Round 8 of All Japan Road Racing Championship the “Superbike Race in Okayama” started and the weather condition was perfect for a race day with many fans visiting the circuit.

In the morning practice, the track temperature did not raise as expected due to sun fading from the clouds. Being a difficult situation to which tyres to choose Yuki Takahashi chose a harder compound then he used in qualifying however, Ryuichi Kiyonari hace decided to use the same compound. Takahashi and Kiyonari came 5th and 6th in the session overall with a time of 1’29.378 and 1’29.383 having lapped almost identical times.

The race started and Takahashi took the widest possible line to defend 2nd position in the first corner and Kiyonari on the other made a fantastic start and comes 3rd on the opening lap just behind Takahashi being a great start for MORIWAKI MOTUL RACING.

From there both Takahashi and Kiyonari giving their best lap of the race in the second lap with a time of 1’28.859 and 1’28.815 keeping the pace up with the leader in front. This went for several laps however in lap 7 Kiyonari suffers from chattering in his machine and could not raise the pace any faster.

Takahashi on the other hand gambling with the tyres not knowing when the grip would fade. Still Takahashi kept his pace constantly in the 1’29 flat. Further into the race having to overtake the back markers the pace started to slow down. Eventually the rider behind Takahashi took advantage and Takahashi falls back to 3rd in lap 18.

Kiyonari having to deal with the chattering, falls back to 8th position and finished the race. The pace itself was not too bad considering the problem he had constantly lapping in the mid 1’29 bracket.

Near the end of the race, Takahashi founds a style of riding by sliding the tyres and saw that the pace did not drop at all. From there to the end of the race he changed the style of riding and picks up 3rd in the podium. This is the first podium finish for MORIWAKI MOTUL RACING ever since the come back to the JSB1000 Class from last year.

Last remaining round will be held at Suzuka the home ground for MORIWAKI MOTUL RACING. Therefore the team mechanics, riders, and all the staff included will do whatever it takes to develop the machine to reach the top of the podium.

Yuki Takahashi
“I am really happy right now. I had a softer compound in qualifying so I could not see the end of the tyres and I was very nervous. I knew that the tyres I chose for qualifying was not in the right temperature range for today and therefore I was forced to pick the tyres I did not test this weekend. I had a decent start and was able to keep second position so I concentrated at my best to see how much I can do. I did my best however the rider behind me was faster today so I got taken away to 3rd. Although this weekend was great and I could not have gotten this position without the team, PIRELLI, NISSIN, Honda, and all the people involved in this race. I can not ever thank them enough. Next race is in Suzuka, Moriwaki’s home ground so I will try my best there. Thank you!”

Ryuichi Kiyonari
“It was a very difficult race. I was in my limit the entire time however, the guys around me were faster and I could not catch up. Chattering started in one quarter of the race and I could not raise the pace anymore. With that said, 8th position is not so good however, in the positive side, I was able to finish the race and inside top 10. Not too bad for being in this difficult situation I think. My teammate Takahashi went on to the podium finish and I am happy for that however, in my mind I wanted to get up there before him so I am a little disappointed for that. The reason being for this difficult weekend was all my bad decision from the testing held earlier this week. The setup I made was not in the right direction however, we have found what we need to do to prepare for the final round in Suzuka and I want to thank the team mechanic for doing the best possible setup with the time given. We will move on and get the machine in the right position and I will keep on training as hard as possible since the final round will be held at Suzuka and I want to race at my best condition. Thank you.”

Original Source[ MORIWAKI ]

See Accessories of MORIWAKI
See HONDA Moto Index Page