8 hours of Suzuka
The Suzuka 8-hour race is an endurance race for motorcycles .
It takes place annually in July on the Suzuka International Racing Course in Japan and has been part of the FIM Endurance World Championship since 1980 .
The race is designed to last eight hours. For each team, two to three drivers take turns on each motorcycle.
The event is the most important motorcycle race in Japan and currently attracts around 85,000 spectators each year. The four large local plants Honda , Yamaha , Kawasaki and Suzuki each start with factory machines. The motorcycles are driven by some of the best pilots in the Motorcycle and Superbike World Championship , as the date of the race is chosen so that there are no clashes with events of the Motorcycle and Superbike World Championship.
history
The 8-hour race in Suzuka was first held in 1978 as a race for racing prototypes for the Tourist Trophy Formula One (TT-F1) . In the following years, the regulations were adapted to the standards of the FIM, the maximum displacement for the F1 machines was limited to 750 cm³ . In the 1980s, the race attracted around 130,000 visitors annually, the previous record of 160,000 spectators dates back to 1990.
Another major change to the regulations followed in 1993. After superbike races had grown in popularity in previous years , the technical regulations were geared towards superbike machines.
Winners list
1 - The race was shortened to 6 hours due to bad weather.
Record winner
driver |
Manufacturer
|
Web links
- Official Website (Japanese)
Individual evidence
- ↑ FIM EWC: NO SUZUKA 8 HOURS EWC GRAND FINALE WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL RIDERS. August 12, 2020, accessed August 12, 2020 .