*Name of Race
2016 FIM Endurance World Championship Series, Round 3
39th “Coca-Cola Zero” Suzuka 8 hours FIM Endurance World Championship

*Event Date
[Official Practice] Thursday 28th July 2016/Weather: Sunny/Race Course: Dry
[Qualifying Race] Friday 29th July/Weather: Sunny/Race Course: Dry
[Top 10 Trial] Saturday 30th July/Weather: Slightly Cloudy/Race Course: Dry
[Final] Sunday 31st July/Weather: Sunny/Race Course: Dry

*Audience
124,000 People (Total)

*Racing Course
Suzuka Circuit, Mie Prefecture (5.821km/Lap)

*Racers
Yukio Kagayama, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Naomichi Uramoto

*Machine
SUZUKI GSX-R1000 L6 YOSHIMURA Tune UP

*Results
[Official Practice] 6th Position (Ryuichi Kiyonari 2min.09sec.779)
[Qualifying Race] 8th Position (Ryuichi Kiyonari 2min.08sec.474)
[Top 10 Trial] 6th Position (Ryuichi Kiyonari 2min.07sec.651)
[Final] 6th Position/213 Laps

This year was the fourth year for Team KAGAYAMA to participate in the Suzuka 8 hour race.

The team had made a consecutive victory at 3rd step of the podium three years in a row and this year they worked hard from the beginning to raise there position from third to second or the top.

Three racers competed from the team. Team owner and ace rider, Yukio Kagayama took lead with Ryuichi Kiyonari, 2nd year at Suzuka 8 hour and Naomichi Uramoto who has made four consecutive victories at ALL JAPAN ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP J-GP2 Class and entered Team KAGAYAMA this season.

Kiyonari is participating in the British Super Bike(BSB) and had just broken his collarbone in an accident at the Third Race of the FP2 Brands-Hatch-Indy but performed like he wasn’t injured at all. Even though he had to participate in races held in the UK during the Trial and Final Race of Suzuka 8 hours. Despite the tight schedule he pulled the team with great performance.

Considering Kiyonari’s good condition, the machine was set to enhance Kiyonari’s performance. Kagayama performed at similar speed but they didn’t have emough time for Uramoto to get prepared for his first Suzuka 8 hours with Team KAGAYAMA. Although Uramoto steadily shortened his time.

Race Week started on Thursday. The climate was dry throughout the week and the temperature rose day by day.

Qualifying Race

Kiyonari participated in the third race in the Official Practice regarding that there would be a few speedy riders and course temperature would reduce. The number of tires were limited so they had Uramoto participate with a used tire and let Kiyonari use new ones.

Kagayama took off as first rider and marked 2min.09sec188 in the first session. Uramoto marked 2min.10sec.911 despite the fact that he was using used tires followed by Kiyonari who put out the teams best time of 2min.08sec.474 in the second section and came 7th overall.

Just as they had intended, they moved onto the Top 10 Trial.

Top 10 Trial

The Top 10 Trial is held for the Top 10 Teams to compete time per lap.

Kagayama was first and marked 2min.08sec.425. Kiyonari exceeded Kagayama’s time at 2min.07sec651 which was the fastest time marked during the race week. He raised the teams position 2 steps and got hold of 6th on the grid.

Many teams used tires for the Qualifying Race but Team KAGAYAMA marked this time with tires for the Final. This time was good material for the upcoming race.

The Final

Kiyonari made the start this year again. The race started in Le Mans style toward the goal, 8 hours ahead.

Kiyonari was first to enter corner 1 and got holeshot two years in a row. There on he continued to lead the race. His time was 2min.08sec./Lap with Katsuyuki Nakasuga of YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM right behind him. Other racers couldn’t catch up with them and it was a face to face struggle. But at the chicane of lap 18 Nakasuga took over and Kiyonari made his first pit stop after checking riders following from behind.

Kiyonari was second when he entered the pit, however they had trouble with the rear stand hook and lost much more time than they had expected. When Kagayama got back in the course, they’d moved down to 8th position but he gradually put the machine back into 5th position.

Unfortunately, at the end of his first stint, Kagayama faced trouble. The front wheel got cracked which caused slow puncture. Kagayama luckily didn’t make a fall but had to reduce speed immensely and struggled to the pit on the machine. This also was a devastating consequence.

The team faced two accidents right after the start and temporarily dropped their position to 28th but Uramoto made his presonal best record and Kiyonari and Kagayama did their best as wekk and never gave up till the end. During the last 10 minutes on their 211 lap, the team raised their position to 6th and finished the race with 213 laps.

They didn’t reach the podium, but it was the first time for the team to perform aggressively throughout the race. Kiyonari lead the team with excellent performance, Kagayama supported the team and Uramoto made a remarkable record. A good achievement for the 2017 Suzuka 8 hours, next year.

Keep an eye on Team KAGAYAMA.

Comments by Yukio Kagayama

Following from last year, this year too we were supported by many fans and sponsors who lead us to Suzuka 8 hours. We aimed for the top but had to face two troubles which dropped our position. But in the last two minutes we got ourselves back into 6th place.

The team worked hard to get back in position and I regret the fact that we couldn’t make a better finish but I think we performed like or even better than a factory team and am proud about that. Thank you very much for your support.

Comments by Ryuichi Kiyonari

At the pre-test we succeeded in making long runs concerning last years strong points and bad points which made me confident. Mr. Kagayama and my team mate took good control so that I could concentrate in my performance.

I feel the sting of defeat but there was a lot to learn from the race. If I can join Team Kagayama next year I’m sure I can offer you excitement again.

Comments by Naomichi Uramoto

I wish I could have done better at the pre-test. I regret that. But it was an amazing experience for me to be able to participate in a race with two racers I respect, Mr. Kagayama and Mr. Kiyonari and I’ll sure be taking advantage of this experience in the future.

If I can join the team next year I’ll do my best to lead the team.

Comments by Team Coach Masahiko Saito

I’m sorry for the racers for the trouble they had to face. They made better records in time compared to last year especially Kiyonari who performed faster than I had expected. Uramoto also recorded his best personal time at the final which makes it all the more but I guess this is what Suzuka 8 hours is all about.

I’ll take advantage of these results and create a machine that can aim for the top next year.

→Read the full article. (*Japanese)

Original Source [ Team KAGAYAMA ](*Japanese)