As well as delivering spectacular on track action, the 43rd Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race produced plenty of emotion in the pitlane and in the Terramoto@J-Trip Racing garage in particular.
Following a career spanning 33 years, Aoki used his home round of the FIM Endurance World Championship last August to sign-off from competing.
In highly-charged scenes, the then 50-year-old fell to his knees after completing his final stint, briefly sobbed before heading out into the pitlane to receive the adoration of the fans in the Suzuka grandstands.
I’m really happy, I could not imagine this when I started and 33 years is quite a long period so I think I should stop now,he said.
Along with his Suzuki-powered team-mates Koji Teramoto and Kazuma Tsuda, Aoki finished fourth in the Superstock category in 16th overall.Click HERE to watch the video.
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
