2WF.com - Online and on the Gas

Suzuka 8 hour

Posted by Staff
Monday, 30 July 2007
Page 1 of 2 The ten-year Suzuka 8 Hour race-winning streak established by Honda came to an end today at the 30th running of Japan's most prestigious motorcycle race. The Team HRC #33 CBR1000RR of Tadayuki Okada and Carlos Checa staging a race long fight back, after incurring a 30 second penalty, to chase home race winners Yukio Kagayama and Kosuke Akioshi (Yoshimura Suzuki). The FCC TSR ZIP- FM Honda of Shinichi Ito and Yusuke Teshima came home in third place. Team HRC had qualified in the top two places on the Le Mans style starting grid with Checa setting fastest lap, although Okada would start the race. Ryuichi Kiyonari and James Toseland in second spot with Kiyo starting. Kagayama was third on the grid for Yoshimura 34. From the start Kagayama took the lead and held it until the first pit stop - rider change over with Kiyonari in close attendance, Ito, winner in 2006, held third place. Okada was down in ninth place after his opening stint courtesy of a 30 second pit stop penalty incurred for his flying start. This condemned the team toa long fight back through the back markers while their rivals made the most of a clear track. Kiyonari handed the CBR1000RR over to James Toseland and the Englishman pushed had to close the gap on the leader, his chase lasted just three laps. Approaching the Dunlop Curve for the third time the front end turned in and Toseland was down. Toseland managed to get the CBR1000RR back to the pits but the pit crew declared the machine was too badly damaged to continue. The exit of #11 left Akioshi well clear of Teshima with the second Yoshimura machine, in the hands of Daisaku Sakai third. "It was my own mistake," admitted Toseland. "It was my third lap after switching from Kiyo, at Dunlop-Curve, I crashed because my front end tangled suddenly without any warnings. It was so strange and I could do nothing about it." Kiyonari was a disappointed man deprived of the chance to fight for the win, through no fault of his own, and for the second year in succession. "I think we were doing OK." Said Kiyonari. "I crashed during morning warm-up but that didn't make any difference. I was ready to race for 8 hrs so I thought the first hour was OK. If I have regret, I should have closed the gap with the leader. May be James was too eager to close the gap." With the demise of #11all HRC hopes now rested with Okada and Checa aboard #33. Checa rode at his considerable best and at the end of his first stint had fought his way up to fourth place just behind Sakai. At the end of three hours the two Yoshimura teams led from Team HRC #33 with the FCC TSR of Ito - Teshima in fourth and Yamaha 81 of Abe and Stauffer holding fifth place. One hour later Checa moved into second place but try as hard as he and Okada dare to push they could not close on the leading Yoshimura team. As the race passed the half way mark the top five running order of Yoshimura 34, HRC 33, the FCC TSR Honda of Ito and Teshima, in the podium positions and Yoshimura 12 well clear of Yamaha 81 changed little until the final stages. However, the Moriwaki Motul Racing Honda of Tetsuya Yamaguchi and Leon Camier had the bit between their teeth following incurring the same 30-second penalty as Okada. The Moriwaki men mounted a meteoric charge from a lowly 17th at the end of the first hour to sixth place as the race entered its final hour. HRC #33 could not reduce the deficit to Yoshimura 34 crossing the line two minutes behind the winners but one lap clear of Ito and Teshima in third place for FCC TSR ZIP-FM. At the end of the race Checa was frustrated about what might have been. He said: "I didn't understand why Tady had been penalized. We lost precious time but we changed our mind set and tried to regain the position. Both Tady and I were riding well. We managed to get back to fourth quite easily but to regain the second place was very hard. My first 8 hrs race was a good experience to me and it was also interesting. The team, Tady and everybody helped me a lot and I want to come back here again to win." The penalised Okada echoed the thoughts of his team mate: "Yoshimura was very strong today. Flying penalty ruined our race. Carlos did a good job and our machine was OK till the end. I enjoyed the battle with Ito but we knew that if we overtake each other, our lap times drop so we were kind of riding together. Although I am retired as a racer, I thought there was no disadvantage for me. Still crash and flying show that I am away from racing. If I have a chance again, I will try to eliminate those disadvantages." Shinichi Ito was below his best this time round lingering injuries disrupting his usual meticulous 8 hours race preparations and limiting valuable testing time: "I did not have enough testing before the race so we couldn't find the best set-ups. This is the first race of the season for me and I was still struggling to find my rhythm. When I caught Okada, I couldn't go any faster." Said the Japanese veteran. Watanabe and Sakai brought the second Yoshimura machine home in fourth place with Tetsuya Yamaguchi and Leon Camier rewarded for there superb ride with a magnificent fifthplace at the finish. The Masked Rider Honda of Tokudome and Kamada came home in sixth place ahead of the Suzuki of Vincent and Lagrive. The second FCC TSR Honda of Iwata and Sugai beat the Yamaha 81 team of Abe and Stauffer to eighth place with Team Sakurai Honda 81 completing the top ten. Honda riders and Team HRC staff quotes. Tady Okada, Team HRC #33: 2nd. "Yoshimura was very strong today. Flying penalty ruined our race. Carlos did a good job and our machine was OK till the end. I enjoyed the battle with Ito but we knew that if we overtake each other, our lap times drop so we were kind of riding together. Although I am retired as a racer, I thought there was no disadvantage to me. Still crash and flying show that I am away from racing. If I have a chance again, I will try to eliminate those disadvantages. Carlos Checa, Team HRC #33: 2nd "I didn't understand why Tady had been penalized. We lost precious time but we changed our mind and tried to regain the position. Both Tady and I were riding well. We managed to get back to fourth quite easily but to regain the second place was very hard. My first 8 hrs race was a good experience to me and it was also interesting. The team, Tady and everybody helped me a lot and I want to come back here again to win." Toshiyuki Yamaji #33 Team Manager. "I must apologize to those who supported us. It was a total defeat for us and Yoshimura did a perfect race." Shinichi Ito, F.C.C.TSR ZIP-FM Honda: 3rd."I did not have enough testing before the race so we couldn't find the best set-ups. This is the first race of the season for me and I was still struggling to find my rhythm. When I caught Okada, I couldn't go any faster. Teshima did a good job although he re-joined our team recently and the set-up was not best for him. I was happy to get on the podium at the 30th anniversary event." Yusuke Teshima, F.C.C.TSR ZIP-FM Honda: 3rd. "I was so happy that I could get on the podium. During the pre-event testing, I was riding HRC machine and when I came back to TSR, where I belonged before, I became a TSR rider. I could not mark good lap times during the testing but I got a good feeling since Friday and marked my best lap time on Friday. I want to thank Ito san very much. We got on the podium by his effort." Ryuichi Kiyonari, Team HRC #11: dnf - team mate crash. "I think we were doing OK. I crashed during morning warm-up but that didn't make any difference. I was ready to race for 8 hrs so I thought the first hour was OK. If I have regret, I should have closed the gap with the leader. May be James was too eager to close the gap. This year there were many back markers from early stage so I didn't want to push too hard and crash while overtaking them. I really feel sorry for fans, who had supported us. Again I couldn't win 8 hrs race so my disappointment became doubled. I have to wait another year to overcome the frustration, and that's too long. James Toseland, Team HRC #11: dnf - crash. "It was my mistake. It's shame that I didn't make any mistakes during the practices or Super Pole but during the race. I don't know what to say. I want to apologize to my team-mate, fans, the team and sponsors. It was my third lap after switching from Kiyo, at Dunlop-Curve, I crashed because my front end tangled suddenly without any warnings. It was so strange and I could do nothing about it." Teruaki Matsubara #11 Team Manager "We were on good pace. Kiyonari crashed this morning and that made him to stay cool. James was trying hard when he crashed. I feel sorry for everyone." Kazuhiko Yamano HRC 8hrs Project Leader "It was an unlucky incident. James was pushing hard when he crashed so I all I can say is it was unlucky." Leon Camier, Moriwaki Motul Racing: 5th."This was my third time to entry for 8 Hours. First time, I crushed, and second time, my partner slipped down causing to take time in repairing the machine. So, this was the first time to actually finish the race. When my entry was determined suddenly, I was not yet ready for it. Also, during the race, we had a penalty and was in uneasy situation. However, I am happy that I was able to have this final result." Kazuki Tokudome, Masked Rider Den-O Honda DREAM RT: 6th."The setting of the machine went well, and there was a goal to ride the race with more speed than the average time. Yet, situation changed, and became difficult. However, I am happy to finish the race. I tried my best to enjoy the last part of my ride. I learned a lot from this year's 8 Hours, and my next goal is to reflect this experience to next race." Gaku Kamada, Masked Rider Den-O Honda DREAM RT: 6th. "Despite the final result, we were able to reach the goal without any trouble or injury. Saying with more greed, it would be better to finish in upper placement. Yet, team staff worked hard without any mistake, that I was able to output my best for the race. Therefore, I am very much satisfied." Results 1 / B Yoshimura Suzuki with JOMO 34 / JPN / S-GSX-R1000 / JSB / Y.K agayama / K.Akiyoshi 2 / Team HRC 33 / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / T.Okada / C.Checa (SPA) 3 / F.C.C.TSR ZIP-FM Racing Team / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / SBK / Y.Teshima / S.Itoh 4 / Yoshimura Suzuki with JOMO 12 / JPN / S-GSX-R1000 / JSB / A.Watanabe / D.Sakai 5 / Moriwaki Motul Racing / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / T.YamaguchiI / L.Camier (GBR) 6 / Masked Rider DEN-O Honda Dream RT / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / K.Tokudome / G.Kamada 7 / Suzuki Endurance Racing Team / FRA / S-GSX-R1000 / SBK / V.Philppe / M.Lagrive (FRA) / J.da Costa (FRA) 8 / F.C.C. TSR Euosport Benelux / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / SBK / S.Iwata / Y.SUGAI / H.Platacis (SUI) 9 / Yamaha Racing 81 / JPN / Y-YZF-R1 / JSB / J.Strauffer / N.Abe 10 / Team Sakurai Honda 71 / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / Y.Takeda / K.Tsuda 11 / RacingTeam Honeybee / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / H.Noda / T.Yamamoto 12 / Honda Suzuka Racing Team / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / N.Yunoki / T.Morii 13 / Zoil Trick Star / JPN / K-ZX-10R / JSB / K.Eguchi / R.Tsurata 14 / Moto Win Racing / JPN / H-CBR1000RR / JSB / S.Suzuki / T.Takahashi 15 / Phase One Endurance / GBR / Y-YZF-R1 / SBK / W.Nowland / G.Richards (AUS) / S.Nebel (GER) From Honda Racing << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>

< Prev		Next >