The HONDA Team Aims for the Top Step of SUZUKA 8 Hours Podium with Nicky Hayden
- 21/07/2016
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On 15th July 2016, a news conference was held for the press by the HONDA Team at HONDA’s central office located in Aoyama. Coaches and racers who will be participating the SUZUKA 8 Hour attended the conference.
A fan meeting was held on the same day.
HONDA will be aiming for the top of the podium at the SUZUKA 8 Hours this year with an aggressive team ever. Following from last year the machines used will be based on CBR1000RR; a model well developed for enduro races.
MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. Aims for the Top with Nicky Hayden
MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. has invited former MotoGP World Champion and current World Super Bike Racer Nicky Hayden to the team. Nicky will be participating with current World Super Bike Racer Michael van der Mark and Takumi Takahashi. Takumi has rich experience at the SUZUKA 8 Hour and has made it to the podium three times.
Michael van der Mark won the race with Takumi Takahashi in 2014 and is aiming for another one.
To Add a Trophy to the Collection that Was Left Behind 13 Years Ago
Nicky Hayden comes from Kentucky U.S.A. and said he feels confident about racing in hot weather. He said that he is looking forward to add a trophy of the race at Suzuka he left behind 13 years ago to his collection. He will be making revenge of his last race in 2003 when he had to retire in his second round because of oil spill on the course.
Shigeki Honda, coach of MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. gave out his thoughts and said ”We’re going to make revenge of last year and get back the trophy we missed last year. We’re going to show them how strong HONDA is.” Looking back at last years race when racers were obliged to retire in constraint, he expressed his eager to retrieve championship.
Last year, despite holding back Casey Stoner HONDA had frustrating results so they will be applying more strongly this year. HARC-PRO is a team that has reached many podiums and their success this year is highly anticipated.
F.C.C. TSR Honda Improved Team Work at Le Mans 24 Hour Race
F.C.C. TSR Honda came third in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race that was held in April at France. The team also participated in the Portimao 12 Hour Race held in Portugal to enhance team ties.
Compared to 24 Hour Races and 12 Hour Races, Suzuka 8 Hours is short in time. But the lap time is like a normal sprint race and high level matches are unfolded every year.
This year F.C.C. TSR Honda will be participating the race with Moto2 Racer Dominique Aegerter, Patrick Jacobsen who is competing the WSS FIM Super Sport World Championship (WSS) with CBR600RR and Japanese racer Kazuma Watanabe who came third in the Le Mans 24 Hours race and was Rookie of the Year with his ST600.
Fujii Coach said the three racers have rich experiences on 4 stroke 600cc machines which allows the team to build a common strategy. He also said ”We will be making the fastest cornerings in the world.”. They will be aiming to win the race by conquering the numerous technical corners of the Suzuka Circuit.
Kazuma Watanabe has experienced international enduro races such as LeMans and Portimao but said ”Suzuka 8 Hours is the worlds top race different from other enduro races” and showed his compiled preparation for the Suzuka 8 Hours.
The team has overcome various exercises to challenge the SUZUKA 8 Hours and will be presuming for higher results.
Rivals Competing CBR1000RR
The Suzuka 8 Hour joint tests have already taken place and on Wednesday 13th to Thursday 14th July, tire manufacture join tests will be held.
Day one was a rainy day. Naomichi Uramoto from Team KAGAYAMA marked a time that was top overall. Nicky Hayden made a careful start due to poor physical condition and bad weather conditions. Top time of day one was recorded by the Yamaha Factory Racing Team at 2 minutes and 7 seconds.
Day two turned out to be a hot sunny day. The sun dried up the wet course and each team continuously ran to adjust set-ups for dry tracks.
Again Yamaha Factory Racing Team came top with Katsuyuki Nakasuga’s 2 minutes 6 seconds 960 record. Team mate Alex Lowes came second with 2 minutes 7 seconds 343 and Ryuichi Kiyonari was third with 2 minutes 8 seconds 377.
From the HONDA Team, Takumi Takahashi from the MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. came fifth with a record of 2 minutes 8 seconds 519. F.C.C. TSR Honda also finished the test with a record of 2 minutes 8 seconds.
Last years champion machine YAMAHA R1 turned out to be marvelous. HONDA will be using their well practiced CBR to compete with YAMAHA R1. SUZUKI’s machine and KAWASAKI’s Team GREEN were also in winning position.
But at enduro races time records aren’t so important. A steady record time, good team tie and other several aspects interwine which makes the race exciting.
No doubt a dramatic race will be taking place this summer.
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