HIGH-SUMMER ENDURANCE CHALLENGE AWAITS HONDA MEN Honda goes into the 33rd Suzuka 8 Hours aiming for a 22nd victory in the event, arguably the world’s most important motorcycle race. For the second year running Honda will not run a factory team at the Coca-Cola Zero-backed event, instead supplying factory-specification Honda CB1000RR Fireblades to four front-running private squads. Leading the Honda charge with factory-supplied CBR1000RR machinery will be the F.C.C TSR team of Kosuke Akiyoshi/Jonathan Rea/Yuki Takahashi, the Musashi RT HARC-PRO pairing of Ryuichi Kiyonari/Takumi Takahashi/Takaaki Nakagami, the Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda team of Chojun Kameya/Wayne Maxwell, and the Keihin Kohara RT team of Shinichi Ito/Makoto Tamada. The Suzuka 8 Hours is a notoriously challenging event for man and machine, with ambient temperatures often nudging 40 degrees, high humidity and a ferociously fast pace that makes this more like an long-distance sprint race than a traditional endurance event. The race is the third of five rounds of the 2010 QTEL FIM Endurance World Championship and is preceded by a busy schedule of testing. Three of Honda’s factory-backed riders have already enjoyed success at the Suzuka 8 Hours. Veteran Ito a former 500 Grand Prix rider and All-Japan Champion has won the event on three occasions (1997, 1998 and 2006) and would dearly love to make it four wins. Only one man has won more than four 8 Hours Honda rider and former Ito team-mate Tohru Ukawa (1997, 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2005). Akiyoshi and Kiyonari have also enjoyed the rich taste of 8 Hours success (2007 and 2008, respectively). All Honda-supported riders will use the latest version of the CBR1000RR, a machine that has already scored 8 Hours glory on four occasions. The 2010 CBR has undergone substantial development since last summer, with riders citing improved engine mapping and latest Showa suspension as the most crucial upgrades. Honda has an unrivalled record in the event, with 22 victories in 32 years, enjoying historic success with a catalogue of famous machinery that tracks the arc of advance in racing machinery. Honda won its first 8 Hours success with the CB900 in 1979. Derivatives of the inline-four machine won a further two 8 Hours. In 1984 Honda scored its first 8 Hours success with its new generation of V4 machines. The RS750R, RVF750 and RC45 essentially ruled the 8 Hours for a decade and a half, taking 11 wins from 16 events. Next came the VTR1000SPW V-twin which won four straight wins from 2000 to 2003. The inline-four CB1000RR has so far taken victory in four 8 Hours 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. HONDA SUZUKA 8 HOURS RIDER QUOTES F.C.C. TSR Honda rider Jonathan Rea says: “I can’t wait for the race. I am looking forward to a bit of a new challenge, especially racing with Akiyoshi because I saw him at the 8 Hours a few years ago. Suzuka is a circuit I really enjoy riding it’s a shame we can’t use it as a World Superbike circuit. I am going there to win; it’s not one of these things where I want to just take part. I travelled to Japan immediately after the Brno WSBK race to test at Suzuka. I know Honda is expecting victory and I that is what I am willing to do. It’s an unbelievable event and it’s always great how passionate people are about it.” F.C.C. TSR Honda rider Kosuke Akiyoshi says: “Finally I am able to ride with Jonathan. Right now, the machine is set up with Jonathan’s set-up. We had some rain at the last tests but overall the test went well. We recorded positive lap times and so far we are quite satisfied. We still have some more work to do but things are proceeding in a positive way. This year’s bike is improved from 2009 model the ability to control the machine in both engine and chassis is improved. The big improvements are the engine mapping and the new suspension that Showa has developed. Last year I crashed in the race, so I will try to not repeat that. I know Yoshimura will be strong but with Rea and Takahashi, I think we have a good chance.” Musashi RT HARC-PRO rider Ryuichi Kiyonari says: “I am pleased to be a rider for this year’s Suzuka 8 hours. I last participated in the race in 2008 and was able to win. This is the first time for me to ride with Musashi RT HARC-PRO. I am excited to work with them. I recently tested for the first time with Takumi. We are working to understand each other’s riding style and personality, and to bring the best machine set-up for both of us. I will work together with Takumi to win the race. The Suzuka 8 Hours is a big challenge, and it is very important to win!” Musashi RT HARC-PRO rider Takumi Takahashi says: “At recently tested for the first time with Kiyo. We are not yet at a point where we can be satisfied with our machine setup. We still need to work a little more on that with the team. Kiyo has participated in the Suzuka 8 hours several times and so he has a lot of experience in this challenging race. I am happy to be his team-mate and we have been trying to spend time together to understand each other as much as possible. I am really looking forward to the 8 hours.” Keihin Kohara RT team rider Shinichi Ito says: “This is my first time pairing with Tamada, but I find it quite easy to find a set-up compromise with him. We are both concentrating on our business and it is nice to have a partner who is looking at the same direction. I did not take part in this Suzuka 300km race but the three official 8 Hour practice sessions have been fruitful. I think we are preparing well, although I have many more things to test. Because I have been injured, I did not have much time for training, but I am quite confident about my fitness. We will go for the first place from the first free practice.” Keihin Kohara RT team rider Makoto Tamada says: “I always try my best during the testing, but this year is the hardest I’ve ever tried in my life! I didn’t mind about the lap times so much but I concentrated on preparing a machine capable of marking high average lap times. I wanted to try the machine in the rain, so it was a good experience to get some laps in the rain during the final test. I know my lap times are not so fantastic but I can do quicker laps during the official practices. I thought it is more important to set up a machine capable of winning and lap times are not so important. Ito is a fantastic rider, as I expected, and our testing was comfortable and enjoyable. I am really looking forward to the race.” Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda rider Chojun Kameya says: “During the official 8 Hours tests I managed to choose good tyres, so I was able to do quite good average lap times during a long run. This means I am quite confident about machine set-up. My English is not so good, so I try to communicate with my team-mate Wayne Maxwell with body language. But basically our set-up direction is the same and we find the same problems, so we are doing fine. Wayne is very friendly, so I think we make a good team. Last year, I was third. This year I will try to get on the top of the podium.” Honda DREAM RT Sakurai Honda rider Wayne Maxwell says: “The conditions are very hot, which is all part of this very special race. We have been getting a lot of support during these tests, which makes me feel good. Kameya-san and I will do our very best in this race. I have been training hard to get myself in the best possible shape.” F.C.C. TSR Honda rider Yuki Takahashi (third rider) says: “I won’t get a chance to test the CBR1000RR before the race, but that’s okay because we have good riders with good experience. Also, Jonathan and I were co-riders in 2008, which was good. We have good potential, so I’m very happy to be on their team.” HONDA WINNERS OF THE SUZUKA 8 HOURS 1979: Tony Hatton, AUS/Michael Cole, AUS – Honda CB900 1981: Mike Baldwin, USA/Dave Aldana USA – Honda RS1000 1982: Shigeo Iijima, J/Shinji Hagiwara, J – Honda CB900F 1984: Mike Baldwin, USA/Fred Merkel, USA – Honda RS750R 1985: Wayne Gardner, AUS/Masaki Tokano, J – Honda RVF750 1986: Wayne Gardner, AUS/Dominique Sarron F – Honda RVF750 1989: Dominique Sarron, F/Alex Vieira, Por – Honda RVF750 1991: Wayne Gardner, AUS/Mick Doohan, AUS – Honda RVF750 1992: Wayne Gardner, AUS/Daryl Beattie, AUS – Honda RVF750 1994: Doug Polen, USA/Aaron Slight, NZ – Honda RVF/RC45 1995: Aaron Slight, NZ/Tadayuki Okada, J – Honda RVF/RC45 1997: Shinichi Ito, J/Tohru Ukawa, J – Honda RVF/RC45 1998: Shinichi Ito, J/Tohru Ukawa, J – Honda RVF/RC45 1999: Tadayuki Okada, J/Alex Barros, Bra – Honda RVF/RC45 2000: Tohru Ukawa, J/Daijiro Kato, J – Honda VTR1000SPW 2001: Valentino Rossi, I/Colin Edwards, USA – Honda VTR1000SPW 2002: Daijiro Kato, J/Colin Edwards, USA – Honda VTR1000SPW 2003: Yukio Nukumi, J/Manubu Kamada, J – Honda VTR1000SPW 2004: Tohru Ukawa, J/Hitoyasu Izutsu, J – Honda CBR1000RRW 2005: Ryuichi Kiyonari, J/Tohru Ukawa, J – Honda CBR1000RRW 2006: Shinichi Ito, J/Takeshi Tsujimura, J – Honda CBR1000RR 2007: Yuki Kagayama, J/Kosuki Akiyoshi, J – Yoshimura Suzuki S-GSX-R1000 2008: Ryuichi Kiyonari, J/Carlos Checa, E – Honda CBR1000RR 2009: Daisaku Sakai, J/Kasuki Tokudome, J/ Nobuatsu Aoki, J- Yoshimura Suzuki S-GSX R1000