Seventh place finish for Honda Endurance Racing at Suzuka
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 5:56 pm
Seventh place finish for @Honda Endurance #Racing at #Suzuka
The Honda Endurance Racing team finished the Suzuka 8 Hours this evening in the top-ten, after placing the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP seventh at the 5.821km Honda-owned Suzuka circuit.
After completing 201-laps and after eight hours of racing in extreme temperatures, Honda’s Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray and Sébastien Gimbert crossed finish line the seventh with a three-lap gap and were one of three permanent EWC teams to finish in the top-ten.
The race got underway at 11:30am (GMT+9) on Sunday with Gimbert, starting the race from 20th position. A good start saw the Honda squad quickly move into the top-15.
Honda’s endurance specialists Da Costa, Foray and Gimbert pushed hard and made up positions throughout the eight hours and at the halfway point of the race the team were in 11th position.
Due to incidents on track the safety car was brought out on numerous occasions during the race and Honda’s riders pushed continuously to make up places and eventually crossed the line seventh, collecting 14 valuable points towards the championship.
The next Endurance World Championship round is the Oschersleben 8 Hours, which takes place on 22 July, in Germany.
For all the latest news on the team in real time follow @HondaRacingCBR on Twitter.
Neil Tuxworth
To finish Suzuka in the top-ten is good news and it’s positive for all the riders and the team. I feel we could have been a little stronger than we were, but due to circumstances we weren’t in control of with the safety car deployments, to finish seventh is very positive. We will now look forward to the next round in Germany.
Steven Casaer
The race was good for us, the CBR worked well in the extreme conditions and the riders pushed hard throughout the race so that was all positive. Unfortunately we did lose a bit of time during the safety car outings and without them we could have pushed for a higher placing - it’s a pity for the championship but we are happy that we finished the race in seventh position. The crew produced good and quick pitstops, probably the best we have ever had during a race, and so we didn’t lose too much there.
Julien Da Costa
To finish the race seventh after starting from 20th position on the grid is very satisfactory. We were all really happy with the Fireblade and our fuel consumption was better than our competitors. We fought for the top-five at some stages of the race so this is something positive from a performance point of view and something to take to the next EWC round.
Freddy Foray
We were aiming at a top-ten finish so I think the seventh position is a good result. We were quickly in the top-ten during the race and I think we could have done even better but the safety car was deployed several times during the race, and it made us lose opportunities to finish in the top-five. The team did a great job with pit stops and the bike had excellent fuel consumption, it was a perfect team job today. It is a shame that we could not manage to get the place of first permanent team but all in all it’s very positive!
Sébastien Gimbert
Today is a positive result for the team, we have come from a 24-hour race to an 8-hour race within two weeks and both are very physically demanding. The conditions in Suzuka are extreme and we all managed to deal with the heat very well. It’s a shame that we weren’t able to push for a higher placing due the safety car outings, but that’s racing and we’re happy to be in the top-ten in seventh place. Now we have a lot of important data and information that will be useful to get ready for Oschersleben - Suzuka is over but we still have to work ahead of the next race to continue to improve on our performance.
Weather
Endurance
Race Results - Results
1 Yamaha Factory Racing Team 204 YAMAHA FAC YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
2 F.C.C. TSR Honda 204 JPN HONDA F.C.C. TSR Honda
3 Team KAGAYAMA 203 TEAM KAGAY SUZUKI Team KAGAYAMA
4 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 202 FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Endurance Racing Team
5 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE 201 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE
6 GMT94 Yamaha 201 NA YAMAHA GMT94 Yamaha
7 Honda Endurance Racing CBR 201 GBR HONDA Honda Endurance Racing EWC
8 Honda Suzuka Racing Team 200 HONDA SUZU HONDA Honda Suzuka Racing Team
9 Team Green 199 TEAM GREEN KAWASAKI Team Green
10 MotoMap SUPPLY 199 JPN SUZUKI MotoMap SUPPLY
11 EVA RT TEST TYPE-01 TRICK STAR 199 EVA RT TES KAWASAKI EVA RT TEST TYPE-01 TRICK STAR
12 Team Bolliger Switzerland 199 NA KAWASAKI Team Bolliger Switzerland
13 Au & Teluru Kohara RT 198 JPN HONDA Au & Teluru Kohara RT
14 TOHO Racing with MORIWAKI 198 TOHO RACIN HONDA TOHO Racing with MORIWAKI
15 CONFIA Flex Motorrad39 197 JPN BMW CONFIA Flex Motorrad39
16 Team April Moto/Motors Events 196 NA SUZUKI Team April Moto/Motors Events
17 Team Tras 135HP 196 TEAM TRAS BMW Team Tras 135HP
18 Satu HATI Honda Team Asia 195 SATU HATI HONDA Satu HATI Honda Team Asia
19 Honda Hamayuukai Hamamatsu ESCARGOT&PGR 195 JPN HONDA Honda Hamayuukai Hamamatsu ESCARGOT&PGR
20 Team R2CL 195 NA SUZUKI Team R2CL
21 Honda Kumamoto Racing 193 HONDA KUMA HONDA Honda Kumamoto Racing
22 MOTOBUM with Ishigaki Island Tuna Racing 193 JPN HONDA MOTOBUM with Ishigaki Island Tuna Racing
23 Yamashina Kawasaki & Business Ralliart 192 JPN KAWASAKI Yamashina Kawasaki & Business Ralliart
24 Motobox Kremer Racing 191 NA SUZUKI Motobox Kremer Racing
25 Honda Blue Helmets MSC Kumamoto 191 JPN HONDA Honda Blue Helmets MSC Kumamoto
Championship Standings
1 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 81 pts FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Endurance Racing Team
2 GMT94 Yamaha 52 pts NA YAMAHA GMT94 Yamaha
3 Team Bolliger Switzerland 50 pts NA KAWASAKI Team Bolliger Switzerland
4 SRC Kawasaki 42 pts FRA KAWASAKI SRC Kawasaki
5 Yamaha Factory Racing Team 35 pts YAMAHA FAC YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
6 Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki 33 pts NA SUZUKI Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki
7 F.C.C. TSR Honda 29 pts JPN HONDA F.C.C. TSR Honda
8 Team KAGAYAMA 25 pts TEAM KAGAY SUZUKI Team KAGAYAMA
9 BMW MOTORRAD France TEAM PENZ13 22 pts NA BMW BMW MOTORRAD France TEAM PENZ13
10 National Motos 21 pts NA HONDA National Motos
11 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE 18 pts YOSHIMURA SUZUKI YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE
12 Team April Moto/Motors Events 16 pts NA SUZUKI Team April Moto/Motors Events
13 Honda Endurance Racing CBR 14 pts GBR HONDA Honda Endurance Racing EWC
The Honda Endurance Racing team finished the Suzuka 8 Hours this evening in the top-ten, after placing the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP seventh at the 5.821km Honda-owned Suzuka circuit.
After completing 201-laps and after eight hours of racing in extreme temperatures, Honda’s Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray and Sébastien Gimbert crossed finish line the seventh with a three-lap gap and were one of three permanent EWC teams to finish in the top-ten.
The race got underway at 11:30am (GMT+9) on Sunday with Gimbert, starting the race from 20th position. A good start saw the Honda squad quickly move into the top-15.
Honda’s endurance specialists Da Costa, Foray and Gimbert pushed hard and made up positions throughout the eight hours and at the halfway point of the race the team were in 11th position.
Due to incidents on track the safety car was brought out on numerous occasions during the race and Honda’s riders pushed continuously to make up places and eventually crossed the line seventh, collecting 14 valuable points towards the championship.
The next Endurance World Championship round is the Oschersleben 8 Hours, which takes place on 22 July, in Germany.
For all the latest news on the team in real time follow @HondaRacingCBR on Twitter.
Neil Tuxworth
To finish Suzuka in the top-ten is good news and it’s positive for all the riders and the team. I feel we could have been a little stronger than we were, but due to circumstances we weren’t in control of with the safety car deployments, to finish seventh is very positive. We will now look forward to the next round in Germany.
Steven Casaer
The race was good for us, the CBR worked well in the extreme conditions and the riders pushed hard throughout the race so that was all positive. Unfortunately we did lose a bit of time during the safety car outings and without them we could have pushed for a higher placing - it’s a pity for the championship but we are happy that we finished the race in seventh position. The crew produced good and quick pitstops, probably the best we have ever had during a race, and so we didn’t lose too much there.
Julien Da Costa
To finish the race seventh after starting from 20th position on the grid is very satisfactory. We were all really happy with the Fireblade and our fuel consumption was better than our competitors. We fought for the top-five at some stages of the race so this is something positive from a performance point of view and something to take to the next EWC round.
Freddy Foray
We were aiming at a top-ten finish so I think the seventh position is a good result. We were quickly in the top-ten during the race and I think we could have done even better but the safety car was deployed several times during the race, and it made us lose opportunities to finish in the top-five. The team did a great job with pit stops and the bike had excellent fuel consumption, it was a perfect team job today. It is a shame that we could not manage to get the place of first permanent team but all in all it’s very positive!
Sébastien Gimbert
Today is a positive result for the team, we have come from a 24-hour race to an 8-hour race within two weeks and both are very physically demanding. The conditions in Suzuka are extreme and we all managed to deal with the heat very well. It’s a shame that we weren’t able to push for a higher placing due the safety car outings, but that’s racing and we’re happy to be in the top-ten in seventh place. Now we have a lot of important data and information that will be useful to get ready for Oschersleben - Suzuka is over but we still have to work ahead of the next race to continue to improve on our performance.
Weather
Endurance
Race Results - Results
1 Yamaha Factory Racing Team 204 YAMAHA FAC YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
2 F.C.C. TSR Honda 204 JPN HONDA F.C.C. TSR Honda
3 Team KAGAYAMA 203 TEAM KAGAY SUZUKI Team KAGAYAMA
4 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 202 FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Endurance Racing Team
5 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE 201 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE
6 GMT94 Yamaha 201 NA YAMAHA GMT94 Yamaha
7 Honda Endurance Racing CBR 201 GBR HONDA Honda Endurance Racing EWC
8 Honda Suzuka Racing Team 200 HONDA SUZU HONDA Honda Suzuka Racing Team
9 Team Green 199 TEAM GREEN KAWASAKI Team Green
10 MotoMap SUPPLY 199 JPN SUZUKI MotoMap SUPPLY
11 EVA RT TEST TYPE-01 TRICK STAR 199 EVA RT TES KAWASAKI EVA RT TEST TYPE-01 TRICK STAR
12 Team Bolliger Switzerland 199 NA KAWASAKI Team Bolliger Switzerland
13 Au & Teluru Kohara RT 198 JPN HONDA Au & Teluru Kohara RT
14 TOHO Racing with MORIWAKI 198 TOHO RACIN HONDA TOHO Racing with MORIWAKI
15 CONFIA Flex Motorrad39 197 JPN BMW CONFIA Flex Motorrad39
16 Team April Moto/Motors Events 196 NA SUZUKI Team April Moto/Motors Events
17 Team Tras 135HP 196 TEAM TRAS BMW Team Tras 135HP
18 Satu HATI Honda Team Asia 195 SATU HATI HONDA Satu HATI Honda Team Asia
19 Honda Hamayuukai Hamamatsu ESCARGOT&PGR 195 JPN HONDA Honda Hamayuukai Hamamatsu ESCARGOT&PGR
20 Team R2CL 195 NA SUZUKI Team R2CL
21 Honda Kumamoto Racing 193 HONDA KUMA HONDA Honda Kumamoto Racing
22 MOTOBUM with Ishigaki Island Tuna Racing 193 JPN HONDA MOTOBUM with Ishigaki Island Tuna Racing
23 Yamashina Kawasaki & Business Ralliart 192 JPN KAWASAKI Yamashina Kawasaki & Business Ralliart
24 Motobox Kremer Racing 191 NA SUZUKI Motobox Kremer Racing
25 Honda Blue Helmets MSC Kumamoto 191 JPN HONDA Honda Blue Helmets MSC Kumamoto
Championship Standings
1 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 81 pts FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Endurance Racing Team
2 GMT94 Yamaha 52 pts NA YAMAHA GMT94 Yamaha
3 Team Bolliger Switzerland 50 pts NA KAWASAKI Team Bolliger Switzerland
4 SRC Kawasaki 42 pts FRA KAWASAKI SRC Kawasaki
5 Yamaha Factory Racing Team 35 pts YAMAHA FAC YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
6 Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki 33 pts NA SUZUKI Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki
7 F.C.C. TSR Honda 29 pts JPN HONDA F.C.C. TSR Honda
8 Team KAGAYAMA 25 pts TEAM KAGAY SUZUKI Team KAGAYAMA
9 BMW MOTORRAD France TEAM PENZ13 22 pts NA BMW BMW MOTORRAD France TEAM PENZ13
10 National Motos 21 pts NA HONDA National Motos
11 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE 18 pts YOSHIMURA SUZUKI YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE
12 Team April Moto/Motors Events 16 pts NA SUZUKI Team April Moto/Motors Events
13 Honda Endurance Racing CBR 14 pts GBR HONDA Honda Endurance Racing EWC