#22 Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia (Md Zaqhwan Zaidi / Dimas Ekky Pratama) was the highest ranked Honda team, finishing 8th, at 2016 FIM Endurance World Championship Series Round 3, The 39th “Coca-Cola Zero” Suzuka 8hours FIM Endurance World Championship (Suzuka 8 hours), was held at the Suzuka circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan.
Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia
Saturday’s TOP10 Trial had determined the complete starting grid, with #5 F.C.C. TSR Honda (Patrick Jacobsen / Dominique Aegerter / Kazuma Watanabe) the highest qualifying Honda team, at 4th place. 634 MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. (Michael van der Mark / Nicky Hayden / Takumi Takahashi) started 5th, and #104 TOHO Racing (Gino Rea / Tatsuya Yamaguchi / Ratthapong Wilairot) 8th. Friday’s qualifying placed #22 Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia (Md Zaqhwan Zaidi / Dimas Ekky Pratama) 11th on the grid, with Honda Suzuka Racing (Daijiro Hiura / Takashi Yasuda / Yudai Kamei) 13th and #090 au&Teluru・KoharaRT (Damian Cudlin / Hikari Ohkubo / Kosuke Akiyoshi) 16th.
#104 TOHO Racing#104 TOHO Racing
#22 Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia#22 Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia
#25 Honda Suzuka Racing#25 Honda Suzuka Racing
#090 au&TeluruKoharaRT#090 au&TeluruKoharaRT
68 racing machines lined the grid anticipating the start of the race. In its traditional Le Mans style, the race started at 11:30am under sunny conditions with a long, 8 hours until it would end. F.C.C. TSR Honda’s 1st rider Aegerter made an impressive start to finish Lap 1 up in 2nd, while Yamaguchi (TOHO Racing) crossed the line for the first time in 6th and Takahashi (MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO.) 9th. As Takahashi ups the pace to just over 2 min 9s and chases the lead group, Aegerter slips on the second chicane. Although he is quickly back in the race, the bike is damaged, and he pits for repairs.
Takahashi (MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO.) continues to chase the leaders, and by Lap 10 was clocking the fastest lap at 2 min 08s 829. Using the back-markers to his advantage, Takahashi moves up to 3rd on Lap 13.
Back in the pits, F.C.C. TSR Honda frantically repairs the bike and in 20 minutes are back out on the track. Jacobsen rides the #5 bike now, determined to make up for lost time.
#5 F.C.C. TSR Honda#5 F.C.C. TSR Honda
#634 MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO.#634 MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO.
At the 1 hour mark, teams pitted as planned for fuel and rider changes. Takahashi gives the bike over to van der Mark on Lap 26. Pitting at the same time, #17 Team KAGAYAMA (Suzuki) running 2nd at the time has problems, relinquishing 2nd to van der Mark, to chase race leader #21 Yamaha Factory Racing Team. TOHO Racing, in 5th place, had switched riders to Rea, but disaster struck as he fell at the hairpin, requiring 10 minutes to fix the machine back in the pits. Willairot took over to return to the track.
2 hours after the race started, teams were back in the pits for the second time. van der Mark handed the MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. bike over to former MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden, who was out of the pits in 2nd and chasing the Yamaha ahead. Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia, now with Pratama riding, was up to 6th place on Lap 60. Sebastian Gimbert took over for #111 HONDA ENDURANCE RACING, attempting to make the top 10.
On Lap 70, Gimbert succeeds, with #18 Mistresa with ATS (Takahiro Nakatsuhara / Ryuta Kobayashi / Taro Sekiguchi) close behind in 11th. #96 TEAM FRONTER (Kazuki Tokudome / Tomoyoshi Koyama / Satoru Iwata) move up to 13th.
#111 HONDA ENDURANCE RACING#111 HONDA ENDURANCE RACING
#18 Mistresa with ATS#18 Mistresa with ATS
#96 TEAM FRONTIER#96 TEAM FRONTIER
As the race leader started Lap 75, Hayden’s machine suddenly stopped at the second chicane. Hayden, and his bike, are transported back to the pits, where all the team’s efforts to fix the machine and get back into the race were to no avail, as they finally retired.
#634 MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO.#634 MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO.
At the 4 hour halfway mark, Pratama was the highest-placed Honda rider, in 6th place. Da Costa (Honda Endurance Racing) was 8th, Okubo (au&Teluru・KoharaRT) was 10th, and Sekiguchi (Mistresa with ATS) 11th. TOHO Racing was back in the fight in 19th after an early crash, as was F.C.C. TSR Honda, in 34th, and Honda Suzuka Racing, in 56th.
5 hours into the race, the sun began to set, bringing cooler air and track temperatures and faster lap times. As the pits became crowded with riders bikes switching riders, Zaidi, one place lower in 7th, and Gimbert (Honda Endurance Racing) engaged in a fierce battle. Cudlin, 10th is chased by Kobayashi.
#18 Mistresa with ATS#18 Mistresa with ATS
#104 TOHO Racing#104 TOHO Racing
#25 Honda Suzuka Racing#25 Honda Suzuka Racing
At the 6 hour mark, Pratama held 8th place. Okubo (au&Teluru・KoharaRT) completed his 170th lap in 10th place. On Lap 185, Nakatsuhara (Mistresa with ATS) was 10th, Cudlin 11th.
As the final hour began, the teams made their last pit stops. Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia’s last rider was Pratama, who rode cautiously to bring the bike home, but maintained their position. At 6:40pm, Suzuka’s lights-on board lit up in traditional fashion.
#22 Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia#22 Satu HATI. Honda Team Asia
With 30 minutes remaining, the race leaders were in their 200th lap. Both Sekiguchi and Akiyoshi were up a place in 9th and 10th respectively, charging towards the checkered flag. TOHO Racing’s Yamaguchi, bringing the team back from an early crash, was up in 11th.
In the end, Yamaguchi (TOHO Racing) held onto 11th place, and Honda Endurance Racing’s Gimbert finished 13th. F.C.C. TSR Honda had made a comeback from their crash, crossing the finish line in 18th place, giving them valuable points in the championship.
