Honda's Jonathan Rea wins Suzuka 8-hours
Honda World Superbike Team rider Jonathan Rea has become the first British rider to win the coveted and prestigious Suzuka 8-hours race in Japan. Riding for the F.C.C. TSR Honda team, Rea and his team-mate, Kosuke Akiyoshi, won the race by four laps from the TOHO Racing with Moriwaki Honda of Tatsuya Yamaguchi, Yuki Takahashi and Yusuke Teshima, completing a one-two for Honda's CBR1000RR Fireblade. The two-rider Yamaha France GMT 94 team made up of David Checa (Carlos Checa's brother) and Kenny Foray finished third.
Rea and Akiyoshi, who were third in the 8-hours race in 2010, were joined on the Suzuka podium by former Honda World Superbike rider, Tadayuki Okada, who was the team's reserve rider. The victory marked Honda's 25th triumph in the Suzuka 8-hours race and the sixth win for the CBR1000RR machine in its 20th anniversary year.
"I'm so happy to get a win in such a huge race as the Suzuka 8-hours," said Rea after his gruelling endurance effort. "I really appreciate the efforts of Kosuke Akiyoshi, Tady Okada, Honda and all the F.C.C. TSR team staff. Kosuke was riding very, very fast, and Tady gave me a lot of really useful advice. I want to thank them both so much."
Rea's Honda World Superbike colleague, Hiroshi Aoyama, rode for the MuSASHi RT Harc-Pro team, which was battling for the lead with just two hours to go when team-mate rider, Ryuichi Kiyonari, crashed out unhurt.
The other WSB riders in this 35th edition failed to have much luck. The Monster Energy Yamaha-YART squad of Katsuyuki Nakasuga, BSB leader Tommy Hill and Noriyuki Haga, was eliminated after just half an hour when poleman Nakasuga crashed out, while the Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team effort of FIXI Crescent's Leon Camier, Australian Josh Waters and Nobuatsu Aoki were hit by an oil leak after seven of the eight hours.
