Held for the 30th time, the 8 Hours of Suzuka, second round of the Endurance World Championship where Motul is the official lubricant partner, was a success for Yamaha for the first time in 19 years. Another statistic reveals that an active MotoGP rider hadn't won the event since 2002. But this year there were two riders on the highest step on Sunday 26 July: Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith, team-mates at Tech 3, partnered technically by Motul in the Grand Prix, joined local rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga at Yamaha Factory Racing Team to transform this first attempt into a brilliant coup. It was indeed their first participation in an event considered very important for manufacturers, especially the four Japanese ones who were all represented among the 70 teams on the starting grid.
Winner at the Motorcycle 24 Hours and 4th at Suzuka, team Suzuki Endurance Racing Team had plenty to cheer in the World championship. It indeed beat its direct contenders and boosted its lead in the Teams standings. The same applies for Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson and Anthony Delhalle among the riders and for Suzuki among the manufacturers.
The many neutralisations during the race appear to have penalised Honda Endurance Racing, which finished 7th. The next event on the FIM EWC calendar will take place in Germany, at Oschersleben, on 22 August.
Teams Standings:
1/ Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, 81 pts - MOTUL
2/ GMT94 Yamaha, 52 pts
3/ Team Bolliger Switzerland, 50 pts
