2014 Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance Race Results

With heavy rain delaying the start, the Suzuka 8-Hour was more like the Suzuka 6-Hour, as only six hours and thirty-five minutes could be fit into the race’s time slot. Still, FIM Endurance World Championship fans were treated to a good battle, which unfortunately saw F.C.C. TSR Honda out early while in the lead.

Kosuke Akiyoshi gave F.C.C. TSR Honda its early lead, and strong stint from Jonathan Rea seemed to solidify the team’s position. But on his next outing, Akiyoshi had a massive crash at the 130R corner. Riding his Honda CBR1000RR back into the pits with a broken femur, Akiyoshi was the hero of the race, but F.C.C. TSR would have to settle for 40th overall.

The crash left the lead for MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO team, which laid claim to the top step at Suzuka for the second year in a row. The Japanese team, which was comprised of Takumi Takahashi, Leon Haslam, and Michael van der Mark put in an impressive performance at the Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance race, though only had roughly a minute’s gap at the finish line to show for it.

The race’s fastest lap goes to MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO as well, as Michael van der Mark put down a 2’08.620 lap time mid-contest. 

In second place was the Yoshimura Suzuki Shell ADVANCE team of Takuya Tsuda, Randy de Puniet, and Josh Waters, which was a welcomed result after the Yoshimura Suzuki Legends team didn’t get past Lap 6, where Nobu Aoki crashed and had to be taken to the hospital.

Because of Aoki’s crash, Kevin Schwantz didn’t get to turn a single lap in this year’s Suzuka 8-Hour — a disppointment since the American GP legend podiumed at last year’s event.

Finishing third was Schwantz’s team from last year, Team Kagayama. Comprised of Noriyuki Haga, Dominique Aegerter, and Yukio Kagayama, it’s the second time in a row now that Team Kagayama has finished third at Suzuka.

In the FIM Endurance World Championship, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) was the top team to finish, posting an eighth place result. Comprised of Anthony Delhalle, Erwan Nigon and Damian Cudlin, SERT’s outing at Suzuka was a strong one, especially considering all the strong Japanese teams that enter the Suzuka 8-Hour.

Still, with the French team’s retirement at the Bol d’Or, SERT ‘s championship hopes appear to be zero, especially as the Yamaha Racing GMT94 and Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART) finished ninth and tenth, respectively.

The next FIM Endurance World Championship round is August 23rd, for the  8-Hours of Oschersleben race.

Race Results for the 2014 Suzuka 8-Hour Suzuka, Japan:

Source: FIM; Photo: Bridgestone