The Dream Honda Racing Team duo of Ryuichi Kiyonari and Carlos Checa took victory at the Suzuka 8-Hour race on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, sporting a new stunning and distinctive HRC tri-colour paint scheme. The prestigious endurance event, held annually as part of the World Endurance Championship, is one of the highlights of the Japanese road-racing calendar and is vitally important for each of the domestic Japanese motorcycle manufacturers.
After eight hours hurtling round the 3.6-mile Suzuka circuit, the Dream Honda Racing Team CBR1000RR Fireblade of Kiyo and Checa took the win by a whole lap. It was no easy victory though, as a pit-lane speeding penalty, heavy rain and a last-hour brake problem all meant the dominant World Superbike stars had to push hard to take the win – all the more sweet as both riders had come perilously close to winning in previous years.
“I was really nervous during the last hour watching Carlos riding,” former double British Superbike champion Kiyonari said. “The front brake problem was already there during my last stint. I was scared to watch sparks fly when Carlos braked. The bike performed excellently and also looked fantastic in the new HRC paint scheme and I’m so happy that we won.”
And, while the Fireblade of Checa and Kiyo took the win, the British stars of World Supersport and British Superbikes also did well. HM Plant Honda’s Cal Crutchlow took sixth place overall with his Moriwaki team-mate Tatsuya Yamaguchi while Leon Haslam took ninth overall with his team-mate Chojun Kameya.
“I’m pretty happy with sixth to be honest,” Cal admitted, “although as a racer you want to win every race. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Suzuka 8-Hour race and would love to come back and win it.”
Leon, meanwhile, explained: “We were almost there to challenge for the podium until the middle of the race, but unfortunately Kameya-san crashed. He rode very hard to make it up and that was the main reason we could finish 9th. This was my first Suzuka 8-Hour race and it was a great experience. If I have the chance again, I would love to do it next year.”
