Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Kenz JTrust Mojo Suzuki, the leaders of the Suzuka 8-Hours from the second hour, broke during the team’s final pit stop. Keiichi Kitagawa pitted just inside the final hour to hand off to Katsuaki Fujiwara for the final stint, but the team’s JSB-spec GSX-R1000 would not restart.

This opened the door for Team Sakurai Honda 71’s Yukio Nukumi and Gaku Kamada to come through on their Dunlop-sponsored Honda RC51 Superbike and claim victory in the 26th running of the Suzuka 8-Hours.

Eleventh after the first hour, YSP & Presto Racing’s Shinichi Nakatomi and Wataru Yoshikawa brought their Dunlop-shod, JSB-spec Yamaha YZF-R1 home in second overall.

Third place overall and the X-Formula class win went to Shinichi Itoh and Takeshi Tsujimura on their Bridgestone-equipped F.C.C. TSR Zip-FM Racing Team Honda CBR954RR. F.C.C. TSR Zip-FM were 38th after the first hour.

Suzuki GB Phase One’s Jason Pridmore, James Ellison and Jimmy Lindstrom finished fourth overall and won the Super-production class on their Dunlop-tired GSX-R1000. More importantly, they took home the most points of any permanent World Endurance Championship team.

Pridmore rode five of the team’s nine shifts.

Suzuki GB Phase One’s main title rivals, Zongshen Suzuki 1 and Zongshen Suzuki 2, both failed to finish the race. Both teams suffered the same mechanical failure – broken upper shock mounts on their 2002-model Suzuki GSX-R1000 frames.

Fifth overall and second in the Super-production class were Gwen Giabbani and Takaharu Kishida on the Team 22 & Tsukigi Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. Team 22 is another permanent team of the World Endurance Series.

Unofficial Suzuka 8-Hours Results:

1. Team Sakurai Honda 71 (Y. Nukumi/G. Kamada), Honda RC51, SB, 212 laps
2. YSP & Presto Racing (S. Nakatomi/W. Yoshikawa), Yamaha YZF-R1, JSB, -1 lap
3. F.C.C. TSR Zip-FM Racing Team (S. Itoh/T. Tsujimura), Honda CBR954RR, XF1, -2 laps
4. Suzuki GB Phase One (J. Pridmore/J. Ellison/J. Lindstrom), Suzuki GSX-R1000, SP, -4 laps
5. Team 22 & Tsukigi Racing (G. Ggiabbani/T. Kishida), Suzuki GSX-R1000, SP, -5 laps
6. Clever Wolf Racing Team (M. Saito/T. Fukami), Yamaha YZF-R1/7, XF1, -6 laps
7. Weider Honda ATS DDBoys (O. Deguichi/H. Aoki), Honda CBR954RR, JSB, -6 laps
8. Corona Extra TiForce Endurance (A. Gobert/A. Fergusson), Suzuki GSX-R1000, XF1, -6 laps
9. Corona Light TiForce Endurance (J. Szoke/P. Young), Suzuki GSX-R1000, SP, -6 laps
10. Masked Rider 555 Honda (T. Yamaguichi/Y. Takahashi), Honda CBR954RRJSB, -6 laps
11. Beet Motul Racing (Y. Takahashi/N. Nakai), Honda CBR954RR, XF1, -7 laps
12. Moriwaki Motul Racing (M. Okuno/R. Tsuruta), Honda CBR954RR, XF1, -7 laps
13. Wins Factory & Vega Sports (H. Kawase/K. Teramoto), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -7 laps
14. Garfield RSK (H. Kobayashi/H. Ogata), Suzuki GSX-R1000, XF1, -8 laps
15. Honda Hamamatsu Escargot & CBR (K. Nagura/S. Noyori), Honda CBR954RR, JSB, -8 laps
16. F.C.C. TSR (Y. Konishi/T. Mori), Honda CBR954RR, JSB, -8 laps
17. RS-Itoh & Kaze 6 (I. Higazhimura/S. Karita), Kawasaki ZX-7RR, SB, -8 laps
18. Tea, Sanpachi (N. Yamato/M. Kotera), Kawasaki ZX-9R, XF1, -9 laps
19. Team Yoshiharu Yokkaichi (M. Izumi/O. Nishijima), Honda CBR954RR, JSB, -10 laps
20. Blue Helmets MSC (K. Nakamura/N. Sasaki), Honda RC51, SB, -10 laps
21. Honda Sofukai Suzuka Racing Team (T. Arakawa/K. Matsushita), Honda RC51, SB, -10 laps
22. Himeji Kawasaki Racing Team (T. Nakamura/K. Nakanishi), Kawasaki ZX-9R, XF1, -11 laps
23. Honda Hamamatsu Escargot & Sayama (N. Odogiri/H. Senmyo), Honda RC51, SB, -11 laps
24. Team M II R (M. Mizutani/Y. Matsumoto), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -13 laps
25. RS-Itoh & Kaze 27 (I. Matsubara/M. Murakami), Kawasaki ZX-7RR, SB, -13 laps
26. Team T.K.M. Xynas & GRS (Y. Okuda/T. Kimura), Suzuki GSX-R1000, SP, -14 laps
27. Y@Racing Team (K. Kitaguchi/T. Masuzawa), Yamaha YZF-R1/7, XF1, -14 laps
28. Honda Kohoyokai & Auto Technic (R. Kuyama/T. Ebinuma), Honda CBR954RR, JSB, -14 laps
29. Yamashina K-Kansaigachincko-AJ (T. Kawarabayeshi/T. Mizusawa), Kawasaki ZX-7RR, SB, -16 laps
30. Project Big-1 (J. Maeda/N. Tomita), Honda CBR1300SF, XF2, -16 laps
31.T. Motokids (K. Fukuyama/Y. Sumi), Suzuki GSX-R1000, XF1, -17 laps
32. Team Kyoto Design Academy (S. Hikita/H. Nakajo), Honda CBR954RR, JSB, -18 laps
33. Team Etching Factory 15 (S. Takemi/K. Hasegawa), Yamaha YZF-R1, XF1, -19 laps
34. Team Hashimotogumi (G. Kanayama/K. Kanayama), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -20 laps
35. X-One Modial (A. Oikawa/A. Perselli/M. Bargiacchi), Mondial Piega 1000, XF1, -20 laps
36. Honda Kumamoto Racing (T. Ryu/T. Maeda), Honda RC51, SB, -20 laps
37. MCR Garage Teledash Haneybee (M. Yamanaka/S. Mizobuchi), Honda CBR954RR, -21 laps
38. Driver Stand R.T. (T. Nakamura/T. Shimizu), Suzuki GSX-R1000, ST, -21 laps
39. Team Little Wing (F. Asano/T. Kimura), Honda CBR929RR, ST, -21 laps
40. Kenz JTrust Mojo Suzuki (K. Kitagawa/K. Fujiwara), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -24 laps
41. Team Soul And Flame YDS Vritz (M. Yamamoto/T. Nagaoka), Yamaha YZF-R1, JSB, -24 laps
42. Five Heretics + 24 Sun (M. Inoue/K. Nishi), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -25 laps
43. La Bellezza Speed (K. Nemoto/Y. Hori), Ducati Monster S4, XF2, -27 laps
44. T-Moto Kids Shinnichi (K. Kojima/Y. Higuchi), Yamaha YZF-R1, JSB, -29 laps
45. Team MO2 Motorsports Hirose (M. Tokunaga/K. Sakai), Kawasaki ZX-7RR, SB, -32 laps
46. Club Yamaha Motorcycle Racing (M. Tokinaga/A. Morita), Yamaha YZF-R1/7, XF1, -35 laps
47. Mechbox-Garage Harada (H. Harada/K. Nozaki), Kawasaki ZX-9R, JSB, -39 laps
48. Wins Factory (T. Matsui/T. Kunimatsu), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -43 laps
49. HMFTMDR Verity Sygnhouse Monster (Y. Takamiya/S. Takaiwa), Suzuki GSX-R1000, XF1, -43 laps
50. Heat Magic by Wins Factory (T. Onishi/T. Yoshida), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -46 laps
51. Boxer Sports Club (T. Toda/T. Kurokawa), BMW R1100S, XF2, -47 laps
52. Kits & P’s Supply (M. Ouchida/M. Higaki), Kawasaki ZX-9R, XF1, -51 laps

Did Not Finish:

Team Cha-llenger (N. Fujiwara/T.Kayo), Yamaha YZF-R1, JSB, -14 laps, crash

Team Nobunaga Ramen (M. Tokuno/M. Furusawa), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -16 laps

Zongshen Suzuki 2 (I. Jerman/B. Bonhuil/P. Bontempi), Suzuki GSX-R1000, SP, -49 laps

Did Not Classify:

Syojl.Y And Its Party@iwaki&t2 (H. Wada/T. Yamauchi), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -56 laps

Team Etching Factory 16 (K. Adachi/Y. Usami), Yamaha YZF-R1, XF1, -75 laps

36 Racing (T. Yamaguchi/K. Takada), Kawasaki ZX-9R, XF1, -76 laps

Alpha OMC Racing Supply (A. Tamitsuji/Y. Konno), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -86 laps

Roadway Shigacycle (T. Kumagai/H. Shimizu), Kawasaki ZX-7RR, SB, -119 laps

Zongshen Suzuki 1 (S. Mertens/W. Nowland), Suzuki GSX-R1000, SP, -121 laps

Team OSG & MotoSports (H. Hayashi/S. Tanaka), Yamaha YZF-R1, XF1, -126 laps

Seven Stars Honda 7 (T. Ukawa/H. Izutsu), Honda RC51, SB, -158 laps, crash/mechanical

Moto Liberty Arata-EX & Kiss-FM (D. Polen/Y. Sugai), Honda CBR954RR, XF1, -176 laps, mechanical

Team Yoshiharu (T. Tsujimoto/Y. Yamakawa), Honda CBR954RR, XF1, -197 laps

Team Moto Krisia&NOI:Z (N.Mukai/T. Nakai), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -201 laps

Team Sakurai Honda 74 (C. Kameya/T. Okada), Honda RC51, SB, -211 laps

Seven Stars Honda 11 (N. Hayden/R. Kiyonari), Honda RC51, SB, -211 laps

Yoshimura Suzuki GP1 Daxim (A. Watanabe/Y. Kagayama), Suzuki GSX-R1000, JSB, -211 laps

Over Racing Radio-I (Y. Hamaguchi/H. Takahashi), Yamaha YZF-R1, JSB, -212 laps

More, from a press release issued by Endurance World Championship organizer, FGSport:

Suzuka 8 Hours: Honda Victory

Suzuki GB and Suzuki Police Nationale make Top Five

The Suzuka 8 Hours, 6th Round of the Endurance World Championship, race has been won by the Sakurai Honda SP-W of Nukumi and Kamada, with the YSP Presto Yamaha R1 of Nakatomi and Yoshikawa second and the FCC TSR Honda Fireblade of Itoh and Tsujimura third.

Permanent World Endurance Championship team Suzuki GB Phase One came in a remarkable fourth place after a race long battle with Suzuki Police Nationale, who eventually finished in fifth place just 22 seconds behind. To have two machines in the top five at Suzuka is a remarkable testimony to the quality and competitiveness of the World Endurance Championship in recent years.

The race was incident packed for all taking part, with three of the main competitors – the No.11 Seven Stars Honda, the No.74 Sakurai Honda and the No.12 Yoshimura Daxim Suzuki – going out on the first corner of the second lap after crashing on oil dropped by a machine which blew its motor during the start. The departure of three of the favourites caused the rest of the field to push even harder once the track was cleared, causing yet more incidents. The No.7 Seven Stars Honda (Ukawa, Izutsu) and the No. 8 Kenz J Trust Suzuki (Kitagawa, Fujiwara) began a battle which would last for 50 laps, until the Honda retired with machine trouble.

This should have left the Suzuki in the clear, but the No.71 Sakurai Honda (Nukumi, Kamada) had slowly been closing in, setting up another battle which would last until the final hour when the Suzuki failed to restart after they made their final pitstop while in the lead. This allowed the Sakurai Honda to move into first place, winning the race by a single lap.

At the same time, there was a “race within a race” for the permanent world championship teams. Suzuki Zongshen 1 (Nowland, Mertens) made an impressive start, quickly moving up to sixth place which they seemed able to hold comfortably. Suzuki Police Nationale (Giabbani,Kishida) and Suzuki GB (Pridmore, Ellison, Lindstrom) became locked into a race long struggle which would see them swap places with every pitstop. Zongshen 1 broke their frame in the fourth hour, forcing them to retire from the race – the frame is one of the parts of the machine which cannot be changed during the race. The same fate befell the Zongshen 2 (Bontempi, Jerman, Bonhuil) bike a couple of hours later – the frame snapped in the same place on their machine.

Suzuki Police Nationale and Suzuki GB continued their battle right down to the wire, with Giabbani bringing the Police bike to within ten seconds of Pridmore on the Suzuki GB machine before settling for fifth place to Phase One’s fourth. The two teams were so focussed on their personal race that they failed to notice that they had passed many of the factory supported and ultra-competitive teams in the process. This result is the best performance by any world championship team at Suzuka in almost twenty years.

2003 Suzuka 8 Hours
Top Ten Finishers

1 st : 71 – Honda Sakurai (JPN) – Nukumi, Kamada 212 laps

2 nd : 21 – Yamaha YSP Presto (JPN) – Nakatomi, Yoshikawa – 1 lap

3 rd : 778 – Honda FCC TSR (JPN) – Tsujimura, Itoh – 2 laps

4 th : 3 – Suzuki GB Phase One (GBR) – Pridmore, Ellison, Lindstrom – 4 laps

5 th : 22 – Suzuki Police Nationale (FRA) – Giabbani, Kishida – 5 laps

6 th : 29 – Yamaha Clever Wolf (JPN) – Saito, Fukumi – 6 laps

7 th : 44 – Honda Weider DD Boys (JPN) – Deguchi, Aoki – 6 laps

8 th : 86 – Suzuki Corona TiForce (USA) – Fergusson, Gobert – 6 laps

9 th : 68 – Suzuki Corona TiForce (USA) – Szoke, Young – 6 laps

10 th : 555 – Honda Masked Riders (JPN) – Yamaguchi, Takahashi – 6 laps

Quotes

Russell Benny – Team Manager Suzuki GB Phase One: “This was above my expectations, a real team effort. I know it’s a cliché but Jason couldn’t have done it without the other two, and they couldn’t have done it without him. We were the first Suzuki home, beating all the works teams. Now we go to Oschersleben with a virtually level playing field; it’s as if the season starts all over again. We’re close enough to Zongshen to be in with a real chance of winning the championship.”

Anne Marie Spitz – Team Manager Suzuki Police Nationale 22: “I am very happy because this year was very difficult for us. We had a real problem to get any feedback from the bike, to get a set up which worked for both the Japanese and French riders. And the finish was a very good result – we had no problem with bike or the team during the race. This is the best we have ever done in Japan – Fantastic Japan!”

Championship Point Standings
after 6 races
Team, Country, Bike, Total
1 Zongshen 1, CHN, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 116

2 Suzuki GB – Phase One, GBR ,Suzuki GSX-R1000, 102

3 Zongshen 2, CHN, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 65

4 22 Police Nationale, FRA, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 59

5 Yamaha GMT94, FRA, Yamaha YZF-R1, 56

6 Yamaha Endurance 38, FRA, Yamaha YZF-R1, 35

7 Bolliger Team, SUI, Kawasaki ZX9R, 34

8 Yamaha Austria Rac. T., AUT, Yamaha YZF-R1, 34

9 Trackdaze 11, GBR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 26

10 Team Sakurai Honda 71, JPN, Honda SP-W, 25

11 Ducati DRE 5, ITA, Ducati 998, 21

12 Phase One Junior, GBR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 20

13 PS Schlesinger End., GER, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 18

14 Fabi Corse, ITA, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16

15 Folch Endurance, SPA, Yamaha YZF-R1, 16

More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

The Suzuka 8 Hours. Suzuka, Japan, August 3, 2003.

Nukumi and Kamada Win Chaotic Suzuka 8 Hours for Sakurai Honda

The Sakurai Honda Team of Yukio Nukumi and Manabu Kamata won a crash littered Suzuka 8 Hours held today, Sunday August 8, at the circuit the event is named after. The partnership tiptoed their way through oil spills, pace cars and numerous accidents to hand Honda their seventh consecutive victory in the most prestigious two-wheel event on the Japanese race calendar.

Nukumi and Kamada rode a fine calculated race, they held their nerve in heavy traffic as they slowly clawed their way to the front to duel with long term race leaders Kitagawa and Fujiwara on the number 8 Suzuki. Both teams, and the number 7 Seven Stars VTR1000SP-W Honda of Tohru Ukawa and Hitoyasu Izutsu were the major beneficiaries of a second lap crash that brought down two of Honda’s chief hopes for success in the race, the Seven Stars VTR1000SP-W of Nicky Hayden – Ryuichi Kiyonari, and the Sakurai VTR of Tady Okada and Chozun Kameya, racing with number 74 in tribute to the late Daijiro Kato.

The route cause of the crash came directly after the start as the field rushed into turn one. The Over Yamaha blew an engine and trailed oil through corner. As the race leaders crossed the line for the first time they were unaware of what was waiting for them as they hit turn one. Oil flags were waving but too late for Hayden, Okada and Atsushi Watanabe (Yoshimura Suzuki) who all hit the gravel track, race over.

“There were no oil flags shown on the straight when I got into my second lap.” Said Hayden. “I saw it getting into Turn 1 but it was too late as the machine had started to slide by then.”

Many thought the race should have been red flagged at that point due to the safety issue concerning the number of machines and attending circuit staff at the scene. Instead the Clerk of the Course decided to bring out the pace car for 20-minutes, he also incurred the wrath of the teams by having the damaged machines returned to the pits on the wrecker truck, a move that was to cause further confusion later in the race.

Okada was furious with the track staff at the scene of the incident. “I’m really angry with what happened. The track marshal put the bikes on the wrecker truck to get back to the pits. We knew this would be a problem.”

With three of the most fancied teams quickly sidelined many feared the race would be deprived of some of its customary excitement. They need not have worried. When the pace car pulled off the track it left the number 7 Seven Stars Honda of Tohru Ukawa leading the number 8 Suzuki of Kitagawa and Fujiwara. The two teams then provided the excitement for the next hour. The Weider Honda CR954RR of former double 125cc World Champion Haruchika Aoki and Osamu Deguchi held third place.

Their duel ended just before the second hour had been completed. Izutsu crashed the number 7 Honda at the hairpin breaking a handlebar and damaging a footrest. Izutsu got the machine back to the pits and after speedy repairs rejoined the race in 24th place. But they were forced out of the race soon after with a mechanical problem.

The sole remaining VTR10000SP-W, the number 71 Sakurai Honda of Yukio Nukumi and Manabu Kamada, was left to retrieve Honda’s fortunes and they did it in great style. By the third hour they were into second place and closing relentlessly on the number 8 Suzuki. A lap later they were a mere 20 seconds adrift, the two machines one lap ahead of third placed Shinichi Nakatomi and Wataru Yoshikawa on the Presto Yamaha. The Weider Honda dropping back.

Fourth place was held by the F.C.C. TSR CBR954RR Honda in the hands of former grand prix stars Shinichi Itoh and Takeshi Tsujimura, which Itoh had taken to pole in the ‘Special Stage.’

The race was between the number 8 Suzuki and 71 Honda. As the fifth hour ended the two machines were separated by just 21 seconds. Then the Suzuki pairing built on their lead to head the Honda duo by over 90 seconds at the seven-hour mark but their race was run soon after. When the Suzuki pitted for the final time to take on fuel and change tyres it refused to start and their race was run.

That left Nukumi and Kamata a whole lap clear of the Presto Yamaha, a lead they were never to surrender. While Nukumi raced the machine during the last stint Kamada stayed on the pit wall holding a picture of Daijiro Kato, a friend and hero to all Japanese motorcycle racers.

While the team watched and prayed that nothing would deprive them of victory Nukumi and the Sakurai VTR10000SP-W cruised home covering 212 laps and gave Honda a victory that seemed beyond them after two hours of racing. The victorious pair were still clutching the picture of Kato when they mounted the podium to receive their trophies and the adulation of the crowd

The Presto Yamaha came home a lap down, one lap clear of the CCBR954RR of Itoh and Tsujimura. Aoki and Daguchi brought the Weider Honda home in seventh place, with Tatuya Yamaguchi and Yuki Takahashi finishing 10th for the 555 Honda team.

Leading Honda rider quotes:

Manabu Kamada, Sakurai Honda, 1st: “The year before, I was on the podium as a third rider but I didn’t feel comfortable then, as I didn’t ride at all. Today it was a great honour for me to win the race. When the Kenz Suzuki retired at the end of the 7th hour, I thought Daijiro (Kato) was pushing us. We wanted Okada san Kameya pair to win the race with the number 74 but when I saw Okada san crashing we felt it was our turn to carry the Daijiro’s aim. I am sure if he were there he had won again this year.”

Yukio Nukumi, Sakurai Honda, 1st: “I’m 37 years old now and feel great that a team like Sakurai Honda asked me to race the 8-hours for them. Last year I raced with Nakatomi but we crashed, so I really wanted to finish the race this year. I very relaxed for me riding with Kamata-san, he raced with my machine set up, so it was easy for me.”

Nicky Hayden, Seven Stars Honda, dnf: “There was no oil flag shown at the straight when I got into my second lap. I saw it getting into the Turn 1 but it was too late as the machine started to slide by then. I couldn’t do anything at that moment. If I had seen it earlier, I could have slowed down. All the hard works ended with only one lap and I feel bad for the team staff who worked so hard.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari, Seven Stars Honda, dnf: “I was worried about Nicky when I saw him crash. Then I was black-flagged when I was riding after the pit-works and I was disappointed. I still don’t want to believe our race had finished.”

Koji Nakajima, HRC General Team Manager: “Due to the following two reasons, we cannot consent with the situation which occurred today. First, although the track condition was dangerous after the lap 1 with oil spray all over it, oil flag was not shown at the main straight. Another point is that the machines were put on the wrecker and brought back to the pit following the decision by the organizer. Mr Isoyo Sugimoto, the Clerk of the Course, explained that it was his decision to put the machines on the wrecker as he thought it was dangerous for the riders to push the machine from Turn 1 to the pit. Therefore, the machines and riders were put on the wrecker against their wishes. But the organizer stated they were regarded as non-finishers as they got on the wrecker. The situation is totally unacceptable to us. In our opinion, the race should have been stopped at the moment and we think that the organizer is not thinking of the safety seriously. As we can not accept the situation, we made a protest to the Jury. However, no answer had been given at the time of 3:00pm. Mean while, #11 machine restarted the race after repairing works, but was black-flagged. As Mr. Fujio Yoshimura had said, spectators who are here this year, are enthusiasts and were disappointed by the situation where top teams had disappeared soon after the start. It was lucky that no rider had been seriously injured today, but we would strongly request to the organizer to improve their safety measures.”

Toru Ukawa, Seven Stars Honda, dnf: “The track condition in the first hour was terrible with oil all over it. They should have showed a red flag then. Many riders had crashed and the pace cars got on the track twice during the first hour. As the top teams had disappeared, it was easy pace for me to lead the race after that. It was very disappointing to retire from the race. But that’s racing.”

Hitoyasu Izutsu, Seven Stars Honda, dnf: “When I crashed at hairpin, it wasn’t because of oil. I crashed because there was a slower rider in front of me. Then after the pit-work, I was trying to catch up when the machine broke.”

Kazuhiko Yamano, team manager Ukawa – Izutsu: “The reason of the machine trouble has nothing to do with Izutsu’s crash at the hairpin. He was doing 2:10s trying to catch up. It’s disappointing to retire from the race.”

Koji Nakajima, HRC General Team Manager: “It’s disappointing as we have to accept the situation where both the Seven Stars Honda had to retire. We have to apologize to the fans who are here to support Honda.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI GB PHASE ONE FOURTH AT SUZUKA

Suzuki GB Phase One have finished in an incredible fourth place at the ultra competitive and highly prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour round of the World Endurance Championship.

The team’s world endurance experience shone through over a race which saw many of the leading competitors and factory backed machines fall by the wayside after a series of crashes and mechanical problems. Phase One were locked in their own battle with another Suzuki GSX-R1000 team, the French Police Nationale squad. Their battle went down to the wire, with both teams pushing the pace to a point where they took the challenge to the best equipped teams in the world.

The eventual winner – Sakurai Honda 71 – finished only four laps in front of Suzuki GB Phase One at the end of the race. Sakurai had an epic dual with the Kenz J Trust Suzuki but the Japanese Superbike spec GSX-R1000 pitted for fuel while leading and failed to restart. Phase One’s win moves them to within 14 points of championship leaders Zongshen, with 75 points still up for grabs.

Russell Benny – Suzuki Phase One Team Manager: “This result was way above my expectations, and a real team effort. I know it’s a cliché but Jason couldn’t have done it without the other two, and they couldn’t have done it without him. We were the first Suzuki home, beating all the works teams. Now we go to Oschersleben with a virtually level playing field; it’s as if the season starts all over again. We’re close enough to Zongshen to be in with a real chance of winning the championship.”

The next round of the FIM World Endurance Championship is the Oschersleben 24 Hours on the 23rd and 24th of August.