Three Honda on the podium at Suzuka MuSashi Harc Pro, Kehin Kohara and FCC TSR The Honda MuSashi Harc Pro determination to win defied all bets! The Honda ridden by Riyuichi Kiyonari, Takaaki Nakagami and Takumi Takahashi took victory after 8 hours of racing under the heat of a sunny Suzuka, ahead of two other Honda, which were considerate as favourites for success, the Keihin Kohara of Shinichi Itoh and Makoto Tamada, and the FCC TSR of Kosuke Akiyoshi, Jonathan Rea and Yuki Takahashi. After a 2009 edition won by Yoshimura Suzuki, Honda puts their hands back on Suzuka with three machines on the podium. If Keihin Kohara did a faultless race being constantly in the top-3, that was a great comeback for FCC TSR. At the very beginning of the race, Kosuke Akiyoshi overtook twice under the yellow flag. Penalised by two stop and go, the Honda FCC TSR then crashed with Jonathan Rea. They got back on track in 42nd position, four laps behind the leaders, before achieving a fantastic come-back with the best race lap, in 2’08.705. Once again, Suzuka 8 Hours confirms their reputation of being an incredibly exciting round, full of suspense and drama. The Yoshimura Suzuki with Eneos of Daisaku Sakai and Yukio Kagayama can testify for sure: being the favourite after clinching the pole position, the leading Suzuki was delayed by two crashes and finished the race in sixth place. The first Suzuki is Faro Plot Panthera, in fourth place, ahead of the Honda Team Plus One. Current Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship leader, Bolliger Switzerland is the best permanent team placed. Scoring the eight points of the ninth place, the Swiss team on Kawasaki increased to ten points their championship lead over Yamaha Austria Racing Team. Although they managed to be qualified in 8th position, YART had so suffer two crashes from Gwen Giabbani. The Austrian Yamaha finished 16th, just behind the points. There is also a mix of frustration and disappointment for Yamaha France GMT 94 Ipone. After being worried by some overheating problems during the qualifications (14th on the starting grid), the team managed by Christophe Guyot did a great start. They were seeking to pass the first hour in ninth position. Unfortunately, a broken valve made the Yamaha 94 to retire from the race. The only BMW engaged by Japanese Team Tras & G-Tribe finished in 18th place and first European machine at the 2010 Suzuka 8 Hours. Next round is scheduled for September, 11th-12th, with the Bol d’Or at Magny-Cours (France). More, from a press release issued by Honda: Suzuka 8 Hours race FIM Endurance World Championship, round three Suzuka, Japan July 25 2010 Weather conditions: hot and sunny Ambient temperature: 34.3 degrees Track temperature (maximum): 66 degrees Crowd: 65,000 FANTASTIC SUZUKA 8 HOUR PODIUM SWEEP FOR HONDA Honda’s CBR1000RR scored a historic clean sweep of the podium at today’s Suzuka 8 Hours race which was run in typically steaming hot conditions. The always gruelling event was dominated by the Musashi RT HARC-PRO pairing of Ryuichi Kiyonari and Takumi Takahashi who were joined on the podium by runners-up Shinichi Ito and Makoto Tamada of Keihin Kohara RT and the third-placed F.C.C TSR team of Kosuke Akiyoshi and Jonathan Rea. Musashi RT HARC-PRO’s immaculate domination of the race gave Honda its 22nd victory in the 33rd edition of this legendary event. This was Kiyonari’s third 8 Hours win following his successes in the 2005 and 2008 races. Musashi RT HARC-PRO spent the first few hours engaged in a duel for the lead with the Yoshimura Suzuki team of Daisaku Sakai and Nobu Aoki and Yuki Kagayama. But as the race neared half-distance the pace of Kiyonari and his factory-prepared CBR1000RR was too much for Sakai. Kiyonari overtook Sakai at Spoon Curve and not long after that Sakai crashed in his efforts to keep up. Sakai’s tumble left Kiyonari well ahead of Keihin Kohara RT and allowed the Musashi RT HARC-PRO squad to control the remainder of the race. Sakai’s team eventually finished the race in sixth place. Veteran Ito already a three-time winner of the 8 Hours and team-mate Tamada had a great ride to second place, running inside the top three throughout. They completed the race one lap behind the winners and a lap ahead of Akiyoshi and Rea. F.C.C TSR had been one of the favourites for victory after Rea had been fastest in Friday qualifying. But their hopes of victory were dashed in the early stages when Akiyoshi was delayed by two stop-and-go penalties and then Rea crashed. Those incidents dropped the pair back to 42nd position but there was no denying their fighting spirit as they fought back to the podium, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. Impressive runs from two other Honda squads Team Plus One and Teleru Honey Bee Racing made it six CBR1000RR machines in the top eight finishing positions. HONDA RIDER QUOTES Ryuichi Kiyonari (Musashi RT HARC-PRO): winner “I am so happy that I was able to accomplish a third winning of the Suzuka 8 Hours. Today’s win was a memorable moment that I will never forget. Takumi fought so hard that I’m glad I was able to pair up with him for this race. The team staff and Takumi were a big support in this victory. Thank you to the fans for cheering us. If I have the chance to participate in this race again, I will look forward to it.” Takumi Takahashi (Musashi RT HARC-PRO): winner “I am so glad to win today. In the late stages of the race it became difficult for me to physically continue, so I passed over to Kiyo. We were able to win the race because Kiyo worked hard to set up the machine along with the team staff. If we have another chance to race in the Suzuka 8 Hours, I will aim for the top of the podium again.” Shigeki Honda (Musashi RT HARC-PRO team manager) “Finally we won the race. Under such hot conditions it was physically very difficult for the riders and team staff. However, Kiyo and Takumi fought very hard and did their best. I must thank all the people who supported us throughout this event; also the fans who cheered us very much. Thank you for everything.” Shinichi Ito (Keihin Kohara RT): 2nd “Considering the pace in yesterday’s result of Superpole and today’s steaming hot climate, I assumed it would be a tough race. However, Makoto and the team backed me up so well that we were able to get second place. Maybe we could have got into first place, but anyway we did our best. I must thank our fans. It was a very meaningful race for me.” Makoto Tamada (Keihin Kohara RT): 2nd “I am not satisfied with our result and also with my riding. I was hoping to support Ito-san, yet I ended up relying on him. I feel sorry for him and the team. I was not able to perform fully, so if I have another chance, I want the opportunity for revenge in the next Suzuka 8 Hours!” Kosuke Akiyoshi (F.C.C TSR): 3rd “I enjoyed this Suzuka 8 Hours a lot. I didn’t get such a great start, so when I got into the first corner with a lot of rivals, I touched another rider, which bent my clutch lever. Also, I got two stop-and-go penalties which I had difficulty understanding why they happened. I felt sorry to pass the machine to Jonny under such conditions, after losing time. However, Jonny fought his best. The bike worked very well, so we were able to perform at full power and fight back to third position. I thank the team and all the fans who supported us.” Jonathan Rea (F.C.C TSR): 3rd “First of all, I want to thank all my team and the Japanese fans. Today was a tough day. We had some unexpected troubles and mistakes, so to be honest I am not so happy. Yet working well together with Akiyoshi and repeatedly telling myself ‘never give up, keep going’, we were able to get into third place. If I have a chance, I want to participate in the Suzuka 8 Hours again!” PREVIOUS 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 2008: Ryuichi Kiyonari, J/Carlos Checa, E Honda CBR1000RR Results Pos. / Team / Riders / Bike / Laps / Total Time / Delay / Best 1 / MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. / R.KIYONARI – T.NAKAGAMI – T.TAKAHASHI / CBR1000RR / 215 / 8:01’13.428 / 156.04km / h / 2’09.503 2 / Keihin Kohara Racing Team / S.ITO – M.TAMADA / CBR1000RR / 214 / 8:01’46.497 /1 Lap / 2’09.898 3 / F.C.C.TSR Honda / K.AKIYOSHI – J.REA – Y.TAKAHASHI / CBR1000RR / 213 / 8:01’37.492 / 2Laps / 2’08.705 4 / PLOT FARO PANTHERA / O.DEGUCHI – T.YASUDA – Y.KODAMA / GSX-R1000 / 212 / 8:03’26.420 / 3Laps / 2’11.397 5 / TEAM PLUS ONE / S.IWATA – Y.TESHIMA / CBR1000RR / 211 / 8:02’39.846 / 4 Laps / 2’11.589 6 / YOSHIMURA SUZUKI with ENEOS / D.SAKAI – N.AOKI – Y.KAGAYAMA / GSX-R1000 / 211 / 8:02’56.502 / 4 Laps / 2’09.350 7 / Teluru HoneyBeeRacing / H.NODA – T.SEKIGUCHI / CBR1000RR / 210 / 8:01’24.181 / 5 Laps / 2’12.908 8 / BEET RACING / H.TAKAHASHI – Y.HATANO – O.NISHIJIMA / ZX-10R / 208 / 8:03’03.234 / 7 Laps / 2’12.988 9 / TEAM BOLLIGER SWITZERLAND #8 / H.SAIGER – P.MUFF – R.STAMM / ZX-10R / 206 / 8:02’20.396 / 9 Laps / 2’14.564 10 / Honda ESCARGOT&PGR&SAYAMA&TEC(E) / M.KUBOYAMA – T.NAKATSUHARA / CBR1000RR / 206 / 8:02’53.838 / 9 Laps / 2’14.612 11 / Honda Suzuka Racing Team / T.NAKAMURA – M.AKIYA / CBR1000RR / 205 / 8:01’24.486 / 10 Laps / 2’13.534 12 / MOTOBUM and ISHIGAKI ISLAND UMINCHU / T.TAKAHASHI – T.OKI – I.SHIMIZU / CBR1000RR / 204 / 8:01’38.985 / 11 Laps / 2’14.013 13 / RITOH&ASIA / I.HIGASHIMURA – T.IWASAKI – A.IODA / ZX-10R / 204 / 8:02’12.005 / 11 Laps / 2’16.139 14 / TEAM FRONTIER CLEVER-WOLF RACING / K.TERAMOTO – T.NAKAI – T.FUKAMI / YZF-R1 / 203 / 8:02’23.235 / 12 Laps / 2’16.135 15 / EVANGELION RT TEST TYPE-01 TRICK STAR / S.TAKEISHI – T.SERIZAWA – Y.KONNO / ZX-10R / 203 / 8:03’09.987 / 12 Laps / 2’12.487 16 / YAMAHA AUSTRIA RACING TEAM / I.JERMAN – S.MARTIN – G.GIABBANI / YZF-R1 / 202 / 8:01’25.727 / 13 Laps / 2’12.201 17 / Team NAP’S / M.SATO – A.IGARASHI – T.SHIMIZU / CBR1000RR / 202 / 8:03’09.927 / 13 Laps / 2’15.819 18 / Tras & G-TRIBE+8810R / T.TODA – H.TAKADA – E.SAITO / B-S1000RR / 201 / 8:01’31.206 / 14 Laps / 2’17.285 19 / CONFIA H.M.F Like a wind / Y.TAKAMIYA – Y.TAKAHASHI – S.SUMA / RSV4 Factory / 200 / 8:02’42.508 / 15 Laps / 2’16.642 20 / Honda QCT Q-Youkai Meiwa Racing / M.ANDO – S.NOYORI – T.SOH / CBR1000RR / 199 / 8:03’08.754 / 16 Laps / 2’16.201 21 / Honda DREAM RT WAKAYAMA / T.NISHINAKA – T.SOMA – S.YASUTOMI / CBR1000RR / 198 / 8:01’14.332 / 17 Laps / 2’17.583 22 / Yamashina Kawasaki & Business Ralliart inc. / T.MIZUSAWA – S.YAMASAKI – T.NODA / ZX-10R / 198 / 8:03’20.189 / 17 Laps / 2’17.041 23 / Team M R Z-TECH / T.OKUDA – T.YOSHIDA – M.MIZUTANI / GSX-R1000 / 197 / 8:03’02.746 / 18 Laps / 2’17.180 24 / DOGFISH O-TEC SUZUKA RACING YIC / M.OUCHIDA – K.YAGI – Y.WATANABE / CBR1000RR / 197 / 8:03’23.289 / 18 Laps / 2’17.035 25 / Honda Koyokai Dream Racing & SHOWA / H.NAKAMURA – T.EBINUMA / CBR1000RR / 196 / 8:03’02.387 / 19 Laps / 2’21.280 26 / CROWN KEIBIHOSYOU RACING / T.HAMAGUCHI – K.KITAGUCHI – S.TANI / CBR1000RR / 195 / 8:02’13.791 / 20 Laps / 2’11.154 27 / WINNER Z-TECH / T.NAMEKATA – T.KUNIMATSU / GSX-R1000 / 194 / 8:01’35.571 / 21 Laps / 2’15.347 28 / WestPower / T.TSUDA – M.TANI – K.TANAKA / GSX-R1000 / 194 / 8:03’21.511 / 21 Laps / 2’16.188 29 / Suzuka Community Racing Team / H.MATSUI – S.SHIMOJI / CBR1000RR / 193 / 8:01’15.040 / 22 Laps / 2’14.088 30 / Honda Ryokuyokai Kumamoto Racing / M.YOSHIDA – M.IIDA – M.KITAORI / CBR1000RR / 192 / 8:01’47.970 / 23 Laps / 2’15.353 31 / T.MOTO KIDS / KAWAUSO.RT with MICARE / M.KAYAHARA – Y.HIGUCHI – K.NAKAO / YZF-R1 / 191 / 8:03’18.345 / 24 Laps / 2’19.386 32 / aprilia D.D.BOYS with STYLE / K.TSUDA – I.GOI / RSV4 Factory / 185 / 8:03’22.680 / 30 Laps / 2’14.617 33 / MITO MOTO&e,freaks / H.TAKANO – T.KOBAYASHI – S.OKADA / CBR1000RR / 184 / 8:02’51.703 / 31 Laps / 2’18.996 34 / BullDocker TAGOS×HALUMOTO SHOWHEI RIDE / M.MOGI – D.TANAKA / RSV4 Factory / 183 / 8:02’55.488 / 32 Laps / 2’19.508 35 / Honda DREAM RT SAKURAI HONDA / W.MAXWELL – C.KAMEYA / CBR1000RR / 181 / 8:01’21.426 / 34 Laps / 2’11.069 36 / Team Honda Technical College / M.FURUSAWA – Y.HAMAGUCHI / CBR1000RR / 181 / 8:02’16.282 / 34 Laps / 2’16.190 37 / Honda EG Racing / T.KURIBAYASHI – M.HONDO – S.FUJISHIMA / CBR1000RR / 172 / 8:02’42.913 / 43 Laps / 2’15.825 Fastest Lap of Race was No. 11 F.C.C.TSR Honda 2’08.705 113/213 162.82km/h Point standing after 3 rounds 1 Bolliger Team Switzerland 46, 2 Yamaha Austria Racing Team 36, 3 GSR Kawasaki 35, 4 MuSashi RT Harc Pro 30, 5 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 30, 6 RT Moto Virus Racing 28, 7 Keihin Kohara RT 24, 8 RAC 41 – City Bike 22, 9 National Motos 22, 10 BMP Elf 99 Racing Team 22, 11 Motobox Kremer Shell Advance 20, 12 FCC TSR Honda 19, 13 Yamaha France GMT 94 Ipone 18, 14 Plot Faro Panthera 16, 15 YMES Folch Endurance 16. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Suzuka 8 Hour Pole-setter Yoshimura Suzuki has taken sixth at the third round of the World Endurance Championship in Japan after two crashes robbed the favourites and defending champions of victory. Team riders Daisaku Sakai, Nobuatsu Aoki and Yukio Kagayama finished with 211 laps, four down on eventual winners MuSASHI RT HARC-PRO Honda after an incident-packed and hot, sun-blessed race that saw the Suzuka 300km winners heroically charge back against the odds. MotoGP test rider Sakai – a member of the SERT Albacete World Endurance-winning team in May – was unlucky and fell twice: He crashed early on battling with FCC TSR Honda’s Kosuke Akiyoshi, rejoined the race in fourth; and then continued without pitting until he handed the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 over to Yukio Kagayama at 12.27. An hour into the race, the team held third position behind MuSashi HARC Pro Honda and Keihin Kohara RT Honda after FCC TSR Honda rider Akiyoshi was penalised for ignoring a yellow flag. Kagayama – who currently races for the Worx Crescent British Superbike team in the UK – improved the team’s position to second place on the leaderboard after overtaking Keihin Kohara RT Honda’s Makoto Tamada after one-and-a-half hours of intense racing. And, after two hours, Nobuatsu Aoki – who took over from Kagayama, and is also a Team Suzuki MotoGP test rider – took the lead of the race, pitting at 14:27 and handing over to Sakai, who kept the Yoshimura Suzuki ahead for almost 30 minutes before Kiyonari got past again. Sakai then suffered from a second crash at the infamous ‘S Curve’ and had to pit again; the team rejoining the race in ninth position, but they continued to fight back to a sixth overall. Top Suzuki finisher was the PLOT FARO PANTHRA GSX-R1000-mounted team of Deguchi, Yasuda and youngest rider Kodoma; who got the final stint in the race – and brought the team home in fourth position overall. Suzuka Results: 1 MuSASHI RT HARC-PRO (Honda – R Kiyonari/ T Nakagami/ T Takahashi) – 215 laps. 2 Keihin Kohara Racing Team (Honda – S Ito/ M Tamada) – 214 laps. 3 FCC TSR Honda (Honda – K Akiyoshi/ J Rea/T Takahashi) – 213 laps. 4 PLOT FARO PANTHERA (Suzuki – O Deguchi/ T Yasuda/ Y Kodama) – 212 laps. 5 TEAM PLUS ONE (Honda – S Iwata/ Y Teshima) – 211 laps. 6 Yoshimura Suzuki with ENEOS (Suzuki – D Sakai/N Aoki/ Y Kagayama) – 211 laps.