Leading FIM Endurance World Championship riders and teams are Japan-bound this week for the 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race. And while it’s the shortest event on the four-round EWC schedule, it’s regarded as one of the toughest due to the intense heat and humidity – and the challenging nature of the track.
The task facing the EWC regulars is amplified by the addition of several top Japanese runners to the entry, including last year’s Suzuka winner, Team HRC. It has recruited FIM Superbike World Championship rider Xavi Vierge to partner 2022 victors Takumi Takahashi and Tetsuta Nagashima, who has recovered from a foot injury to race in his home EWC event.
But while Nagashima is fit to race, Josh Hook is a notable absentee from the Suzuka 8 Hours. The Australian, part of the F.C.C. TSR Honda France line-up that won the 2022 FIM Endurance World Championship for Teams, has been ruled out after he was injured while training for the event. It means Mike Di Meglio and Alan Techer will ride the #1 Bridgestone-equipped Honda CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP as a two-rider pairing.
“After a training accident I went straight to hospital for surgery to treat a dislocated and broken clavicle, torn tendons and torn bicep,” Hook explained. “The surgery was successful and I’m back on the mend. I’ll be ready for the Bol d’Or [season finale]. I’m very sorry to my team.”
Although Gregg Black and Kazuki Watanabe rode to third place in last season’s Suzuka 8 Hours as a duo to prove what can be possible, Di Meglio and Techer will be put to a tough physical and mental test as they bid to regain the EWC title lead from Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team.
After two rounds, YART’s advantage ahead of TSR is a mere point following its victory in the 24H SPA EWC Motos in mid-June. Team Manager Mandy Kainz said he’s “obsessed” with guiding his riders Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika to a Suzuka podium having tried but failed several times before. “Since our first appearance at the Suzuka 8 Hours in 2004, I have been obsessed with standing on the podium,” Kainz said. “After a few fourth places, we were so close last year, until we crashed in the last hour lying P3 and ended up only seventh. For 2023 we will fight even more focused and harder and hopefully make it.”
In addition to Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team and F.C.C. TSR Honda France, the following all-season EWC teams will contest the Suzuka 8 Hours: BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, Honda Viltaïs Racing, KM99, Motobox Kremer Racing, Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar and Yoshimura SERT Motul. Notably, Yamaha-powered KM99, a newcomer to the EWC for this season, is tackling the Suzuka 8 Hours for the first time.
The Suzuka 8 Hours will be broadcast live throughout the world and will also benefit from extensive highlights packages.
SUZUKA 8 HOURS FORMAT EXPLAINED
As with all EWC events, two qualifying sessions for all rider groups are run in addition to testing, free practice and night practice. However, the Suzuka 8 Hours also features the Top 10 Trial shootout to decide the first 10 places on the starting grid.
Following Second Qualifying on Saturday morning, the leading 10 teams go forward into the Top 10 Trial on Saturday afternoon following a final practice session.
Two riders per team take part with each rider getting one flying lap to set their time following a warm-up lap. The team that was 10th quickest after Second Qualifying goes first with the fastest team from qualifying the last to run in the Top 10 Trial.
The lap times of each team’s two riders are combined to complete the final starting grid for Sunday’s 8 Hours. The 5-4-3-2-1 qualifying points are awarded after the Top 10 trial rather than after the completion of Second Qualifying, which is the case at other EWC events.
There is also another notable difference with Suzuka counting for FIM Endurance World Championship points only, rather than the Dunlop-equipped FIM Endurance World Cup for Superstock competitors as well, with that competition Europe based.
In line with EWC rules, there is a lower allocation of points for races of eight hours or less with the top 20 classified Formula EWC category finishers scoring as follows: 30-24-21-19-17-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
EWC RIDERS SAID WHAT?
Mike Di Meglio (France), F.C.C. TSR Honda France: “It was great to be back in Suzuka for the test. The resurfacing of the corners, the Turn 2 exit, was especially good. The bike was getting better with each run and we improved a lot. Our pace was getting better each time and the track temperature was high, so we had a good test. I have a good feeling about this test in general. It will be perfect if we can improve our pace a little more, so that’s what we will work on during the race weekend.”
Randy de Puniet (France), Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar: “Suzuka is really tough. First you have the track, it’s a really technical track. You have not so much time to rest. Then you have the weather, the temperature and the humidity are huge. Finally, you have many factory teams with World Superbike riders plus a lot of satellite bikes from Honda and Suzuki, all with really good riders. That’s why Suzuka is the most difficult endurance race, even though it’s only eight hours.”
Marvin Fritz (Germany), Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team: “YART has been very fast in the first two races and in the test too. From the first session on the first day, we immediately had good lap times and good pace. We were unlucky because on the first day it rained half the day, and on the second day in the afternoon, there were many red flags, so we couldn’t do the long runs like we wanted and couldn’t try some of the things we wanted to. But you learn from the bad days and not from the good days. We know our team and know our package, and how strong we all are. We can be confident for the race.”
Sylvain Guintoli (France), Yoshimura SERT Motul: “The first two races have been really frustrating with a crash at Le Mans and some technical problems at Spa. We are quite annoyed with the start of the season and I hope we can do better in the Suzuka 8 Hours. The team have always had a very strong fighting spirit, I could see this from the first time I joined Yoshimura in the Suzuka 8 Hours in 2017. Even when we are struggling nobody ever gives up and this is very important for endurance racing. When the going gets tough Yoshimura comes better.”
Leandro Mercado (Argentina), Honda Viltaïs Racing: “It will be my first time at Suzuka and I’ve never been to Japan so it’s also my first time in the country. But Suzuka we know as being an iconic track, an historic track. I have watched some races and also the 8 Hours from the years before. Of course, I spoke with my team-mates but also with other riders. My understanding is it’s a very tough track, a very technical track. The lap is long with some very fast parts and some very slow parts, so it looks like being a track where you need to make some laps to know it very well. It does not look very simple, but I cannot wait to ride for the first time there because it will be amazing.”
Markus Reiterberger (Germany), BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “When it was my first time there it was really difficult but now I am riding in Asia a lot of the time and having already done some EWC races in Sepang and Suzuka I actually really like the heat. I prefer to have heat than very cold weather like in Le Mans. But for sure it’s very demanding and it’s very difficult to handle this, especially with a lot of leather and other safety equipment. We can do a good race and I like it, but it’s tough. If we can reach the top 10 or the top five, which is our goal, then we can be happy.”
TEAM HRC THE TEAM TO BEAT AFTER TOPPING TWO-DAY SUZUKA TEST
The official test for the 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race took place from 5-6 July and concluded with Team HRC on top. Last year’s winner recorded a best lap of 2m06.077s on Suzuka Circuit’s 5.821-kilometre Full Course 2-Wheels layout during the final afternoon. Following rain on Wednesday’s first day, Thursday’s running took place in warm and dry conditions with teams split into two groups for two sessions of 80 and 90 minutes duration. Tatsuta Nagashima, part of Team HRC’s 2022 Suzuka 8 Hours-winning line-up, set the fastest time for the Honda-powered squad as he continued his recovery from a foot injury. He said: “The main purpose of the test was to check my physical condition. Today was fulfilling as I was able to do long runs and record the fastest time. I was able to do all the things a rider is expected to do.” Team HRC was also in front at the conclusion of Wednesday’s running with a day-topping 2m06.258s. However, with rain falling by early afternoon, teams were not able to improve on their early runs, meaning not all performances were truly representative.
Fastest session times (Wednesday):
Session 1, Group A: Team HRC, 2m06.258s
Session 1, Group B: Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing, 2m07.730s
Session 2, Group A: Team HRC, 2m08.054s
Session 2, Group B: Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team, 2m22.908s
Session 3, Group A: Team Sakurai Honda, 2m22.451s
Session 3, Group B: Yoshimura SERT Motul, 2m23.359s
Fastest session times (Thursday):
Session 1, Group A: F.C.C. TSR Honda France, 2m07.791s
Session 1, Group B: Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team, 2m06.813s
Session 2, Group A: Team HRC, 2m06.077s
Session 2, Group B: Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing, 2m06.638s
Combined testing times (Wednesday and Thursday):
1st: Team HRC, 2m06.077s
2nd: Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing, 2m06.683s
3rd: F.C.C. TSR Honda France, 2m06.811s
4th: Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team, 2m06.813s
5th: SDG Honda Racing, 2m07.254s
6th: Honda Dream RT Sakurai Honda, 2m07.895s
TOP 20 THE TARGET AS MOTOBOX KREMER RACING RETURNS TO SUZUKA
Fan-favourite Motobox Kremer Racing is returning to the legendary Suzuka Circuit for Japan’s round of the FIM Endurance World Championship with a top-20 finish the target. The German squad, complete with its striking mainly orange colour scheme, has always been a hit among the ever-enthusiastic Suzuka fans. But having been absent from the venue’s famous 8 Hours in recent years, there will be plenty of catching up to do. CLICK FOR PRESS RELEASE.
ANNOYANCE AND FIGHTING SPIRIT GIVE YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL SUZUKA HOPE
Yoshimura SERT Motul will use its frustrating start to the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship season – and its reputation for never giving up – as motivating factors for the 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race, according to Sylvain Guintoli, one on its three riders. The Suzuki-powered team heads to its home round of the EWC from 4-6 August playing catch-up in the title chase after a crash in the 24 Heures Motos and technical issues in the 24H SPA EWC Motos left it 52 points behind Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team in the provisional standings after two rounds. CLICK FOR PRESS RELEASE.
PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE (KEY EWC TIMINGS):
Friday 4 August:
08h30-10h00: Test Session
11h20-13h20: Free Practice
13h35-14h25: Pit Walk
14h45-15h05: First Qualifying (Blue Rider)
15h20-15h40: First Qualifying (Yellow Rider)
15h55-16h15: First Qualifying (Red Rider)
18h30-19h30: Night Free Practice
Saturday 5 August:
09h50-10h10: Second Qualifying (Blue Rider)
10h25-10h45: Second Qualifying (Yellow Rider)
11h00-11h20: Second Qualifying (Red Rider)
13h45-14h20: Pit Walk
14h45-15h30: Free Practice
16h00-17h30: Top 10 Trial
17h40-18h10: Pole-sitter interview, post-qualifying press conference
Sunday 6 August:
08h30-09h15: Warm-up
09h30-10h10: Pit Walk
11h30: Start of 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race
19h30: Finish of 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race
20h00: Post-race press conference
LIVE TIMING: https://www.its-live.net/#/live/ewc/2023
SUZUKA 8 HOURS IN 100 WORDS:
Operated by Honda Mobilityland Corporation, Suzuka offers a unique figure-of-eight layout and considerable challenge thanks to its wide variety of corners, while the Suzuka 8 Hours’ summer date means hot and humid conditions and packed grandstands. Opened as a Honda test track in 1962, the venue hosted the first edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours in 1978. Since then, the day and night event has been a popular feature of the EWC schedule and a key fixture on the international calendar with leading MotoGP and World Superbike racers taking part – and winning – over the years. Team HRC triumphed in 2022.
SUZUKA 8 HOURS FAST FACTS:
*The Suzuka 8 Hours retuned to the EWC calendar in 2022 having not taken place since 2019 due to the global health crisis.
*Americans Mike Baldwin and Wes Cooley won the inaugural Suzuka 8 Hours on 30 July 1978 on a Yoshimura Racing Suzuki.
*Japanese fans had to wait until 1982 for the first home victory when Shigeo Iijima and Shinji Hagiwara won for Honda.
*Although it was billed as an eight-hour race, the onset of a typhoon meant there were only six hours of racing.
*Other winners of the Suzuka 8 Hours include Wayne Rainey (1988), Eddie Lawson (1990) Mick Doohan (1991) and Valentino Rossi (2001).
SUZUKA 8 HOURS ESSENTIALS:
WHERE: Suzuka Circuit, Japan (Full Course 2-Wheels layout)
LOCATION: 7992 Ino-Cho, Suzuka-shi, Mie-ken 510-0295, Japan
WHEN: 4-6 August 2023
TRACK LENGTH: 5.821 kilometres
RACE DISTANCE: 8 hours
QUALIFYING LAP RECORD:
Team HRC – Tetsuta Nagashima, 2m04.934s, 2022
RACE LAP RECORD:
Kawasaki Racing Team – Jonathan Rea, 2m06.805s, 2019
RECENT WINNERS:
2022: Team HRC
(Tetsuta Nagashima, Takumi Takahashi, Iker Lecuona) 214 laps
2019: Kawasaki Racing Team Suzuka 8H
(Jonathan Rea, Leon Haslam, Toprak Razgatlioğlu) 216 laps
2018: Yamaha Factory Racing Team
(Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes, Michael van der Mark) 199 laps
2017: Yamaha Factory Racing Team
(Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes, Michael van der Mark) 216 laps
2016: Yamaha Factory Racing Team
(Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes, Pol Espargaró) 218 laps
EXPERT VIEW BY NICCOLÒ CANEPA, Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team
“The track is really, really challenging and when you ride with this very high temperature and the humidity, the leather suit on and the sun is out, it’s really, really tough for the riders. It’s really tough for the machines, the tyres and everything. The stint is more or less one hour long and in the last 15 minutes it’s like the time is never moving forward, it’s really, really tough, especially when you are following somebody. When you have the heat of the bike in front of you it’s even worse, it’s really hard but we train a lot for that and we have to be ready. It’s absolutely the hottest race of the year. It’s extreme compared to Le Mans and Spa.”
EWC PROVISIONAL STANDINGS
2023 FIM ENDURANCE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TEAMS
1: Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team, 118 points
2: F.C.C. TSR Honda France, 117
3: BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, 85
4: Yoshimura SERT Motul, 66
5: Honda Viltaïs Racing, 56
2023 FIM ENDURANCE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MANUFACTURERS
1: Honda, 114 points
2: Yamaha, 103
3: Kawasaki, 68
4: BMW, 65
5: Suzuki, 41
FIM EWC