Suzuki and Dorna have finally agreed terms for the Japanese factory’s withdrawal from MotoGP.
In a press release issued today, Suzuki made official that it would be pulling out of the MotoGP championship at the end of the 2022 season, and ending the participation of the Suzuki Ecstar MotoGP team.
At the same time, they announced they would be withdrawing from official participation in the EWC Endurance World Championship, where they race under the Yoshimura SERT Motul banner.
Long-time readers of Asphalt & Rubber will know my love of endurance racing motorcycles – there is something about these purpose-built race bikes that have to perform reliably hour-after hour that strikes my fancy.
So, upon hearing that the Suzuki Endurance Race Team (SERT) won the 24-Hours of Le Mans this weekend, it was all the excuse I needed to post up some photos of the Yoshimura-backed squad and their Suzuki GSX-R1000 race bike.
Two things can be said about Spa-Francorchamps. One is that the Belgian track is one of the most iconic race circuits in Europe, and the other is that it is one of the most harrowing race courses anywhere in the world.
It is for the second reason that motorcycles do not race there at the international level, and it is for the first reason that it is a great shame that they do not. Things are about to change, however.
One of our favorite events each year, the Suzuka 8-Hours is perhaps one of the most important races on the motorcycle calendar, as the Japanese brands jockey to prove who is the best on their home turf.
However, the legendary Japanese race is not immune to the global situation relating to the outbreak of the coronavirus, and from that we saw its original July race date moved to the beginning of November.
Now with new concerns, the endurance race and finale of the FIM Endurance World Championship calendar has been unfortunately canceled altogether.
A couple weeks ago, we talked about the prospects of seeing Ducati Corse going racing in the Endurance World Championship, and if the Ducati Panigale V4 R could make an appearance at the Suzuka 8-Hours.
It might be a while before we see the Italian manufacturer in the FIM EWC series in an official capacity, but the start of the 2019-2020 season is already giving us a glimpse of what we can expect from Ducati.
This is because the Hertrampf Racing Endurance Team from Germany is using the Ducati Panigale V4 R in the endurance series this season.
Take a good look at it – this is the Suzuka 8-Hours race winning endurance bike that Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam took to victory this year.
As with any endurance-spec race bike, this Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR is a very special animal, and one can pore over the photos here looking at all the interesting modifications that go into a Suzuka-winning machine.
For us, our eyes always go towards the quick-change wheels and brakes, but there are interesting items on every corner of the motorcycle.
Eight hours, three teams, one (eventual) winner. This year’s Suzuka 8-Hours had it all, but it also showed again that the differences between Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Honda are such that each has to approach the race in different ways.
Yamaha opted for balance, Honda for an advantage in the pits, and Kawasaki on the pace of Jonathan Rea and consistency of Leon Haslam.
For a brief moment, the Yamaha Factory Racing Team was a five-time winner (in a row, I might add) at the Suzuka 8-Hours endurance race.
That reality was eventually snatched away by the FIM Endurance World Championship race direction officials, who this weekend learned something new about their rulebook, but the race run by the factory-backed Yamaha team was no less impressive.
For nearly eight hours, the team’s three riders (Alex Lowes, Michael van der Mark, and Katsuyuki Nakasuga) kept in check the best efforts by the Kawasaki Racing Team and Red Bull Honda squads, and it wasn’t until the final stint that Alex Lowes lost track of a raging Jonathan Rea.
Episode 111 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is another special edition from the Suzuka 8-Hours. This means that we see Steve English joined by Jensen Beeler on the mics, as they are our Suzuka specialists.
Of course, the show has to start with a discussion about who actually won this year’s edition of the Suzuka 8-Hours, as the race’s conclusion, and the few hours after the checkered flag, were anything but straight-forward.
Race day at the Suzuka 8-Hours has no shortage of pageantry. The crown jewel in the FIM Endurance World Championship, the Suzuka 8-Hours might be the most important race in all of motorcycling, and it certainly holds that distinction in Japan.
With all that said, this year’s edition was truly a spectacle, as the three factory teams from Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha fought in close-quarters the entire race, giving fans quite the treat.
With a few seconds or less between them for almost the entire eight-hour race, we saw no shortage of passes and strategy, making this a race well-worth watching.
In what will surely go down in history as the most frantic and confusing conclusion to the Suzuka 8-Hours ever recorded, the Yamaha Factory Racing Team won its fifth straight victory at the iconic Japanese endurance race.
The result, which wasn’t clear until moments before the podium ceremony, sees the Red Bull Honda team on the second step, followed by the F.C.C. TSR Honda squad, which also finished second in the FIM EWC standings.