Karel Hanika insists giving up was never part of the plan after he dropped out of the lead fight in the 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race yesterday (Sunday) with a mechanical issue – and had to push his bike for almost half the length of the 5.821-kilometre track.
Hanika was in second place having taken over the #7 Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team entry from Niccolò Canepa, who’d led the FIM Endurance World Championship event for a handful of laps, when he stopped on the run out of Spoon Curve after one hour and 36 minutes.
With the help of two volunteer marshals, Hanika heroically pushed his stricken machine back towards the pits where an electrical issue was identified and fixed, albeit following a major time loss.
I am a bit lost for words, said Hanika, was eventually classified in 23rd position along with team-mates Canepa and Marvin Fritz. We attacked right from the start. Niccolò had a great first stint, and when I took over, I did not feel 100 per cent confident with the front end, so I didn’t risk too much but could maintain a good pace and manage the gap.
Then, five laps before the end of my stint, the bike stopped, and it was in the worst possible place, just before Spoon Curve. I had to push the bike a long way, as there was no service road, but I did my best to bring it back as quickly as possible. It is such bad luck to have the issue happen there.
From then on, we mounted our comeback. We have such a good spirit in the team; there was no way we were going to give up. We pushed every lap and showed what we were capable of, closing down the leaders by one and a half laps and making up 20 places.
My team-mates did a superb job, Niccolò was incredible in the mixed conditions, and Marvin was fast on every lap; they inspired me to want to keep on pushing. I want to thank everyone in the team; they should all be proud of their efforts.
Hanika's heroics earned him the Anthony Delhalle EWC Spirit Trophy. The Frenchman featured in an FIM Endurance World Championship title-winning line-up five times – but lost his life in a testing accident at the start of 2017 season.
Meanwhile, Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team’s Suzuka woe after it finished second in the Top 10 Trial on Saturday means it slips to second in the FIM Enduance World Championship for Teams, 14 points behind F.C.C. TSR Honda France with next month’s Bol d’Or finale remaining.
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
