SUZUKA, Japan – For the second consecutive year, the factory Yamaha entry has taken the win at the Eight Hours of Suzuka. The race is probably still the world’s most important to the Japanese factories even though it’s no longer part of the World Endurance series.
The win is a huge deal for Yamaha, who until last year had been shut out of the winner’s circle since 1996. The riders were Moto GP regular Pol Espargaro, Japanese superbike champ, Yamaha test rider, and occasional Moto GP wild card Katsuyuki Nakasuga, and WSB newcomer Alex Lowes. Espargaro and Nakasuga were both also on the 2015-winning ride.
The Spaniard said, “’Its an amazing feeling! This is an historic race and we’ve won twice. It’s the best feeling ever. The second time is better – always!”
Honda, who had five successive victories from 2010 to 2014, once again were nowhere, as their factory-backed MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO machine – with WSB team-mates Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden teamed with Takumi Takahashi – were a strong second until the third hour of the race, but the bike retired with a technical ailment during Hayden’s first stint. The team also dropped out of last year’s race, Casey Stoner crashing hard when the throttle jammed open.
Second went to Team Green Kawasaki, riding chores shared by Akira Yanagawa, Kazuki Watanabe and BSB title contender Leon Haslam. They ended up a mere 10-seconds ahead of the third-place Yoshimura Suzuki team of Takuya Tsuda, BSB champion and WSB rider Josh Brookes, and World Superbike legend Noriyuki Haga after a race-long battle. Haslam was fighting with a low fuel situation as the race wound down but he managed to nurse the bike home, running out of fuel on his cool-off lap!