Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Ewc - Race - Yamaha Factory Racing Write History With Incredible Suzuka 8 Hours Victory
luglio 29, 2018 - Yamaha Racing

Ewc - Race - Yamaha Factory Racing Write History With Incredible Suzuka 8 Hours Victory

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

Rising above what has been one of the most challenging Coca-Cola #suzuka 8 Hours weeks of recent years, The Yamaha Factory #racing Team delivered an heroic effort today to secure an incredible fourth consecutive victory in the iconic World Endurance race. Fellow Yamaha competitors GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team came tantalisingly close to securing the 2017/18 Endurance World title, missing out by the narrowest of margins to take second on the podium. YART Yamaha Official EWC Team had a less fortunate #suzuka 8 Hours experience, forced to retire before the halfway point.

As race day dawned this morning, Yamaha Factory #racing riders #alexlowes and #michaelvandermark prepared for the 2018 #suzuka 8 Hours with a huge challenge in front of them. Following a big crash in practice, it was decided that key team member and local hero Katsuyuki Nakasuga would not ride in the race as a shoulder injury prevented him from riding at 100% fitness. Undaunted by the setback, van der Mark took control for the opening stint, a race start that was itself a major challenge with rapidly changing weather bringing full wet conditions just seconds before the off.

Remaining calm the Dutchman didn't put a foot wrong, working his way up from fifth to take his position as a race lead contender before handing over to teammate Lowes. The Brit picked up where van der Mark left off, and was leading the race two hours in. The team would quickly encounter a safety car, which proved to be the first of many over the next hours, rain, sun, crashes and spilt oil on track all causing the yellow flags and a re-shuffle of the order. The time spent in between the safety cars was a pitched battle between Yamaha Factory #racing and race rivals Kawasaki, the two #racing less than a second apart for countless laps as they fought for the lead.

A combination of race strategy, safety car interventions and pure consistent race speed ultimately gave Lowes and van der Mark the edge over their rivals in green, however the final hour of the race saw the Factory Honda effort give it their best shot to close the gap. Having made it this far, the two Yamaha heroes, supported in spirit by Nakasuga-san in the pit garage, kept an unbeatable pace on their YZF-R1. Lowes eventually crossed the finish line after eight hours over 30 seconds clear at the front to record the team’s incredible fourth consecutive #suzuka 8 Hours victory. In doing so, he and van der Mark wrote yet another page in the history books for Yamaha Factory #racing and confirmed their status as heroes, overcoming any challenge in their path to reach the top step of the podium.

Further information in the press release to download

Ti potrebbe interessare anche

marzo 05, 2023
agosto 03, 2021
luglio 27, 2021

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. The #Mandalika International Street Circuit witnessed a very complicated s...

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. Jonathan Rea and #alexlowes will take a leap into the unknown with the new...

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. Alex Lowes will remain an integral part of the #kawasakiracing Team for th...