2018 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Motul
RACE INFORMATION
【Suzuka 8 Hours】
YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Motul
Profile
Fujio Yoshimura / President
It will be the 41st Suzuka 8 Hours for us!
This event has been the world championship series ever since 1980! Back in 1976 to 1978, Honda RCB was called “Unsinkable Fleet” at World Endurance Series in Europe. Well, the first Suzuka 8 hours in 1978 was going to be Honda’s “Homecoming Victory”, as any of the Japanese fans have never seen RCB in home country but it was not. Racing fans always remember Yoshimura beat factory teams and won the first Suzuka 8 hours! They always expect to see “Unthinkable Result” from the racing, especially, from Suzuka 8 Hours and they always give the best cheers to “underdog” teams. We do not know what sort of “drama” we may encounter during the coming 8 Hours as we have finished the race at the 7th place overall despite the 2nd lap accident in the last year. Nonetheless, Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing was rewarded for “Anthony Delhalle EWC Spirit Trophy” by race organizer for our fighting spirit.
“Yoshimura’s Challenging Spirit” is the key word which we would like to share with our fans at the Suzuka Circuit!
See you all guys in Suzuka!
President of Yoshimura Japan Co., Ltd
Fujio Yoshimura
Schedule
| July 26(Thu) | Special Sports Running |
|---|---|
| July 27(Fri) | Official Practice / Official qualifier |
| July 28(Sat) | Teams for Finals Free Practice/Top 10 Trial (Official Qualifying) |
| July 29(Sun) | Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race Final (11:30 start/19:30 finish) |
Race History
-
FIM EWC
Rd.4
Bol d’Or 24H
/Qualifying
2nd
/Final
1st -
FIM EWC
Rd.3
Suzuka 8H
/Qualifying
5th
/Final
11th -
FIM EWC
Rd.2
SPA 24H
/Qualifying
3rd
/Final
4th -
FIM EWC
Rd.1
Le Mans 24H
/Qualifying
1st
/Final
7th -
FIM EWC
Rd.4
Bol d’Or 24H
/Qualifying
3rd
/Final
Retire -
FIM EWC
Rd.3
Suzuka 8H
/Qualifying
22nd
/Final
3rd -
FIM EWC
Rd.2
SPA 24H
/Qualifying
3rd
/Final
4th -
FIM EWC
Rd.1
Le Mans 24H
/Qualifying
2nd
/Final
1st -
FIM EWC
Rd.4
Most 6H
/Qualifying
3rd
/Final
3rd -
FIM EWC
Rd.3
Bol d’Or 24H
/Qualifying
1st
/Final
1st -
FIM EWC
Rd.2
Estoril 12H
/Qualifying
3rd
/Final
17th -
FIM EWC
Rd.1
Le Mans 24H
/Qualifying
2nd
/Final
1st -
All Japan Road Race
Rd.1
/Qualifying
(1):1st
(2):1st
/Final
(1):3rd
(2):2nd
-
Team Director
Yohei Kato
Team Director
Yohei Kato
Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL racing is going to take part in the 41st FIM Suzuka 8hours Endurance World Championship. Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing is calling four riders, Sylvain Guintoli & Takuya Tsuda, the Suzuki MotoGP test riders, Bradley Ray, one of the most distinctive riders in the British Superbike, and Kazuki Watanabe, new Yoshimura JSB1000 rider. Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing will select three riders to make the strongest package for the final race. Suzuka 8 hours this year will be the one of the hardest races because in addition to Yamaha Factory team who is successively winning past three years, Honda has reorganized factory team and Kawasaki will take a part with the world champion rider. Yoshimura and Suzuki worked together more than ever to make the GSX-R1000R faster to challenge these rival teams. In 2017, our crash in the second lap made Yoshimura Suzuki supporters really disappointed. This year, I make a promise to all supports that Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing will beat factory teams with great riders and powerful teamwork. Let’s enjoy two years’ worth of Suzuka 8 hours.
Thank you very much for your great support of Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing.
I’ve Got The Power!
Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing
Team manager Yohei Kato. -
Rider
Takuya Tsuda
Rider
Takuya Tsuda
I am proud of racing Suzuka 8 hours in this summer from Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing Team. It is known as one of the most difficult races and rival teams are getting faster and faster every year. However, I am confident of our GSX-R1000R that is improved much and faster than the last year. I will concentrate on my all energy to make the race machine faster until the last minute for the victory of Suzuka 8 hours.
Name Takuya Tsuda Birthplace Wakayama, Japan Birthday 1985.04.26 Height 171cm Weight 71kg Race History
- Suzuka 8H 7th All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 2nd / Yoshimura
- Suzuka 8H 3rd All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 2nd / Yoshimura
- Suzuka 8H 5th All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 4th / Yoshimura
- Suzuka 8H 2nd All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 3rd / Yoshimura
- Suzuka 8H 2nd All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 4th / Yoshimura
- All Japan Championship R-2 JSB1000 (Wildcard) 7th / Yoshimura Suzuka 8H 4th place All Japan Championship ST600 Ranking 7th
- 全日本選手権 ST600 年間ランキング 15位
- 全日本選手権 ST600 年間ランキング 12位
- 全日本選手権 ST600 年間ランキング 14位
- 全日本選手権 ST600 年間ランキング 15位
-
全日本選手権 ST600 年間ランキング 23位
鈴鹿８時間耐久 総合17位 -
全日本選手権 ST600 年間ランキング 29位
鈴鹿８時間耐久 16位 -
全日本選手権 ST600 年間ランキング 30位
鈴鹿８時間耐久 XX-F Div.2クラス 優勝 - 全日本選手権 ST600 年間ランキング 27位
- ウエストエリア選手権 ST600 年間ランキング 2位
-
Rider
Sylvain Guintoli
Rider
Sylvain Guintoli
The last year was the first time for me in Suzuka 8hours and it was an unforgettable experience. The level of bikes and riders are very high and the track and weather conditions make for what is probably the toughest race in the world. We enjoyed, we suffered and made a great team effort with all Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing Team to come back from the last to the 7th place. I am looking forward to riding again Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000R on this fantastic track and hopefully improve our result from last year.
Name Sylvain Guintoli Birthplace Montelimar, France Birthday 1982.06.23 Height 179cm Weight 68kg Hobby Motorcycles, cars, bicycles SNS Race History
- 2nd Endurance World Champion, Yoshimura SERT Motul (1st LeMans24H)
- 1st Endurance World Champion, Yoshimura SERT Motul (1st LeMans24H / 1st Bol d’Or)
- Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP Test Rider
-
Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP Test Rider, 4 MotoGP races in Catalunya (13th), Brno (20th), Silverstone (12th) and Motegi (20th)
Endurance World Championship Suzuka 8H: Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing (5th) -
Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP Test Rider, 3 MotoGP races in Catalunya (DNF), Brno (19th) and Motegi (21st)
Endurance World Championship Suzuka 8H: Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing (10th) -
13th British Superbike: Bennetts Suzuki
Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP Test Rider, 3 MotoGP races in Le Mans (15th), Mugello (17th) and Catalunya (17th)
Endurance World Championship Suzuka 8H: Yoshimura Suzuki Motul Racing (7th) - 11th FIM Superbike World Championship: Team Pata Yamaha
- 6th FIM Superbike World Championship: Team Pata Honda
- FIM Superbike World Champion: Aprilia Racing Team
-
Rider
Bradley Ray
Rider
Bradley Ray
I am so honored and privileged to be invited by Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing Team to take part in the famous Suzuka 8hours endurance race. This will be my first time taking part in the 8hours event and I am extremely excited. I’m looking forward to teaming up selected riders from Sylvain Guintoli, Takuya Tsuda and Kazuki Watanabe as they have all done the Suzuka 8hours race before and have an experience in the Yoshimura Suzuki team. We will all be pushing hard as a team to get on the top step of the podium this year.
Name Bradley Ray Birthplace England Birthday 1997.05.15 Height 180cm Race History
- Suzuka 8H 10th Place / Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing British Superbike Championship: Ranking 6th
- British Supersport Championship: Ranking 11th
- British Supersport Championship: Ranking 3rd
-
Rider
Kazuki Watanabe
Rider
Kazuki Watanabe
It is a great honor to be invited as one of Yoshimura Suzuka 8 hours riders. I feel the passion and sprits of Yoshimura Suzuki MOTUL Racing Team by racing JSB1000 Championship and I am very looking forward to racing Suzuka 8hours from this team. It is difficult to evaluate my contribution to the team at the moment but I will try my best to lead the team on the top of the podium.
Name Kazuki Watanabe Birthplace Yamanashi, Japan Birthday 1990.10.01 Height 170cm Weight 68kg Race History
- All Japan Championship JSB1000
- Suzuka 8H 5th place All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 5th / Yoshimura
- Suzuka 8H 4th place All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 7th / Yoshimura
- World Supersport Championship
- Suzuka 8H 2nd place All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 6th
- Suzuka 8H 9th place All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 3rd
- Suzuka 8H 12th place All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 7th
- All Japan Championship JSB1000 Ranking 7th
