SUZUKI CASTROL INCREASE SERIES LEAD Suzuki Castrol has extended its lead in the World Endurance Championship after finishing as the top full-time series entry at today’s third round at Suzuka in Japan. Keiichi Kitagawa and Vincent Phillipe overcame several crashes during the weekend on their SERT GSX-R1000 to post seventh position overall and increase their series advantage from 19 to 28 points. Watched by an estimated crowd of more than 140,000 over the four days, the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hour began in sunshine, but then ran into rain at the two-hour mark. Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari got a holeshot from Takeshi Tsujimura (Honda) and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Yukio Kagayama. Kagayama moved to second on the first lap and within 2.7 seconds of the Honda rider, but this slipped to 17 seconds after the first hour when Japanese Superbike ace Atsushi Watanabe took over the Yoshimura machine and a fire onboard forced a long pit stop and the team dropped down the leaderboard to 14th. Heavy rain caused several crashes including SERT rider Kitagawa on lap 60, although Kagayama moved the Yoshimura up through the ranks from 13th to sixth position, when he handed back to Watanabe. Watanabe then fell on his second lap, half-way into the race, forcing a 15-minute pit stop that dropped them down to 20th position. After six hours, Kitagawa and Vincent had moved up to fifth place but dropped two places in the closing stages, choosing to ride for points, rather than risking a further crash. Said SERT Team Manager Dominique Melliand: “It was very tough race! Unfortunately, Keiichi crashed but that is a World Endurance Racing. We repaired the bike very quickly and we did a good race. We did not win the Suzuka 8-Hour but we scored good points for the championship.” Yoshimura Team Manager Fujio Yoshimura said: “We had many accidents after the rainfall and the burn-up of our exhaust pipe. We didn’t have a good result but our team did a great job. I guess that the Suzuka 8 Hours is a very special race which is very difficult to win, but today we start planning to win the 2006 Suzuka 8 Hours.” SUZUKA 8 HOURS WORLD ENDURANCE RESULT: 1: R.Kiyonari / T.Ukawa (Honda) 204laps – 8:01’22.351. 2: C.Vermeulen / K.Fujiwara (Honda) 201 laps. 3: H.Aoki / T.Yasuda (Honda) 200 laps. 4: O.Deguchi / Y.Teshima (Honda) 199 laps. 5: T.Yamaguchi / K.Tokudome (Honda) 198 laps. 6: Y.Sugai / J.Brookes (Honda) 197 laps. 7: Keiichi Kitagawa / Vincent Phillip (Suzuki Castrol) 196 laps. 8: Hiroaki Kawase / Akira Tamitsuji (MotoMap WIS SUZUKI) 195 laps. 9: G.Giabbani / I.Jerman/ H.Saiger (Yamaha) 194 laps. 10: Yukio Kagayama / Atsushi Watanabe (Yoshimura Suzuki) Suzuki 193 laps. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: Suzuka 8 Hours SEVEN STARS HONDA 1-2 AT SUZUKA 8-HOURS, HARC PRO HONDA THIRD Saturday’s Superpole session to determine grid positions, contested by the fastest 20 teams in qualifying, saw Veteran Shinichi Ito FCC TSR Honda CBR1000RR take Superpole from the Seven Stars CBR of Tohru Ukawa and Kazuki Tokudome’s Masked Bandit CBR1000RR. Honda CBR1000RR machines filled the podium places at the 28th running of the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance race held in Japan today, Sunday July 31. Ryuichi Kiyonari and Tohru Ukawa brought the Seven Stars Honda home 3-laps clear of team-mates Katsuaki Fujiwara and Chris Vermeulen with the HARC PRO Honda CBR1000RR of Haruchika Aoki and Tsuyoshi Yasuda in third place. The race win was Ukawa’s fifth victory in the high-speed classic, a record. Kiyonari scored his first ever victory in an international race at the circuit. “I am really happy and I can’t believe it. I expected a tough race so when Kagayama was pushing at the beginning, I was only thinking about my pace. Then I tried to concentrate on the race,” said a jubilant Kiyonari. Team mate Ukawa was equally pleased. He said, “Fantastic, the best machine, the best partner and the best team made it possible. Five wins is a great record, but I hope Ryuichi will break it one day.” Ryuichi ‘Kiyo’ Kiyonari was the chosen lead-off rider on the # 7 Honda and he quickly moved to the front chased by Ito on the FCC TSR Honda with the Yoshimura Suzuki of Kagayama close behind. At the pit-stop and rider change-over Kiyo handed team-mate Ukawa a 10 second lead over the Yoshimura team with Moriwaki up to third place. From that point on Kiyo and Ukawa were never under serious threat and steadily extended their lead. The two men held their nerve when the rain started to fall as the third hour began and the Seven Stars team made good use of their Michelin rain tyres lapping consistently faster than their rivals. Many others were not so cool, several of their leading challengers crashing in the heavy rain and consequent slippery conditions. Tokudome crashed the Masked Rider Honda at the Spoon curve but managed to get the machine back to the pits, eventually finishing fifth. At the end of the third hour Okada crashed the # 74 Sakurai CBR1000RR, riding the machine back to the pits on the grass. The Kiyo /Ukawa CBR was now well over a lap clear of Ito and Tsujimura in second and the Moriwaki pairing of Leon Camier and Naoki Matsudo in third. Camier crashed before hour five, getting back to the pits for repairs. The team eventually finished 15th. As the race passed the halfway stage the rain eased off but it didn’t help Ito and Tsujimura who were forced into the pits by a technical problem that cost them time and left the leaders with a clear run to the flag. Ito And Tsujimura eventually finished in14th place. Kiyo and Ukawa were in a class of their own and stretched their lead lap by lap leaving their rivals to dispute the minor places. The Harc Pro Honda of former 125cc World Champion Haruchika Aoki and Tsuyoshi Yasuda slotted into second place ahead of the second Seven Stars-liveried CBR1000RR of Fujiwara and Vermeulen in third with an hour to go. Fujiwara and Vermeulen then passed the Harc Pro pairing in the seventh hour to finish three-laps behind the winners with Aoki and Yasuda a further lap behind in third. Honda filled the top six places. Deguchi and Tejima brought their FCC TSR CBR home in fourth place just ahead of the Masked Rider Honda of Tokudome and Yamaguchi. Young Australian Josh Brooks and partner Yoshiyuki Sugai finished sixth. Katsunori Suzuki, team manager to Kiyonari and Ukawa, said after the ninth consecutive Honda win in the event: “I was worried when it started to rain and also when it started to dry out. We changed to wet tyres earlier than the other teams and that counted to our win. Yoshiteru Konishi, the reserve rider, advised us to do so. The total performance of our team resulted to the win.” HONDA RIDER AND TEAM MANAGER QUOTES: Ryuichi Kiyonari: 1st. “I am really happy and I can’t believe it. I expected a tough race so when Kagayama was pushing at the beginning, I was only thinking about my pace. Then I tried to concentrate on the race. When I handed the machine to Ukawa san for the last time, I told him about the remaining wet patches. I knew he could do it.” Tohru Ukawa: 1st. “Fantastic, the best machine, the best partner and the best team made it possible. My lap times were not so fast during the first stint, then it started to rain during Ryuichi’s second run. But Ryuichi was stable and I wasn’t worried at all. Then Ito san’s team was catching up. After they had machine problems, we were on our own and we had to concentrate on our race. I didn’t push too much during the last run. Five wins is a great record, but I hope Ryuichi will break it one day.” Katsunori Suzuki: Team Manager. “I was worried when it started to rain and also when it started to dry out. We changed to wet tyres earlier than the other teams and that counted to our win. Yoshiteru Konishi, the reserve rider, advised us to do so. The total performance of our team resulted to the win.” Tsutomu Ishii : General Manager Honda Racing Corporation: ” Seven Star Honda 7 was racing consistently. The reasons for the win are that the start was good and also the decisions to change tyres were made at the right time. It was a perfect race.” Seven Stars Honda #11 Chris Vermeulen: 2nd. “I truly understood that the Suzuka 8hr race is the most difficult race in the world. It was not so hot today so it was not so difficult physically, although the conditions were difficult. It was the first time for me using Michelin rain tyres and it was very good. I wanted to push harder but didn’t want to crash. Okada passed me and he was very fast and I was thinking of following him, which I didn’t. A few laps later, he crashed. I told Katsu “Good Luck” when he went out for the last run. He did a great job.” Katsuaki Fujiwara: 2nd. “My back was hurting very badly during my two last stints. I had a pain-killing injection to endure it. I couldn’t even stand up properly on the podium after the race. Ukawa san left the waiting room before me saying ” Let’s do a one-two finish” and I promised to grab second place. The conditions changed so much today and it was a tough race. But Chris was riding consistently and I want to thank him for that. Next week, we have WSB and WSS in England and we want to win there.” Kazuhiko Yamano: team manager to Fujiwara and Vermeulen. “We did a perfect job today. I was the manager of winning team last year, but I am happier this year than last year, as we had to start from the beginning this year. It was our total performance, which resulted in the second place.” Tsutomu Ishii: General Manager “The race was not so easy for the #11 team (Fujiwara Vermeulen). Still they did a good job. Everyone worked together for the common goal. The last thirty minutes was longer than eight hours for me.” AutoRace Team Harc Pro. Haruchika Aoki: 3rd. “The reason why I decided to take part in the race is to give some news to road racing world and also to let ordinary motorcycle fans to know about Autorace. It is great to get on the podium and I want to thank everyone who helped me to materialize the project.” Tsuyoshi Yasuda: 3rd “As Haruchika didn’t have time to test the machine, I did all the set-up and prepared the machine for the race. Haruchika was very fast and I was impressed by his attitude towards racing. I tried to learn as much as possible from him. Last year I crashed during the 8 hrs race so I concentrated not to spoil the team effort. To get on the podium is dream come true to me.” Results Pos / No. / Team / Nat. / Class / Bike / Riders / laps 1 / 7 / Seven Stars Honda 7 / JPN / SBK / Honda CBR1000RRW / Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN, Tohru Ukawa JPN / 204 2 / 11 / Seven Stars Honda 11 / JPN / SBK / Honda CBR1000RRW / Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN, Chris Vermeulen AUS / 201 3 / 73 / Auto Race – Team Harc-Pro / JPN / JSB / Honda CBR1000RR / Haruchika Aoki JPN, Takeshi Yasuda JPN / 200 4 / 55 / F.C.C. TSR – Dydo Miu Racing / JPN / XF1 / Honda CBR1000RR / Osamu Deguchi JPN, Yusuke Tejima JPN / 199 5 / 4 / Masked Rider Hibiki Honda RT / JPN / JSB / Honda CBR1000RR / Tatsuya Yamaguchi JPN, Kazuki Tokudome JPN / 198 6 / 18 / Team Yoshiharu & Idemitsu Maido Plus / JPN / XF1 / Honda CBR1000RR / Yoshiyuki Sugai JPN, Joshua Brookes AUS / 197 7 / 2 / Castrol – The 0123 – Suzuki Team / FRA / SBK / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Keiichi Kitagawa JPN, Vincent Philippe FRA, Matthieu Lagrive FRA / 196 8 / 31 / Moto Map Wins / JPN / JSB / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Hiroaki Kawase JPN, Akira Tamitsuji JPN / 195 9 / 7,5 / Yamaha Austria Racing Team #07 / AUT / SBK / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Igor Jerman SLO, Gwen Giabbani FRA, Horst Saiger AUT / 194 10 / 12 / Yoshimura Suzuki Jomo With Srixon / JPN / SBK / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Atsushi Watanabe JPN, Yukio Kagayama JPN / 193 11 / 81 / Racing Team Honey Bee / JPN / JSB / Honda CBR1000RR / Hiroki Noda JPN, Takuma YamamotoJPN / 193 12 / 21 / YSP & Prest Racing / JPN / JSB / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Shin’Ichi Nakatomi JPN, Wataru Yoshikawa JPN / 193 13 / 53 / Itoh Racing – GMD Suzuka / JPN / JSB / Yamaha YZF-R1 / Takahiro Yagi JPN, Masao Okuno JPN / 192 14 / 778 / F.C.C. TSR Zip-FM Racing Team / JPN / XF1 / Honda CBR1000RR / Takeshi Tsujimura JPN, Shin’Ichi Itoh JPN / 191 15 / 19 / Moriwaki Motul Tiger Racing / JPN / JSB / Honda CBR1000RR / Naoki Matsudo JPN, Leon Camier GBR / 190 More, from a press release issued by Motorcycling Australia: Vermeulen 2nd in Suzuka 8 Hours, Brookes 6th Australian star Chris Vermeulen has finished a superb second in the 2005 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in Japan, as Honda’s all-conquering CBR1000RR machine claimed the top six placings in the high-speed classic. Vermeulen, an 8 Hour rookie, teamed with world Supersport campaigner, Katsuaki Fujiwara, to complete 201 laps of the famous Suzuka layout, three behind the second Seven Stars-liveried, factory Honda of Tohru Ukawa and Ryuichi Kiyonari. Another Australian, Josh Brookes (Yoshiharu & Idemitsu Maido Plus CBR1000RR), was sixth, while the all-Aussie combination of Warwick Nowland, Damian Cudlin and Paul Young (Yamaha Phase One Endurance YZF-R1) was 18th, despite a crash in the fourth hour. Other than a fuel spillage which saw them to spend a whopping 45 seconds in the pits during one scheduled stop, Vermeulen and Fujiwara, who qualified ninth, enjoyed a trouble-free run in the event aside from the omnipresent heat, with some heavy rain also thrown into the constellation. “I truly understood that the 8 Hour race is the most difficult race in the world,” said 23-year-old Vermeulen, who is currently running second in the world Superbike title. “It was not so hot today, so it was not so difficult physically, although the conditions were still tough. “It was the first time for me using Michelin rain tyres and it was very good. I wanted to push harder but didn’t want to crash. (Tadayuki) Okada passed me and he was very fast and I was thinking of following him, which I didn’t. A few laps later, he crashed. “I said to Katsu ‘good luck’ when he went out for the last run. He did a great job.” Meanwhile, Ukawa’s successful defence of the Suzuka 8 Hours crown on the #7 Seven Stars Honda has made him the most successful rider in the event’s history. He’s now won the iconic race five times in its 28-year history, moving clear of a deadlock with Australian Wayne Gardner, who was successful in 1985-86 and 1991-92. It was also Honda’s 21st win in the 8 Hours, with its current unbeaten run extending back to 1997. “Fantastic, the best machine, the best partner and the best team made it possible,” said Ukawa, a former MotoGP and 250cc GP rider. “My lap times were not so fast during the first stint, and then it started to rain during Ryuichi’s second run. But Ryuichi was stable and I wasn’t worried at all. I didn’t push too much during the last run. Five wins is a great record, but I hope Ryuichi will break it one day.” Kiyonari handed over to Ukawa with a 10-second lead after the first four of racing and, despite some sustained pressure from the FCC TSR Zip-FM Racing Team (CBR1000RR), led by 38-year-old Japanese stalwart Shinichi Itoh, they never really looked like losing the battle. That became even clearer in the fifth hour, when FCC TSR Zip-FM, the polesitter, was forced to pit with mechanical problems, eventually soldering on to finish 13th. Meanwhile, Brookes and teammate Yoshiyuki Sugai circulated consistently all day and night the race finishes at 7.00pm local time in finishing sixth, one position ahead of the first full-time world endurance team Castrol Suzuki (Keiichi Kitagawa, Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive, GSX-R1000). However, Castrol Suzuki officially ‘finished’ third in the race, because only 23 of the 80-odd entries were qualified to earn points towards the world endurance title. Brookes, whose CBR1000RR was entered under JSB (Japanese Superbike) guise, wasn’t one of those, in addition to the three teams which finished ahead of him on the track: Auto Race-Harc Pro (Haruchika Aoki, Takeshi Yasuda), FCC TSR Dydo Miu Racing (Osamu Deguchi, Yasuke Tejima) and Masked Rider Hibiki Honda (Tatsuya Yamaguchi, Kazuki Tokodume). Yamaha Phase One Endurance, as one of the permanent world endurance teams, could earn points, so despite finishing 18th in the race, collected points for a seventh place ‘effort’. Similarly, Castrol Suzuki’s seventh became an even more rewarding third place. Phase One is now third in the world endurance standings on 37pts, behind Yamaha Austria Racing Team (Igor Jerman, Gwen Giabbani, Horst Saiger, YZF-R1, 46) and Castrol Suzuki (74). Two rounds remain: a 24-hour in Oschersleben (Germany) on August 13-14, and a 320km event at Vallelunga (Italy) on September 25.