lap times at the qualifying, I feel confident about the race.”

Rider Red – Takuya Tsuda:

“The set-up was successful, so I decided to go out on new tyres for a flying lap, but just then we found a fault in the bike and were not able to proceed. It was a pity in both senses that I wasn’t able to put in a reasonable lap time and we couldn’t proceed on the set-up. However, Gregg had some good laps and we hope for a good result with a bit of corporation between the riders.”

Masahiko Saito – Team Manager:

“I apologise to Tsuda and Azlan for having a fault in the bike. They could have put in much better laps and it was a shame we as a team were not able to provide them with the opportunity. We will be sure it won’t happen in the race and will do our best to support all the riders to ride at their maximum.”

#9 Motomap S.W.A.T:

Rider Blue – Josh Waters:

“I didn’t expect to reach an 8 second lap on a stock machine. I was surprised when I saw the time sheet with big teams in lower positions than us. This result is rewarding but we shouldn’t get too excited and focus on the race now. If we can lap constantly without mistakes, I feel sure we’ll have a good result.”

Rider Yellow – Dan Linfoot:

“To reach an 8 second lap on a stock machine was amazing. This result proves how good the GSX-R is even in stock condition. This time was achieved with qualifying tyres so we won’t be doing this sort of times during the race, but if we can maintain 10 to12 second laps, a top-10 finish could be realistic. I’m looking forward to the race.”

Rider Red – Nobuatsu Aoki:

“My two team mates were amazing and they helped me out a lot. An eight second lap! I was surprised! I also switched to race mode but an endurance race mode, so I tried to maintain constant lap times. An aim for our team was a top-10 finish on a SST bike but we didn’t think it was realistic until today’s result. Now this aim looks like it could happen, we’ll try to keep cool and manage the race carefully to the goal.”