Team HRC demolished considerable opposition in japan today, winning the prestigious Suzuka Eight-Hours by a lap from Kawasaki Racing Team in second and Yoshimura Suzuki in third.

HRC, which comprised Tetsuta Nagashima, Takumi Takahashi and Iker Lecuona, was never headed in the encounter and denied fhe all-British Kawasaki team of Jonathan Rea, Alex Lowes and Leon Haslam a collective ninth victory.

There has been late drama and a safety car in the final hour of the race after the leading season-contender YART got caught up the Akeno Speed – Yamaha Superstock bike at T13 such that rider Marvin Fritz had to dig the Yamaha out of the air barriers to get it back to the pits.

The late issue for the gifted the championship leading Yoshimura SERT Motul with the two-rider line-up of Gregg Black and Kazuki Watanabe taking maximum series points and third on the overall podium.

Ahead of the Yoshimura SERT bike on the all-Bridgestone shod podium was the KRT bike, with a T12 slow lowside for Rea in the fourth hour seeming the only real cause for concern over the 8 hours.

After another late visit to the pits for a Stop and Go penalty for Karel Hanika on board, the YART bike still came second of the full season runners – and seventh overall – with Niccolò Canepa the third of the rider line-up.

Next across the line of the full season contenders, the #5 FCC TSR CBR1000RR-R Fireblade with Josh Hook and Mike Di Meglio in action had fought back up the order after its earlier brake master cylinder change to finish in ninth overall.

The Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Sjhowa was the next of the permanent entries, with Zaqhwan Zaidi, Garry Slim and Helmi Azuman bringing their CBR1000RR-R home eleventh overall.

In fifteenth overall, the full-time Webike SRC Kawasaki France entry was further down the order than they’d have liked, with an early visit to the pits after a drop at Degner 2 from Randy de Puniet and a later lack of fuel in the tank the primary culprits delaying their charge.

Finally, of the permanent entries, for the BMW it was heartbreak at halftime as the M1000RR ridden by Markus Reiterberger, Illya Mykhalchyk and Jérémy Guarnoni was pushed back to the pits by Mykhalchyk for terminal diagnosis by the squad with the bike unable to retain its engine coolant.

2022 Suzuka Eight-Hours race result - conditions dry

1 Team HRC Honda 1 EWC 214 08:02:09.131 - - 2:06.934 113 7 4:53.093
2 Kawasaki Racing Team Suzuka 8H Kawasaki 2 EWC 213 08:02:15.180 1 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:07.177 90 7 5:11.416
3 Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki 3 EWC 212 08:03:31.961 2 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:08.157 30 8 5:48.841
4 S-PULSE DREAM RACING - ITEC Suzuki 4 EWC 210 08:02:54.775 4 Lp. 2 Lp. 2:08.558 84 8 6:59.018
5 TOHO Racing Honda 5 EWC 210 08:03:42.462 4 Lp. 47.687 2:08.833 109 8 7:58.353
6 Honda Dream RT SAKURAI HONDA Honda 6 EWC 210 08:04:12.555 4 Lp. 30.093 2:08.872 176 8 6:34.959
7 YART - Yamaha Official Team EWC Yamaha 7 EWC 209 08:03:40.730 5 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:07.781 183 10 16:44.115
8 Team ATJ with JAPAN POST Honda 8 EWC 208 08:02:10.855 6 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:10.010 11 7 7:59.652
9 TEAM KODAMA Yamaha 9 EWC 208 08:02:29.010 6 Lp. 18.155 2:09.402 141 8 9:40.932
10 F.C.C. TSR Honda France Honda 10 EWC 208 08:02:33.132 6 Lp. 4.122 2:08.851 10 8 11:18.410
11 Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA Honda 11 EWC 208 08:03:30.441 6 Lp. 57.309 2:10.029 56 8 8:14.058
12 GOSHI Racing Honda 12 EWC 206 08:03:16.441 8 Lp. 2 Lp. 2:10.811 111 7 7:06.028
13 Kawasaki Plaza Racing Team Kawasaki 1 SsT 205 08:02:17.004 9 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:10.283 11 8 8:52.118
14 SANMEI Team TARO PLUSONE BMW 13 EWC 204 08:02:36.056 10 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:10.150 151 9 9:53.058
15 WEBIKE SRC KAWASAKI FRANCE Kawasaki 14 EWC 203 08:03:12.199 11 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:10.215 157 7 1:07:16.823
16 NCXX RACING with RIDERS CLUB Yamaha 2 SsT 202 08:03:03.945 12 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:09.968 12 7 19:12.958
17 TONE RT SYNCEDGE 4413 BMW BMW 3 SsT 202 08:03:22.798 12 Lp. 18.853 2:11.046 10 9 17:03.450
18 TERAMOTO@J-TRIP Racing Suzuki 4 SsT 202 08:03:54.412 12 Lp. 31.614 2:13.762 9 7 6:37.134
19 Honda Hamamatsu ESCARGOT RT Honda 15 EWC 202 08:04:00.280 12 Lp. 5.868 2:14.072 28 7 7:34.170
20 KRP SANYOKOGYO&RS-ITOH Kawasaki 16 EWC 200 08:03:30.741 14 Lp. 2 Lp. 2:09.857 152 8 19:29.234
21 ADVANCE MC & FOC CLAYMORE EDGE with DOGHOUSE Suzuki 17 EWC 198 08:03:23.882 16 Lp. 2 Lp. 2:16.229 125 8 8:57.668
22 TransMapRacing with ACE CAFE Suzuki 18 EWC 198 08:04:22.582 16 Lp. 58.700 2:15.277 9 8 9:06.825
23 TEAM HANSHIN RIDING SCHOOL Kawasaki 5 SsT 195 08:04:12.508 19 Lp. 3 Lp. 2:13.088 61 8 18:55.189
24 Honda Blue Helmets MSC Kumamoto & Asaka Honda 19 EWC 193 08:02:36.186 21 Lp. 2 Lp. 2:16.899 12 10 13:31.896
25 Murayama. Honda Dream. RT Honda 20 EWC 193 08:04:07.774 21 Lp. 1:31.588 2:09.964 76 9 36:04.184
26 Team BIZENSEIKI Kirimoto Techno Works Kawasaki 6 SsT 192 08:03:08.113 22 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:14.401 11 9 22:14.403
27 AKENO SPEED.YAMAHA Yamaha 7 SsT 188 08:03:15.329 26 Lp. 4 Lp. 2:10.603 11 7 1:50:18.095
28 YSS Mercury with TKm Kawasaki 8 SsT 187 08:04:26.530 27 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:20.604 44 10 21:54.292
29 CLUB NEXT & Honda Dream TAKASAKI Honda 21 EWC 184 08:02:41.789 30 Lp. 3 Lp. 2:13.602 9 7 40:31.117
30 Honda Sofukai Suzuka Racing Team Honda 22 EWC 183 08:03:52.396 31 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:08.626 131 6 1:52:48.451
31 Honda Soyukai Tochigi Racing & Dream RT Honda 23 EWC 173 08:03:45.145 41 Lp. 10 Lp. 2:15.677 71 9 1:04:34.212
32 Team MATSUNAGA KDC & YSP NAGOYA KITA Yamaha 9 SsT 170 08:02:26.932 44 Lp. 3 Lp. 2:17.666 47 11 1:02:57.845
33 Auto Race UBE KEN RACING YIC Kawasaki 24 EWC 169 08:02:54.535 45 Lp. 1 Lp. 2:14.700 52 10 1:19:54.598
34 K’sWORKS RACING Yamaha 10 SsT 165 08:03:16.327 49 Lp. 4 Lp. 2:16.384 11 9 1:15:09.525
35 Shinshu activation project Team NAGANO BMW 25 EWC 160 08:03:55.004 54 Lp. 5 Lp. 2:13.748 9 7 2:08:33.360
36 Team de"LIGHT Ducati 26 EWC 155 08:02:18.813 59 Lp. 5 Lp. 2:15.337 12 6 2:49:38.160
37 Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing Honda 27 EWC 153 08:04:00.350 61 Lp. 2 Lp. 2:08.323 71 7 2:24:51.120
38 OGURA CLUTCH ORC with RIDE IN Yamaha 28 EWC 149 08:03:27.137 65 Lp. 4 Lp. 2:13.467 112 7 2:09:33.506
39 Hamamatsu Team TITAN Suzuki 11 SsT 144 08:02:53.466 70 Lp. 5 Lp. 2:13.015 56 6 2:57:21.562
40 IRF with AZURLANE Yamaha 29 EWC 144 08:04:29.244 70 Lp. 1:35.778 2:17.463 39 6 2:09:52.664
41 EVA RT 01 Webike TRICKSTAR Kawasaki 30 EWC 142 08:02:10.411 72 Lp. 2 Lp. 2:09.788 15 9 2:31:09.336
42 Honda Ryokuyoukai Kumamoto Racing Honda 12 SsT 139 08:02:54.964 75 Lp. 3 Lp. 2:14.719 97 4 3:22:25.009
43 SDG Honda Racing Honda 31 EWC 139 08:04:04.194 75 Lp. 1:09.230 2:08.828 91 7 2:55:58.391
44 T.MOTOKIDS TAKADA I.W. NAC Yamaha 13 SsT 89 08:02:47.845 125 Lp. 50 Lp. 2:16.265 9 5 6:55:56.998
45 BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM BMW 32 EWC 96 03:46:58.843 118 Lp. - 2:09.887 11 4 2:18.317