Post by BADGER on Jul 31, 2007 5:51:48 GMT
WSBK regular delights Suzuki with first 8Hrs wins since inaugural event.
Yukio Kagayama lived up to both his own and Yoshimura Suzuki's expectations at the Suzuka 8 Hours as he guided the team towards ending Honda's ten-year reign at the prestigious endurance event.
Paired with Japanese superbike ace Kousuke Akiyoshi, the WSBK regular guided Yoshimura's GSX-R1000 to a narrow victory in the third round of the World Endurance Championship - the team's first Suzuka endurance win for almost 30 years, when it took the inaugural 8Hrs.
Kagayama led from the start, ahead of Honda's BSB points leader Ryuichi Kiyonari, Yamaha's Norick Abe and the second HRC Honda of veteran Tady Okada, and had opened up a 15-second advantage by the one hour mark, when Akiyoshi took over.
"I told Yukio before start that I wanted him to holeshot and the top position in a first lap - and he achieved it," Yoshimura Suzuki team manager Yohei Kato smiled.
The duo continued to increase their advantage lap by lap, but remained closely tracked by their rivals, meaning that any slip could be fatal for their chances of victory. Although reigning Suzuka champion Shinichi Itoh's Honda FCC TSR 778 set fastest lap at 2min 09.227secs in the opening stages, the race eventually boiled down to a two-horse race between the Kiyonari Honda and Kagayama's Suzuki.
"The strategy for my first stint was to pull away and I achieved this," Kagayama revealed afterwards, "My partner Akiyoshi is my long-time friend and I know his potential very well. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is awesome and the Bridgestone tyres were excellent."
Kagayama gradually forged ahead little by little and, when James Toseland ditched the HRC machine on his first lap, the gap became a little more comfortable, allowing the #34 Suzuki to maintained its control over the full eight hours, eventually taking victory by 2min 01.484secs over the second HRC entry of Okada and Carlos Checa after 216 laps.
"We believed Kagayama and Akiyoshi could win!" Kato concluded, "They made very good lap times all through the 216 laps, and I'm very happy. Thanks to my staff and Suzuki, plus all our sponsors, we finally beat a very strong HRC team, and I want to dedicate this victory to my late grandfather, Pops Yoshimura."