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It proved to be an action-packed edition. Bad weather saw the safety car come out on three separate occasions, mixing up this Suzuka 8 Hours. It was Yamaha who was left smiling in the end, scoring its fourth consecutive win, thanks to the trio comprising Nakasuga, Lowes e van der Mark.
A victory that was only sealed at the last minute, the team keeping its cool in the most complicated parts of the race, particularly when rain fell on the Japanese track. Following behind the R1s was Honda, with its factory team. HRC had hoped for more but was forced to settle for second. Despite Nakagami, Takahashi and PJ Jacobsen all giving it their best shot, they could not do any more against the Yamaha riders.
Kawasaki also reached the podium, after having dominated in practice and qualifying. Rea and co. were among the favourites for the win, even more so after having taken the race lead one hour in. But the Akashi manufacturer first had to deal with a fuel calculation error, and then the Cannibal crashed in the wet, putting paid to their hopes.
Fourth place for the first of the Suzukis, or rather that entrusted to the surprising S-Pulse team, tenth on the other hand for the Yoshimura team, with riders Ray, Tsuda and Guintoli, the latter victim of a fall.
As for the world title fight, a fifth place finish was enough for the Honda FCC TSR to secure the title. Sixth for the GMT94 Yamaha, which translates to second in the championship standings.
