Endurance: Team HRC with Japan Post dominate the Suzuka 8 Hours

Team HRC with Japan Post wins the 2023 Suzuka 8 Hours after a dominant performance.

With just four hours remaining the Team HRC with Japan Post who started on pole position and led by almost two laps. Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki continued their consistent race in second with Sylvain Guintoli taking over the reins. Ryuichi Kiyonari was in the podium position, onboard the TOHO Racing machine.

Just after the four-hour mark disaster struck for the #11 Kawasaki with the rear shock collapsing. Kazuki Watanabe was onboard the machine and caused the team to drop outside the top 10.

YART Yamaha continued their redemption ride after they had an electrical issue, forcing the bike to switch off. Karel Hanika was onboard the bike at the mid-point in the race, in 38^th position.

In third position was now the AutoRace Ube Racing Team, with Takuya Tsuda onboard the machine. Dan Linfoot was the second rider for that team, as he changes scenery from British Superstock.

The safety car was brought out in the fifth hour, bunching up the field for the first time this race. The #33 Sinshu activation project Team NAGANO hit the metal barriers and a recovery vehicle had to be brought onto the track.

The safety car was brought out for a while, giving marshals time to safely complete their recovery. With under three hours to go the safety car returned to the pits, where action on the circuit resumed.

The KM99 team had their own issues, with the bike running out of fuel on the final laps of the stint. Lucas Mahias was onboard the Yamaha and had to push the bike back to the pits from the Backstretch.

Team HRC extends the gap

At the front, it was now Xavi Vierge who was on board the lead #33 machine and still had a comfortable one-lap lead over Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki. They also had the fastest lap of the race after setting a 2’06.902.

The F.C.C. TSR Honda was now inside the top 10, with Tarran Mackenzie having his stint onboard the CBR1000RR. The team from France were on a mission with their rivals YART Yamaha still not in the points.

Rain was in the air with rain flags surrounding the side of the track as the rain began at Suzuka. With light fading and conditions getting worse it was a busy pitlane, with teams changing to wets.

The rain eventually subsided, with everyone needing to change tyres back to slicks, with more drama in the pits. The #11 Kawasaki had an issue with their fuel pump, causing the bike to limp back to the pits. The #3 Kawasaki had a crash late on in the race with less than one hour remaining in the 2023 Suzuki 8 Hours.

SERT Motul Suzuki also had a crash of their own, destroying the fairings after Gregg Black clipped the damp white lines. This dropped the team down to 11^th, outside of the important top 10.

At the line, Team HRC with Japan Post took the race in a dominant fashion, with a two-lap race lead. TOHO Racing came across the line to take second position, setting over 200 laps in the race.

SDG Honda Racing ended the race in third position, leaving Haruki Noguchi delighted with the result. The F.C.C. TSR Honda finished in an incredible fourth position after a heroic comeback from the team. This meant the top four motorbikes were all Honda machinery, showing their dominance. Dan Linfoot brought home the first non-Honda on the #76 Suzuki after a thrilling race.

Image credit: fimewc.com