Tetsuta Nagashima, Takumi Takahashi and Xavi Vierge have combined to perfection to win the 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race – the action-packed third round of the FIM Endurance World Championship – for Team HRC with Japan Post.
The Honda-powered, Bridgestone-equipped squad finished clear of TOHO Racing at the completion of a dramatic EWC counter following a dominant performance.
"It's just amazing, the last hour has been really long with the rain," said EWC rookie Vierge. "It has been so difficult but the team did an amazing job all these days, especially in these eight hours. There were no mistakes and I'm super-happy and really satisfied."
SDG Honda Racing placed third with F.C.C. TSR Honda France battling back from a troubled opening hour to finish fourth and retake the lead of the FIM Endurance World Championship for Teams from Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team.
The Austrian squad enjoyed a brief stint in the lead and was in second when an electrical issue struck in the second hour, forcing Karel Hanika to push the stricken #7 machine back to the pits.
AutoRace Ube Racing Team relied on two riders only – Dan Linfoot and Takuya Tsuda – to finish fifth as BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team finished seventh.
Yoshimura SERT Motul was on course to finish second only a crash for early leader Gregg Black during a rain-hit section in the closing stages of the race to drop the Suzuki-powered team outside the top 10.
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
