Zarco, Honda Win Suzuka 8 Hours
T
eam HRC won the 45th annu-
al Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours
Endurance Race on Sunday,
July 21, with a third consecutive
victory—the 30th for Honda—in
Japan's round of the FIM Endur-
ance World Championship.
Starting in third position on the
packed grid, lead rider Takumi
Takahashi began to inch ahead
halfway through his first stint
before teammates Teppei Nagoe
and MotoGP star Johann Zarco
combined to secure first place
ahead of Yamalube YART Yamaha
EWC Official Team and Suzuki-
powered Yoshimura SERT Motul.
However, Team HRC's winning
margin was a slender 7.860 sec
-
onds after a 40-second penalty
was applied due to a pitstop in-
fringement in what proved to be
an anxious finish for the squad
as darkness fell.
"I feel totally relieved and hon-
estly very exhausted," Takahashi
said. "I'm very happy to have won
my sixth Suzuka 8 Hours and
for Honda their 30th win. I really
need to thank my teammates
who are two fantastic riders; all
of us together were able to ac-
complish our goal."
For 34-year-old Japanese rider
Takahashi, the result marked a
record sixth victory in the Suzuka
8 Hours, the first coming back
in 2010. Another record was set
with both Team HRC and YART
covering 220 laps to beat the
previous benchmark of 219 set
by Team Cabin Honda in 2002.
Zarco said, "I feel good because
when you fix this target and you
have the victory, it's a big relief.
I feel happy, proud and it gives
big satisfaction. I've been very
impressed by the pace of Takumi
and his control of the race. I'm so
happy with the progress Teppei
made from the test to the race. The
three riders were necessary for this
victory, because with the heat, we
all needed to control the energy."
The YART Yamaha Team was
second overall, finishing just
ahead of the Yoshimura SERT
Motul Suzuki squad.
CN
SUZUKA 8 HOURS
1. Team HRC (Hon) 08:01:29.693
2. YART Yamaha (Yam) 08:01:37.553
3. Yoshimura SERT Motul (Suz)
08:01:37.618
4. Ducati Team Kagayama (Duc)
08:02:14.011
5. BMW Motorrad World Endurance
Team (BMW) 08:02:09.142
WIND
IN THE
P66
Honda wins the
Suzuka 8 Hours
for the 30th time
with the help
of MotoGP star
Johann Zarco.
