Yoshimura Suzuki with Jomo 34’s Yukio Kagayama and Kosuke Akiyoshi broke Honda’s 10-year win streak by taking the victory in the Coca-Cola Zero Suzuki 8 Hours today at Suzuka Circuit, in Japan. Kagayama and Akiyoshi completed 216 laps in 8 hours, 1 minute and 35.077 seconds at an average speed of 97.3 mph on their Bridgestone-shod GSX-R1000. Yoshimura Suzuki with Jomo 34 won by just over two minutes ahead Team HRC 33’s Tadayuki Okada and Carlos Checa, who rode a CBR1000RR. Yoshimura Suzuki with Jomo 34 also won the JSB class. Last year’s winning team, F.C.C. TSR ZIP-FM Racing Team (Yusuke Teshima/Shinichi Ito), finished third, one lap down, but was first in the SBK class, which featured most of the Endurance World Championship regulars. 2007 QMMF Endurance FIM World Championship Coca-Cola Zero Suzuka 8 Hours Suzuka Circuit, Japan July 29, 2007 Provisional Race Results: 1. Yoshimura Suzuki with Jomo 34 (Yukio Kagayama/Kosuke Akiyoshi), Suz GSX-R1000, JSB, 216 laps, 8:01:35.077 2. Team HRC 33 (Tadayuki Okada/Carlos Checa), Hon CBR1000RR, JSB, -2:01.484 3. F.C.C. TSR ZIP-FM Racing Team (Yusuke Teshima/Shinichi Ito), Hon CBR1000RR, SBK, -1 lap * 4. Yoshimura Suzuki with JOMO 12 (Atsushi Watanabe/Daisaku Sakai), Suz GSX-R1000, JSB, -1 lap 5. Moriwaki Motul Racing (Tatsuya Yamaguichi/Leon Camier), Hon CBR1000RR, JSB, -4 laps 6. Masked Rider DEN-O Honda Dream RT (Kazuki Tokudome/Gaku Kamada), Hon CBR1000RR, JSB, -5 laps 7. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Pilippe/Matthieu Lagrive/Julien Da Costa), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, -6 laps 8. F.C.C. TSR Eurosport Benelux (Satoru Iwata/Yoshiyuki Sugai/Heinz Platacis), Hon CBR1000RR, SBK, -6 laps 9. Yamaha Racing 81 (Jamie Stauffer/Norick Abe), Yam YZF-R1, JSB, -6 laps 10. Team Sakurai Honda 71 (Yuichi Takeda/Kazuma Tsuda), Hon CBR1000RR, JSB, -7 laps 15. Phase One Endurance (Warwick Nowland/Glen Richards/Stefan Nebel), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, -10 laps 18. Bolliger Team Switzerland (David Morillon/Patric Muff/Horst Saiger), Kaw ZX-10R, SBK, -11 laps 21. Diablo 666 Bolliger (James Hutchins/Alex Cudlin/Gary Mason), Kaw ZX-10R, SBK, -13 laps 23. Kyubo.com Team HARC-PRO (Yoshiteru Konishi/Takashi Yasuda), Hon CBR1000RR, JSB, -14 laps 24. RMT #21 Racing (Jakub Smrz/Frank Heidger/Henrik Meyer), Hon CBR1000RR, SBK, -14 laps 26. Marumae 6264 Racing Supply (Akira Tamitsuji/Koji Honda), Suz GSX-R1000, JSB, -14 laps 29. Endurance Moto 38 (Erwan Nigon/Julien Millet/Joao Contente Fernandes), Yam YZF-R1, SPP, -15 laps * 34. Team Suzuki Sweden (Tobias Andersson/Paul Young/Mikael Nilsson), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, -16 laps 36. Yamaha Austria Racing Team (Igor Jerman/Damien Cudlin/Steve Martin), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, -18 laps 39. Amadeus X-one (Paolo Tessari/Riccardo Ricci), Yam YZF-R1, SPP, -18 laps 44. WIN-CHU Suzuki Racing Team (Daigoro Suzuki/T Arakaki), Suz GSX-R1000, JSB, -21 laps 45. Team LTG 57 (Anthony Dos Santos/Amaury Baratin), Yam YZF-R1, SST, -21 laps * 68. Yamaha Racing 21 (Nobuyuki Osaki/Katsuyuki Nakasuga), Yam YZF-R1, JSB, -186 laps, DNF 69. Team HRC 11 (Ryuichi Kiyonari/James Toseland), Hon CBR1000RR, JSB, -188 laps, DNF, crash * first in class More, from a press release issued by Honda: Team HRC #33 riders Okada and Checa stage valiant fight back to take second at Suzuka 8 Hours The ten-year Suzuka 8 Hour race-winning streak established by Honda came to an end today at the 30th running of Japan’s most prestigious motorcycle race. The Team HRC #33 CBR1000RR of Tadayuki Okada and Carlos Checa staging a race long fight back, after incurring a 30 second penalty, to chase home race winners Yukio Kagayama and Kosuke Akioshi (Yoshimura Suzuki). The FCC TSR ZIP- FM Honda of Shinichi Ito and Yusuke Teshima came home in third place. Team HRC had qualified in the top two places on the Le Mans style starting grid with Checa setting fastest lap, although Okada would start the race. Ryuichi Kiyonari and James Toseland in second spot with Kiyo starting. Kagayama was third on the grid for Yoshimura 34. From the start Kagayama took the lead and held it until the first pit stop rider change over with Kiyonari in close attendance, Ito, winner in 2006, held third place. Okada was down in ninth place after his opening stint courtesy of a 30 second pit stop penalty incurred for his flying start. This condemned the team to a long fight back through the back markers while their rivals made the most of a clear track. Kiyonari handed the CBR1000RR over to James Toseland and the Englishman pushed hard to close the gap on the leader, his chase lasted just three laps. Approaching the Dunlop Curve for the third time the front end turned in and Toseland was down. Toseland managed to get the CBR1000RR back to the pits but the pit crew declared the machine was too badly damaged to continue. The exit of #11 left Akioshi well clear of Teshima with the second Yoshimura machine, in the hands of Daisaku Sakai third. “It was my own mistake,” admitted Toseland. “It was my third lap after switching from Kiyo, at Dunlop-Curve, I crashed because my front end tangled suddenly without any warnings. It was so strange and I could do nothing about it.” Kiyonari was a disappointed man deprived of the chance to fight for the win, through no fault of his own, and for the second year in succession. “I think we were doing OK.” Said Kiyonari. “I crashed during morning warm-up but that didn’t make any difference. I was ready to race for 8 hrs so I thought the first hour was OK. If I have regret, I should have closed the gap with the leader. May be James was too eager to close the gap.” With the demise of #11all HRC hopes now rested with Okada and Checa aboard #33. Checa rode at his considerable best and at the end of his first stint had fought his way up to fourth place just behind Sakai. At the end of three hours the two Yoshimura teams led from Team HRC #33 with the FCC TSR of Ito Teshima in fourth and Yamaha 81 of Abe and Stauffer holding fifth place. One hour later Checa moved into second place but try as hard as he and Okada dare to push they could not close on the leading Yoshimura team. As the race passed the half way mark the top five running order of Yoshimura 34, HRC 33, the FCC TSR Honda of Ito and Teshima, in the podium positions and Yoshimura 12 well clear of Yamaha 81 changed little until the final stages. However, the Moriwaki Motul Racing Honda of Tetsuya Yamaguchi and Leon Camier had the bit between their teeth following incurring the same 30-second penalty as Okada. The Moriwaki men mounted a meteoric charge from a lowly 17th at the end of the first hour to sixth place as the race entered its final hour. HRC #33 could not reduce the deficit to Yoshimura 34 crossing the line two minutes behind the winners but one lap clear of Ito and Teshima in third place for FCC TSR ZIP-FM. At the end of the race Checa was frustrated about what might have been. He said: “I didn’t understand why Tady had been penalized. We lost precious time but we changed our mind set and tried to regain the position. Both Tady and I were riding well. We managed to get back to fourth quite easily but to regain the second place was very hard. My first 8 hrs race was a good experience to me and it was also interesting. The team, Tady and everybody helped me a lot and I want to come back here again to win.” The penalised Okada echoed the thoughts of his team mate: “Yoshimura was very strong today. Flying penalty ruined our race. Carlos did a good job and our machine was OK till the end. I enjoyed the battle with Ito but we knew that if we overtake each other, our lap times drop so we were kind of riding together. Although I am retired as a racer, I thought there was no disadvantage for me. Still crash and flying show that I am away from racing. If I have a chance again, I will try to eliminate those disadvantages.” Shinichi Ito was below his best this time round lingering injuries disrupting his usual meticulous 8 hours race preparations and limiting valuable testing time: “I did not have enough testing before the race so we couldn’t find the best set-ups. This is the first race of the season for me and I was still struggling to find my rhythm. When I caught Okada, I couldn’t go any faster.” Said the Japanese veteran. Watanabe and Sakai brought the second Yoshimura machine home in fourth place with Tetsuya Yamaguchi and Leon Camier rewarded for there superb ride with a magnificent fifth place at the finish. The Masked Rider Honda of Tokudome and Kamada came home in sixth place ahead of the Suzuki of Vincent and Lagrive. The second FCC TSR Honda of Iwata and Sugai beat the Yamaha 81 team of Abe and Stauffer to eighth place with Team Sakurai Honda 81 completing the top ten. Honda riders and Team HRC staff quotes. Tady Okada, Team HRC #33: 2nd. “Yoshimura was very strong today. Flying penalty ruined our race. Carlos did a good job and our machine was OK till the end. I enjoyed the battle with Ito but we knew that if we overtake each other, our lap times drop so we were kind of riding together. Although I am retired as a racer, I thought there was no disadvantage to me. Still crash and flying show that I am away from racing. If I have a chance again, I will try to eliminate those disadvantages. Carlos Checa, Team HRC #33: 2nd “I didn’t understand why Tady had been penalized. We lost precious time but we changed our mind and tried to regain the position. Both Tady and I were riding well. We managed to get back to fourth quite easily but to regain the second place was very hard. My first 8 hrs race was a good experience to me and it was also interesting. The team, Tady and everybody helped me a lot and I want to come back here again to win.” Toshiyuki Yamaji #33 Team Manager. “I must apologize to those who supported us. It was a total defeat for us and Yoshimura did a perfect race.” Shinichi Ito, F.C.C.TSR ZIP-FM Honda: 3rd.”I did not have enough testing before the race so we couldn’t find the best set-ups. This is the first race of the season for me and I was still struggling to find my rhythm. When I caught Okada, I couldn’t go any faster. Teshima did a good job although he re-joined our team recently and the set-up was not best for him. I was happy to get on the podium at the 30th anniversary event.” Yusuke Teshima, F.C.C.TSR ZIP-FM Honda: 3rd. “I was so happy that I could get on the podium. During the pre-event testing, I was riding HRC machine and when I came back to TSR, where I belonged before, I became a TSR rider. I could not mark good lap times during the testing but I got a good feeling since Friday and marked my best lap time on Friday. I want to thank Ito san very much. We got on the podium by his effort.” Ryuichi Kiyonari, Team HRC #11: dnf team mate crash. “I think we were doing OK. I crashed during morning warm-up but that didn’t make any difference. I was ready to race for 8 hrs so I thought the first hour was OK. If I have regret, I should have closed the gap with the leader. May be James was too eager to close the gap. This year there were many back markers from early stage so I didn’t want to push too hard and crash while overtaking them. I really feel sorry for fans, who had supported us. Again I couldn’t win 8 hrs race so my disappointment became doubled. I have to wait another year to overcome the frustration, and that’s too long. James Toseland, Team HRC #11: dnf crash. “It was my mistake. It’s shame that I didn’t make any mistakes during the practices or Super Pole but during the race. I don’t know what to say. I want to apologize to my team-mate, fans, the team and sponsors. It was my third lap after switching from Kiyo, at Dunlop-Curve, I crashed because my front end tangled suddenly without any warnings. It was so strange and I could do nothing about it.” Teruaki Matsubara #11 Team Manager “We were on good pace. Kiyonari crashed this morning and that made him to stay cool. James was trying hard when he crashed. I feel sorry for everyone.” Kazuhiko Yamano HRC 8hrs Project Leader “It was an unlucky incident. James was pushing hard when he crashed so I all I can say is it was unlucky.” Leon Camier, Moriwaki Motul Racing: 5th.”This was my third time to entry for 8 Hours. First time, I crashed, and second time, my partner slipped down causing to take time in repairing the machine. So, this was the first time to actually finish the race. When my entry was determined suddenly, I was not yet ready for it. Also, during the race, we had a penalty and was in uneasy situation. However, I am happy that I was able to have this final result.” Kazuki Tokudome, Masked Rider Den-O Honda DREAM RT: 6th.”The setting of the machine went well, and there was a goal to ride the race with more speed than the average time. Yet, situation changed, and became difficult. However, I am happy to finish the race. I tried my best to enjoy the last part of my ride. I learned a lot from this year’s 8 Hours, and my next goal is to reflect this experience to next race.” Gaku Kamada, Masked Rider Den-O Honda DREAM RT: 6th. “Despite the final result, we were able to reach the goal without any trouble or injury. Saying with more greed, it would be better to finish in upper placement. Yet, team staff worked hard without any mistake, that I was able to output my best for the race. Therefore, I am very much satisfied.” Results 1 / B Yoshimura Suzuki with JOMO 34 / JPN / S-GSX-R1000 / JSB / Y.K agayama / K.Akiyoshi 2 / Team HRC 33 / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / T.Okada / C.Checa (SPA) 3 / F.C.C.TSR ZIP-FM Racing Team / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / SBK / Y.Teshima / S.Itoh 4 / Yoshimura Suzuki with JOMO 12 / JPN / S-GSX-R1000 / JSB / A.Watanabe / D.Sakai 5 / Moriwaki Motul Racing / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / T.YamaguchiI / L.Camier (GBR) 6 / Masked Rider DEN-O Honda Dream RT / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / K.Tokudome / G.Kamada 7 / Suzuki Endurance Racing Team / FRA / S-GSX-R1000 / SBK / V.Philppe / M.Lagrive (FRA) / J.da Costa (FRA) 8 / F.C.C. TSR Euosport Benelux / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / SBK / S.Iwata / Y.SUGAI / H.Platacis (SUI) 9 / Yamaha Racing 81 / JPN / Y-YZF-R1 / JSB / J.Strauffer / N.Abe 10 / Team Sakurai Honda 71 / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / Y.Takeda / K.Tsuda 11 / RacingTeam Honeybee / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / H.Noda / T.Yamamoto 12 / Honda Suzuka Racing Team / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / N.Yunoki / T.Morii 13 / Zoil Trick Star / JPN / K-ZX-10R / JSB / K.Eguchi / R.Tsurata 14 / Moto Win Racing / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / S.Suzuki / T.Takahashi 15 / Phase One Endurance / GBR / Y-YZF-R1 / SBK / W.Nowland / G.Richards (AUS) / S.Nebel (GER) More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Yukio Kagayama and Kousuke Akiyoshi raced their GSX-R1000 to victory in the Suzuka 8 Hour World Endurance third round in Japan – the team’s first Suzuka endurance win for almost 30 years. It was back in 1978 at the inaugural Suzuka 8 Hour race that the team tasted victory aboard their GS1000R. Kagayama led from the start from Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari, Norick Abe (Yamaha) and Tady Okada (Honda), opening up a 15-second advantage by the one hour mark when Akiyoshi took over. The duo continued to increase their advantage lap by lap to take victory with 216 laps. World Championship leaders SERT with riders Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa were the second best of the permanent teams finishing in seventh position with Yoshimura’s second team of Atsushi Watanabe and Daisaku Sakai finishing just off the rostrum in fourth. Yukio Kagayama: “My strategy for my first stint was to pull away and I achieved this. My partner Akiyoshi is my long time friend and I know his potential very well. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is awesome and the Bridgestone tyres were excellent. I would like to thank my staff and team, Yoshimura and Suzuki.” Yohei Kato – Yoshimura Suzuki Team Manager: “We believed Kagayama and Akiyoshi could win! They made very good lap times all through the 216 laps. I told Yukio before start that I wanted him to holeshot and the top position in a first lap – and he achieved it. I’m very happy and thanks to my staff and Suzuki plus all our sponsors. We finally beat a very strong HRC team. I want to dedicate this victory to my late grandfather, Pops Yoshimura.” Dominique Meliand – SERT Team Manager: “We ran a very consistent pace and kept strong top10 spot all through the race. The most important thing is we got strong points and finished second fastest in the permanent teams.” Vincent Philippe: “We only had two hours test at Suzuka before race but the track and temperature was quite different from today. Our pace was slower than we expected but we finished the race with only a small crash by Julian Da Costa without serious damage. Suzuka is very strange and difficult track but I love it – and I love the Suzuka 8 Hours.” Race Result: 1 Kagayama/Akiyoshi (YOSHIMURA SUZUKI) 216 Laps 2 Okada/ Checa (HRC) 216 Laps 3 Ito/ Teshima (TSR-HONDA) 215 Laps 4 Watanabe/ Sakai (YOSHIMURA SUZUKI) 215 Laps 5 Yamaguchi/ Camier (MORIWAKI HONDA) 212 Laps 6 Tokudome/ Kamata (MASKED RIDER HONDA DREAM) 211 Laps 7 Philippe/ Lagrive/ Da Costa (SERT SUZUKI) 210 Laps 8 Iwata/ Sugai/ Platacis (F.C.C.TSR HONDA) 210 Laps 9 Stauffer/ Abe (YAMAHA) 210 Laps 10 Takeda/ Tsuda (SAKURIA HONDA) 209 Laps More, from a press release issued by FIM Endurance Press Office: 30th ‘Coca Cola Zero Suzuka 8 Hours’ 30th staging of the race dominated by Suzuki Yoshimura Suzuki Yoshimura with Jomo 34 put an end to a series of ten victories by Honda at Suzuka today. Yukio Kagayama and Kosuke Akiyoshi on their Suzuki Yoshimura 34 finished ahead of the Honda HRC 33 of Tadayuki Okada and Carlos Checa and the Honda FCC TSR 778 of Yusuka Teshima and Shinichi Itoh. This victory for Suzuki in the thirtieth edition of this famous race marks a historical return for the Japenese manufacturer the first eight Suzuka 8 Hours races were won by a Suzuki Yoshimura. Kagayama and Akiyoshi dominated today’s head-to-head. This year’s Suzuka 8 Hours began at high speed. On his third lap Shinichi Itoh on the Honda FCC TSR 778, winner of the 2006 Suzuka 8 Hours, set a fastest lap of 2’09.227. From the start a head-to-head battle took place between Yukio Kagayama on the Suzuki Yoshimura 34 and Ryuichi Kiyonari on the Honda HRC 11. Thanks to his better control at the first passing point, Kagayama forged ahead little by little and the Suzuki 34 then maintained its command over the full eight hours. The second place of the Honda HRC 33 of Okada and Checa was well earned after they were forced to undertake a ‘stop and go’ penalty following a premature start. The Honda 33 was in only ninth position an hour into the race. After having moved back to the head of the bunch, the pair fervently defended their second place in front of the Honda FCC TSR 778. “This was a great experience. Even if I am a bit tired, I am ready to return if I get asked again by a strong team”, said Carlos Checa, who was riding in his first ever Suzuka 8 Hours. Some of the pre-race favourites were surprised by the speed at the beginning of the race. The first victim was Takashi Yasuda on the Honda Kyubo Harc-Pro 73. Starting in sixth position, he fell half an hour into the race and the Honda 73 ended up at the back of the pack, finally finishing in 24th. Several minutes later the Yamaha 21 crashed while in eighth. It retook to the track an hour later in 68th place but another fall by Nobuyuki Osaki ended the team’s chances of a podium finish. Another favourite who fell victim to the beginning of the race was the Honda HRC 11, second behind the Suzuki Yoshimura 34. James Toseland’s fall on his first lap also ended their podium hopes and the official Honda 11 did not return to the track at the home of HRC. The other Suzuki Yoshimura 12 of Watanabe and Sakai finished in the final podium spot in front of the Honda Moriwaki 19 of Yamaguchi and Camier. Faced with an armada of official and semi-official Japanese machines in the Open category (with the exception of the Honda FCC TSR 778 in the Superbike class), the permanent teams did not perform at their best. The leading result came from Suzuki Endurance Racing Team. Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa finished in seventh overall and second in the Superbike class. SERT claim 24 points and have consolidated their lead in the QMMF Endurance FIM World Championship. The Honda FCC TSR Eurosport Benelux, ridden by Satoru Iwata and Yoshiyuki Sugai, had an ongoing battle with SERT and eventually finished in eighth. The top 25 in the Superbike class included several of the permanent teams. Yamaha Phase One Endurance finished a respectable 15th, taking the 16 points to put them fourth overall in the classifications. Bolliger Team Switzerland finished in 18th, Diablo 666 Bolliger in 21st, and RMT 21 Racing in 24th. The leading machine in the Superproduction class, Endurance Moto 38, finished in 29th ahead of Maco Moto who were 35th. In the Superstock class, the best performance came from Team LTG 57. Without Mickael Lalevée who was injured in the warm-up, Anthony Dos Santos and Amaury Baratin finished the eight hours in 45th position on their Yamaha. There were mixed fortunes for the other permanent teams. Suzuki Sweden had braking problems and finished in 34th. Yamaha Austria were within the top twenty at the beginning of the race before of an engine overheating problem saw them fall back more than 30 places – Igor Jerman, Damian Cudlin and Steve Martin ultimately finished in 36th. Amadeus X-One lost time due to problems with their fuel tank and finished in 39th just ahead of Team Zone Rouge Yamaha. The final permanent team to register a point at Suzuka, RT Racing Team & Moto Virus, finished in 46th after a fall. Finally the claim for least successful race goes to the Honda Sakurai 2. In sixth position one lap from the end, the Honda ridden by Chojun Kameya and Russell Holland returned to the pits without passing the chequered flag and were disqualified.