Yamaha France GMT94 Take Hard Fought Podium in Suzuka

The Yamaha France GMT94 Michelin Yamalube Team took a hard fought third place on the podium this weekend in the 2012 Suzuka 8Hour race, the 35th anniversary of what is one of the toughest road racing endurance races in the world.

After initially dropping down the field following an unexpected pit stop, the team made maximum use of the potential of the 2012 YZF-R1 to work steadily back up through the field, passing numerous back markers to reach the front runners.

The achievement was doubly impressive for the gathered Japanese fans as the team had just two riders competing instead of the normal three as regular member Matthieu Lagrive was injured. It fell to David Checa and Kenny Foray to lead the charge, Checa impressing with a final double stint push at the end to take the podium.

Monster Energy Yamaha YART made an impressive start to the race weekend with Japanese rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga taking his YZF-R1 to pole position, smashing the Endurance lap record in the process with an incredible 2’06.845 second run in the scorching heat. Joined by British Superbike Swan Yamaha riders Tommy Hill and Noriyuki Haga, the team made a strong start to the race. Nakasuga led initially and was working to increase the lead with an impressive pace until an unfortunate crash. After some time spent repairing the bike Hill and Haga were able to replicate Nakasuga’s potential race winning lap times but were unfortunately 27 laps behind the field by that point and so decided to retire.