With the iconic Suzuka 8 Hour taking place in Japan this weekend, it brings to a close another enthralling FIM Endurance World Championship season.
The famous Suzuka race is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary and always attracts a number of strong local and factory backed teams which can often make it difficult for the seasoned regulars to find their way onto the podium, but two Dunlop supported teams will be doing everything they can to secure the 2017 title nonetheless.
So far this season we’ve been treated to 64 hours of thrilling racing, and with just 8 hours left to go the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team and GMT94 Yamaha are separated by just a single point. Bridgestone supported Yamaha Austria are also still in contention, although some bad luck in Slovakia means they’ve got a lot of work to do.
In their attempt to secure another title, SERT have added Japanese specialist Sodo Hamahara to their line-up for the weekend alongside Vincent Philippe and Etienne Masson.
Due to the increased number of local teams running bikes prepared solely for the Suzuka race, there is a special points structure in place with the winner getting 45 points.
Dunlop report that 29 of the 69 teams taking part will be using Dunlop tyres this weekend, although Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone have been the tyre of choice on the winning bike for the last 12 years.
Both Dunlop and Pirelli will be hoping to break the Bridgestone stranglehold on the Suzuka race, and so far in testing the Italian manufacturer has come out on top with Moriwaki Honda posting the fastest lap time ahead of Mushashi RT-Harc Pro Honda on Bridgestone.
Thirteen of the top fifteen fastest teams in testing thus far have been on Bridgestone, with YART the fastest of the full-timers in 7th place overall. In 19th and 25th place respectively, GMT 94 and SERT have got some work to do.
Being one of the few international championships which has retained an open tyre rule, it’s the last bastion of the famous ‘tyre wars’ that many race fans will remember from the likes of MotoGP.
James Bailey, Head of PR & Communication at Dunlop said:
“The FIM Endurance World Championship is a genuine proving ground for Dunlop’s tyres. The distances achieved in EWC are a great test of durability and reward tyres which perform consistently throughout the race.
Dunlop has a long and proud association with EWC, being the most successful tyre manufacturer in the history of the series. Our win with Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) in the 2016 championship title was the eleventh title won by the SERT/Dunlop combination and Dunlop’s 16th overall EWC championship win since 1994.
Suzuka brings its own unique challenges. The long corners, the variety of cambers and inclines provide a stern test for riders, tyres and bikes. This, combined with notoriously variable weather conditions can make for an exciting race. Despite the undoubted prestige of the race (comparable to Bol d’Or and Le Mans as an individual iconic event), this year our focus in the Suzuka 8 Hours is to build on that unrivalled championship success. With both GMT94 Yamaha and SERT in contention for the championship, it is our priority to treat our teams equally in the tense title fight.”
Davide Gerosa, Product & Business Development Manager, Pirelli Moto Racing commented:
“Endurance for Pirelli is doubly important: it’s a proving ground for the specifications approved and developed in both the World SBK Championship and the national championships. The development of part of the range is in charge to Endurance. Races during the night and day, in cold conditions and warm situations, are the last step to confirm a specification before selling on the market.
All the development and testing we do during the season is possible thanks to our partners who have raced with Pirelli for a long time: Bolliger for more than 15 years; SRC Kawasaki, five-time winner of the 24 Heures Motos and four-time winner of the Bol d’Or with Pirelli, and new partners like Moriwaki in Japan.
This is our first year with Moriwaki and we are very happy to be partnering them to help their comeback at the All Japan SBK and in the 2017 Suzuka 8 Hours.
Japan has very different conditions from Europe, and this gives us a chance to develop our tyres in a very important market with a strong partner. We are working hard to help our partner achieve the best possible result.”
Hiroshi Yamada, Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Japan looked ahead to the weekend:
“The Suzuka 8 Hours is very special race and one of the biggest events for Bridgestone, because it’s a legendary and very popular race in Japan. We have won all 11 editions of the Suzuka 8 Hours since 2006.
There are 31 Bridgestone-equipped teams at this year’s race. We’ll be supplying 2,000 prototype tyres and roughly 1,000 tyres to our customers.
The 2017 edition is special because it’s the 40th anniversary of the race, and of course the EWC finale. We’ll be doing our utmost to get another victory, and ideally we’d like to see three teams with Bridgestone caps on the podium after the race!”
