Endurance: Suzuka 8 Hours – HRC leads at the halfway point

The 44^th running of the Suzuka 8 Hours was moments away with a thrilling race ahead in the North East of Japan. The race was expected to start dry and rain at the midway point, leading to tense riders and teams.

Team HRC with Japan Post took the pole position for the 2023 Suzuka 8 Hours with Tetsuta Nagashima starting the race. The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team begins the race in the second, ahead of TOHO Racing. SDG Honda Racing qualified in third with the Yoshimura SERT Motul machine rounding out the top five.

Once the flag dropped it was the Yoshimura SERT Motul who led the way with Gregg Black onboard. The Team HRC with Japan Post followed behind, with YART Yamaha getting a great start.

The reigning Champions, F.C.C. TSR Honda France shot up the order to third at the start of the race. The #1 machine had a crash during the Top 10 Shootout in qualifying with Tarran Mackenzie onboard.

The #33 Team HRC with Japan Post dropped down the order in the opening couple of laps in the race. They would soon regain composure and positions and battled YART Yamaha for the race lead.

After the first 30 minutes, it was still the #33 Team HRC with Japan Post who led the way by almost two seconds. YART Yamaha was in second with Niccolo Canepa ahead of Gregg Black on the SERT Motul Suzuki. 

Disastrous start for TSR Honda

The F.C.C. TSR Honda France had huge issues during the opening stint, dropping down to 10^th position. From bad to worse, Mickael Di Meglio crashed at the final chicane and opted not to return to the pits. 

After the first round of pitstops Tetsuta Nagashima onboard the Team HRC with Japan Post machine had a 30-second lead. This gap would come down over the next 20 minutes by five seconds with clouds beginning to form.

Drama struck for the YART Yamaha machine with the bike stopping on the Backstretch – before 130R. This left the team extremely frustrated as they lose valuable time and valuable Championship points to their rivals. They eventually managed to get the bike back to the pits, with six hours remaining in the race.

The top Kawasaki was the #11 Kawasaki Webike Trickstar machine with Gregory Leblanc onboard. The Kawasaki was in eighth position, making their way through the field and struggling with their tyre compound.

After crashing and having issues with electronics in the opening stint meant the team had to rebuild their race. With over two and a half hours completed the F.C.C. TSR Honda France Team were in 14^th.

The rain continued to get pushed back later on in the day with many wondering if we will miss any rainfall. Just four hours remain in this race with the #33 Team HRC by with Japan Post machine leading comfortably. However, this is endurance racing and anything can happen with the last 4 hours live on Eurosport.

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Image credit: fimewc.com