Preview Suzuka 8 Hours, Suzuka, Japan

2012-07-23 18:29
The Honda Motor Company enters this weekend�s 35th Suzuka 8 Hours with one of their strongest lineups in years, and with an eye towards claiming victory for the third year in a row and 25th time overall.

Though Honda does not field an official entry in the third round of the FIM Endurance World Championship, the company puts their years of production racing experience to use by providing specially prepared Honda CB1000RR Fireblades for the top teams.

The winning team last year was F.C.C. TSR Honda, which is not resting on their success. F.C.C. TSR strengthened its lineup by teaming Honda World Superbike star Jonathan Rea with 2011 Suzuka winner Kosuke Akiyoshi and reserve rider Tady Okada. Akiyoshi is a Honda test rider who also competes in the All Japan Superbike Championship. Not only does he have a victory in the 8 Hours, but he also has extensive experience at the Suzuka Circuit, having won the All Japan Superbike Championship for the past two years. Rea arrives in Japan directly from the Czech Republic where he competed in last weekend�s World Superbike races. The Northern Irishman has been on the podium in the Suzuka 8-Hours and feels this is his best chance for victory.

The question mark on Akiyoshi is his endurance. He was injured in the opening round of the All Japan Superbike Championship in March and continues to improve. Though he has ridden extensively since, and tested both the 8 Hours machine and the newest generation Honda RC213V, he may not feel he is fit for four hours of riding in the physically taxing race held in the middle of the summer heat and humidity. If Akiyoshi finds he is not able to race at the highest level, he will be replaced by two-time Suzuka winner Tady Okada, who was recently drafted onto the squad. Okada quickly got up to speed on the 8 Hours bike during a recent test at the Suzuka Circuit where he put his considerable experience to work by helping find a setup that will suit all three riders.

The Honda Musashi RT Harc Pro team, last year�s third place finishers, is sticking with proven winners in Ryuichi Kiyonari and Takumi Takahashi, the 2010 winners, while adding 2009 250cc World Champion Hiroshi Aoyama. Aoyama, the former MotoGP star who currently teams with Rea at Honda World Superbike, has been to Suzuka as a third rider, but never raced. Three-time British Superbike champion Kiyonari has four wins, 2006, �08, �10 and last year when he teamed with Akiyoshi and Shinichi Itoh. The 22-year-old Takahashi teamed with Kiyonari to win the 2010 race. Takahashi prepared for this year�s 8 Hours by winning the Suzuka 2 & 4 race in April.

The Honda TT Legends team returns for a second year with a slightly revised lineup. Returning are 19-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness and Australian Cameron Donald, with Samsung Honda British Superstock Jason O�Halloran returning to the 8-Hours after a four-year absence as a replacement for Keith Amor. O�Halloran was part of the Honda TT Legends team that earned its first podium at the Doha 8-Hour race in June on a team that included Michael Laverty and Ryuichi Kiyonari. The Honda TT Legends lineup had to be shuffled in Qatar while McGuinness, the �Morecambe Missile,� was drawing ever closer to TT legend Joey Dunlop�s record of 26 wins on the Isle of Man.

Honda Team Asia will make its 8 Hours debut this year with two veterans and a newcomer. The newcomer to the 8 Hour is Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, though he is not new to the Suzuka Circuit. Azlan teamed with fellow Malaysian Mohd Emir Firdaus to score a dramatic win in last year�s Suzuka 4 Hours, which runs concurrently with the 8 Hours. Unfamiliar with the Le Mans-type start, which sees riders sprint across the track to their motorcycles, Azlan got away slowly. But he tracked down the race leaders and made a pass on the final lap that sealed the victory. Azlan will be teaming with Makoto Tamada and Chosun Kameya, who work as instructors for the Asia Dream Cup class in the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC). Azlan races for the Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing team in the SuperSports 600 class of the ARRC. Kiyonari is his team-mate.

Other Honda teams of note are Honda Dream RT Sakurai Honda, with Australians Wayne Maxwell and Jamie Stauffer, and Toho Racing with Moriwaki, which will field Tatsuya Yamaguchi, Yuki Takahashi, and Yusuke Teshima.

The traditional late July date for the Suzuka 8 Hours was once inviolate, but recently has clashed with other World Championship events, thereby limiting the participation of factory riders. While Rea, Aoyama, and Akiyoshi are racing in Japan, Repsol Honda riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa will be taking part in the U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The differences could not be greater. Laguna Seca is known for its cool mornings and warm afternoons, and 32 laps of the 3.61Km scrapper�s track that allows for no rest. The Suzuka 8-Hours is held on the last weekend in July, when the Japanese heat and humidity are at their peak, and on one of the great racing circuits of the world.

The riders typically race for an hour at a time, after which they cool down, shower, get massages, eat and get ready for their next stint. Seventy percent humidity and temperatures that reach over 40C are not uncommon, though the mercury drops once the sun sets.

Adding to the stress of the EWC riders is the disparity in closing speeds to the Supersport 600s that take part in the Suzuka 4 Hours, which runs concurrently with the 8 Hours.

Though the race is the third of five rounds of the 2012 FIM Endurance World Championship, only a small number of the series regulars make the trip to Japan.

Honda owns the Suzuka Circuit and it is not hyperbole to say that it owns the 8 Hours. With 24 winners in 34 years, Honda has showcased some of their greatest riders and fastest motorcycles in the summer classic. Many of Honda�s greatest world champions have won the race, including five-time 500cc World Champions Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner, the Australian duo who teamed up to win the 1991 race. Gardner added three more wins to his resume before retiring. Honda�s 500cc and MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi teamed with Castrol Honda�s two-time World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards to win in 2001. Edwards won on two other occasions, including in 2002 with the late Daijiro Katoh. Before Fred Merkel won the first two World Superbike championships for Honda, he won the 8 Hours in 1984 with fellow American Mike Baldwin.

The roster of winning machines tells the history of Honda�s evolution in the supersports category. From Honda�s first wins in 1979 through its fifth in 1985, Honda winners rode a variety of inline four-cylinders, beginning with the Honda CB900 ridden by 1979 winners Tony Hatton and Michael Cole of Australia. Americans Mike Baldwin and David Aldana rode a Honda RS1000 to victory two years later. Honda�s CB900F was ridden to victory in 1982 by Shego Ijima and Shinji Hagiwara, the first Japanese team to win their home event. When Baldwin won two years later he and team-mate Fred Merkel were astride a Honda RS750R, the first of the successful V-4s. Gardner�s first of four victories came next aboard the Honda RVF750 with partner Masaki Tokano. The RVF750 won five times before it evolved into the RVF/RC45 which won the first of its five races in 1994 with two-time World Superbike champion Doug Polen and Kiwi Aaron Slight. The Honda VTR1000SPW V-twin powered the race winners for four consecutive years, from 2000 through 2003, after which is was replaced by the Honda CBR1000RRW in a return to the inline-four powerplant that began Honda�s winning tradition in 1979. The past six Honda winners have been aboard the flagship Fireblade CBR1000RR sportbike.

Honda Rider Quotes:

F.C.C. TSR Honda rider Kosuke Akiyoshi says:
�I have marked 2m,7s lap during the testing. However, not only good lap times are required for the 8-Hour testing, but also we must find a good setup. Tady Okada, who was nominated as the third rider for the team, helped us to get good setup. Although we still have some issues, we have given our requests to engineers after some long meetings. After the July 10/11 test, I headed to Mugello where I tested the RC213V during the post-race testing. During the 8-Hour weekend, I will try to finalize the bike setup together with Jonathan (Rea) in order to win the race. I was seriously injured in a round of the All Japan Road Race Championship practice in March. My body has been recovering steadily towards the Suzuka 8-Hours and I hope to be able to race.�

F.C.C. TSR Honda rider Jonathan Rea says:
�I am really excited about the 8-Hour. It splits up my season nicely in SBK, but it is the most passionate race I have ever participated in. The Japanese fans are crazy there. I just feel they appreciate motorbike riders and it is an honour to go there and put on a show. Not only for the fans, but to represent Honda in Japan. It is a big honour for me and to get asked to partner Akiyoshi who has already been quite strong in testing, and I hope we have the chance to ride for a race win; I have already been once on the podium, in third. So we aim to win, but it is never easy because there are a lot of fast local riders, but also a lot of international riders coming as well. It is the toughest race you will ever do. Physically it is tough, but mentally it is really tough. The range in lap times between the fastest guys and the slowest is a lot, and it has caught me out twice now with slower riders making mistakes. You have to be very careful when you come up against slower guys. It is a team race, and after one hour you cannot believe you can survive another three stints, but the atmosphere in the team, the passion of everybody, you kind of dig in and get it done. You go into autopilot mode.�

F.C.C. TSR Honda rider Tady Okada says:
�Mr. Masakazu Fujii called me the other day and asked me to join the team as the third rider. Since the beginning of the year, I have been training with young riders, so my physical condition is perfect. I also had a confidence to ride the bike. I had not ridden the 8-Hour bike for a year, but at once I lapped in 2m, 9s.The bike is comfortable to ride and I didn�t have to change anything. The good point of road racing is you can still ride fast after a long absence. If I were asked to ride during the race, I want to try my best and show my skill.�

Musashi RT Harc Pro rider Hiroshi Aoyama says:
�Kiyonari and Takahashi should be my team-mates and I am going to race in Team HARC-PRO, which my team when I was racing in Japan. I am really happy to be racing in this team and the guys already have won some races in the 8-Hours, and also have a lot of experience as well. For me it is going to be the first ever race in the 8-Hour and I can have a lot of confidence in the team, my team-mates and I think I am just going to follow the way they show me. In Superbike there is no race in Japan so it is going to be great to go race there because it will be my �home� race of the year, and take place in front of many fans. I have registered as a third rider at the 8-Hour before but I never raced there, so it is going to be the first time, this is for sure a big difference compared to a sprint race. A long time ago I did a small endurance race, but I think the 8-Hours will be completely different because we do it in Suzuka Circuit, and it is very hot conditions. I think the 8-Hours is something special for all the factories, for all the manufacturers. It only happens once a year and it goes on for a long time, not a short race. It is a big race, but also a big event. I think there are a lot of people involved and it is maybe something like the Isle of Man is for people in Europe, something special that happens just once a year, like a festival.�

Musashi RT Harc Pro rider Ryuichi Kiyonari says:
�We now have a clear idea of what to do for the 8-Hour race. If we can improve some issues, all three of us can ride comfortably on the race day. The team understands what has to be done, so we hope to finalise our setup during the weekend. Our aim, or our job, is to ride faster than anyone else. We are only looking for the win. It would be the fifth win in the championship this year for me. I will try my best to build up my body with effective physical training.�

Musashi RT Harc Pro rider Takumi Takahashi says:
�It was quite hard to test two bikes with three riders. I know that I must take more positive steps. Now I will do some physical training so that I can try my best to win the race. I have been on every step of the podium in Suzuka 8 Hours, including victory in 2010. It is a big job to mobilise all the forces, the teammates, mechanics, parts manufacturers, and sponsors, and we will aim hard to back in the middle spot of the podium.�

Honda TT Legends rider John McGuinness says:
�I�m excited about going back to Suzuka for a second time. It�s going to be much better now that we have experience of the track and I�ve been looking forward to this one since we left last year! It�s such an iconic event and it would be amazing to do well there. The team has been doing a great job recently � the bike is going well and the stand-in squad got a brilliant result in Qatar. Hopefully we can finish the race and score some valuable points.�

Honda TT Legends rider Cameron Donald says:
�Suzuka would have to rate as one of my favourite circuits. It�s technically challenging and usually raced in very hot conditions so it�s never easy! Having had the opportunity to learn the circuit last year, I'm looking forward to building on that knowledge. Racing for Honda in Japan is always an honor and I will be giving it my all. We�re aiming for a strong result to add as many points as possible to our championship effort. I look forward to joining the team again and also my fellow country man Jason, who I�m sure will be a great asset at a circuit he knows well.�

Honda TT Legends rider Jason O�Halloran says:
�It was a such an honour to race for the Honda TT Legends at Qatar so I�m excited and flattered to be asked to join the team in Japan. It�s a really slick crew and the Qatar race went so smoothly with no real drama � I hope we can do the same again. I did the Suzuka 8-hour in 2008 and really enjoyed the experience so I�m definitely looking forward to doing it for a second time. It�s such an iconic event and to compete there with Honda will be fantastic.�

Honda Team Asia rider Makoto Tamada says:
�Mr. Kameya and I have been instructors in the �Asia Dream Cup,� a one-make race for the HondaCBR250R in the 2012 Asia Road Racing Championship. AlphaWith team-mate Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, we at Honda Team Asia will aim for a good result for two-wheel excitement of the all the racers across Asia.�

Honda Team Asia rider Chojun Kameya says:
�This year Mr. Tamada and I are in charge of the instructors for the �Asia Dream Cup,� with Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman who participated in the SS600 class of the Asia Road Racing Championship. We work together as a team of instructors and we will work together as a team to do our best and target the podium.�

Honda Team Asia rider Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman says:
�Last year I was able to compete in the Suzuka 4-Hour race, which is held at the same time as the Suzuka 8-hour, and win. This year I am a member of the Team Asia with Mr. Kameya and Mr. Tamada, who has abundant experience. Our the goal is victory, of course.�


HONDA WINNERS OF THE SUZUKA 8 HOURS
1 - 1979: Tony Hatton, AUS/Michael Cole, AUS - Honda CB900
2 - 1981: Mike Baldwin, USA/Dave Aldana USA - Honda RS1000
3 - 1982: Shigeo Iijima, J/Shinji Hagiwara, J - Honda CB900F
4 - 1984: Mike Baldwin, USA/Fred Merkel, USA - Honda RS750R
5 - 1985: Wayne Gardner, AUS/Masaki Tokano, J - Honda RVF750
6 - 1986: Wayne Gardner, AUS/Dominique Sarron F - Honda RVF750
7 - 1989: Dominique Sarron, F/Alex Vieira, Por - Honda RVF750
8 - 1991: Wayne Gardner, AUS/Mick Doohan, AUS - Honda RVF750
9 - 1992: Wayne Gardner, AUS/Daryl Beattie, AUS - Honda RVF750
10 -1994: Doug Polen, USA/Aaron Slight, NZ - Honda RVF/RC45
11 - 1995: Aaron Slight, NZ/Tadayuki Okada, J - Honda RVF/RC45
12 -1997: Shinichi Ito, J/Tohru Ukawa, J - Honda RVF/RC45
13 -1998: Shinichi Ito, J/Tohru Ukawa, J - Honda RVF/RC45
14 -1999: Tadayuki Okada, J/Alex Barros, Bra - Honda RVF/RC45
15 - 2000: Tohru Ukawa, J/Daijiro Kato, J - Honda VTR1000SPW
16 - 2001: Valentino Rossi, I/Colin Edwards, USA - Honda VTR1000SPW
17 - 2002: Daijiro Kato, J/Colin Edwards, USA - Honda VTR1000SPW
18 - 2003: Yukio Nukumi, J/Manubu Kamada, J - Honda VTR1000SPW
19 -2004: Tohru Ukawa, J/Hitoyasu Izutsu, J - Honda CBR1000RRW
20 - 2005: Ryuichi Kiyonari, J/Tohru Ukawa, J - Honda CBR1000RRW
21 - 2006: Shinichi Ito, J/Takeshi Tsujimura, J - Honda CBR1000RR
22 - 2008: Ryuichi Kiyonari, J/Carlos Checa, E - Honda CBR1000RR
23 - 2010: Ryuichi Kiyonari, J/Takumi Takahashi, J - Honda CBR1000RR
24 � 2011: Ryuichi Kiyonari, J/Kosuke Akiyoshi, J/Shinichi Itoh, J � Honda CBR1000RRW

Source: Honda Pro Image

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