Yoshimura Suzuki is set to defend its Suzuka 8 Hour title at this weekend’s third round of the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship third round in Japan. Fresh from their win at last month’s Suzuka 300km race, Daisaku Sakai and Nobuatsu Aoki are joined by Yukio Kagayama aboard the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 as the Japanese factories take on the best permanent teams in the series. In what looks to be a thrilling close-competition event, with a packed-to-capacity crowd, Yoshimura Suzuki’s main rivals will be current series leaders Bolliger Switzerland riders Horst Saiger, Patric Muff and Roman Stamm aboard their Kawasaki, reigning world champions Yamaha Austria Racing Team and Yamaha France. Free practice starts today (Friday) with the main Suzuka 8 Hour race scheduled to start at 11:30 local time on Sunday (GMT + 9).