MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO Secures Ninth Consecutive Suzuka 8 Hour Victory For Bridgestone

MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO Suzuka 8 Hour

For the second year in a row it was the MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO team consisting of Takumi Takahashi, Leon Haslam and Michael van der Mark who took the win at the Suzuka 8 Hour, the second round of the 2014 FIM Endurance World Championship. The win came in some very challenging conditions and extends Bridgestone’s record winning streak to nine consecutive victories as a tyre supplier to a number of teams at the event.

In qualifying it was Yoshimura Suzuki Shell ADVANCE who took poll position as Takuya Tsuda set an unofficial lap record with a 2’06.703 despite track temperatures reaching 50°C. Bridgestone’s dominance in the series was evident as eight out of the ten teams to qualify within the top ten all ran on Bridgestone.

Just prior to the start of the race there was a heavy downpour right over the circuit so the start was delayed, resulting in a shortened race duration of six hours and fifty five minutes. As the rain continued to fall the riders lined up for the traditional ‘Le Mans’ style start, and the manic beginning to the race saw F.C.C. TSR Honda lead the field in the first lap.

The weather conditions were very changeable, going from wet to dry and back again throughout the duration of the race but Bridgestone shod teams led throughout. In a somewhat cruel blow, the F.C.C. TSR Honda team crashed out of the race whilst in the lead, with Akiyoshi going down at the 130R corner. Akiyoshi bravely got the bike back to the pits despite breaking his leg in the incident, which allowed the MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO team to take the lead which they would hold until the very end of the race with Yoshimura Suzuki Shell ADVANCE in second.

There were a number of incidents throughout the second half of the race which led to the safety car coming out, but the final two stints saw Michael van der Mark and Takumi Takahashi hold their nerve at the front of the field, also setting the fastest lap of the race.

As well as securing nine consecutive victories as tyre supplier at the Suzuka 8 Hour, Bridgestone-supported teams dominated the top of the results table, with six of the seven top-placing teams using tyres supplied by the Japanese tyre manufacturer.

Following the race Shigeki Honda of MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO Honda said:

“We are very happy to have won the race for a second consecutive year. On behalf of all team and riders I would like to say thank you to Bridgestone for their support and delivering tyres with superior performance that our riders used them to their full capability to help secure victory. I believe the performance of the tyres in all conditions is major contributor to our victory today and we are very proud to share this success with Bridgestone.”

Shinichi Yamashita – General Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department also congratulated the team saying:

“Congratulations to MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO for their second-straight win at the 8 Hour, the variable weather conditions made it very challenging for all the riders. The alternating periods of sunshine and rain created every type of track condition, so I am pleased that both our slick and wet tyres gave the riders the ability to lap quickly and consistently. This year we developed tyres specifically to cater for the new FIM regulations which dictate less slick tyres can be used in the Suzuka 8 Hour than in previous years and these new prototype tyres equipped the top-two teams on the podium. Once again we have proved that Bridgestone tyres perform excellently over a wide range of conditions and with the tyre supply regulations for next year’s Suzuka 8 Hour allowing even fewer slick tyres, we will continue our development to improve durability and consistent performance at this event.”
With another change to the tyre rules next year, can Bridgestone make it ten in a row?