2024 Suzuka 8 Hours Results
Cycle News Staff | July 23, 2024
Team HRC won the 45th annual Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race on Sunday, July 21, with a third consecutive victory—the 30th for Honda—in Japan’s round of the FIM Endurance World Championship.
Team HRC—Takahashi Takumi, Zarco Johann, Nagoe Teppei—rode a CBR1000RR-R SP to the Suzuka 8 Hours victory.
Starting in third position on the packed grid, lead rider Takumi Takahashi began to inch ahead halfway through his first stint before teammates Teppei Nagoe and MotoGP star Johann Zarco combined to secure first place ahead of Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team and Suzuki-powered Yoshimura SERT Motul.
However, Team HRC’s winning margin was a slender 7.860 seconds after a 40-second penalty was applied due to a pitstop infringement in what proved to be an anxious finish for the squad as darkness fell.
“I feel totally relieved and honestly very exhausted,” Takahashi said. “I’m very happy to have won my sixth Suzuka 8 Hours and for Honda their 30th win. I really need to thank my teammates who are two fantastic riders; all of us together were able to accomplish our goal.”
For 34-year-old Japanese rider Takahashi, the result marked a record sixth victory in the Suzuka 8 Hours, the first coming back in 2010. Another record was set with both Team HRC and YART covering 220 laps to beat the previous benchmark of 219 set by Team Cabin Honda in 2002.
Zarco said, “I feel good because when you fix this target and you have the victory, it’s a big relief. I feel happy, proud and it gives big satisfaction. I’ve been very impressed by the pace of Takumi and his control of the race. I’m so happy with the progress Teppei made from the test to the race. The three riders were necessary for this victory, because with the heat, we all needed to control the energy.”
The YART Yamaha Team was second overall, finishing just ahead of the Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki squad.CN
SUZUKA 8 HOURS RESULTS
- Team HRC (Hon) 08:01:29.693
- YART Yamaha (Yam) 08:01:37.553
- Yoshimura SERT Motul (Suz) 08:01:37.618
- Ducati Team Kagayama (Duc) 08:02:14.011
- BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team (BMW) 08:02:09.142
