Lowes Wins Suzuka 8h with Yamaha
Legendary endurance race sees the YZF R1 come out on top, with Brookes also on the podium with Suzuki
The Yamaha line up of WorldSBK star Alex Lowes, home rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga and MotoGP rider Pol Espargaró took victory in the Suzuka 8h, with Lowes the rider tasked with crossing the finish line in the final stages of the race to secure the victory – the second successive win for the YZF R1 in the Japanese event.
Milwaukee BMW rider Josh Brookes was another WorldSBK talent who found success at Suzuka, taking a podium with the Yoshimura Suzuki squad. Others present from the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship included Gino Rea, Niccolo Canepa, Gianluca Viziello and PJ Jacobsen – and Honda’s superstar line up of 2006 MotoGP Champion Nicky Hayden partnered with WorldSBK teammate Michael van der Mark.
Hayden and van der Mark were sadly unable to finish the race due to a mechanical problem, following on from an issue for the Honda in 2015 that also saw van der Mark unable to complete the race. The two previous editions of the event had seen the Dutchman take victory for Honda before the spate of bad luck.
Testing is next on the agenda for many in WorldSBK, before the engines fire up to race once again at Lausitzring in Germany, with the returning and modified venue to open its gates from the 16th to 18th September.
