Aussie numbers swell for Suzuka 8 Hour

Team Honda Racing pair Jamie Stauffer and Josh Hook will compete in the 2013 Suzuka 8 Hour world endurance race in Japan from July 25-28, joining Yamaha-backed Aussie compatriots Josh Waters and Broc Parkes and Suzuki rider Josh Brookes.

Stauffer and Hook will ride for the Dream RT Sakurai Honda Team -- the same one in which Stauffer finished sixth outright in 2012 paired with former teammate Wayne Maxwell – Waters and Parkes will be in the Yamaha Austria Racing Team corner, while Brookes will race for Yoshimura Suzuki – the only team which has competed in every 8 Hour since its inception in 1978.

“I’m looking forward to the race, it will be good to get over there and to show Josh what it’s all about, it’s a really special race,” said Stauffer. “I have some work to do to get my injuries in order before testing starts but I’m hoping for some good news and looking forward to the race.”

It will be the first 8 Hour for Hook, in an event which has been won by six Australians: Mick Cole (1979), Tony Hatton (1979), Wayne Gardner (1985-1986, 1991-1992), Kevin Magee (1987-1988), Mick Doohan (1991), and Daryl Beattie (1992).

When asked about his expectations, Hook said: “I really have no idea what to expect, it is such a big event and the race goes for such a long time that anything can happen! Testing will give us a good idea of where the bike is at and what kind of endurance is needed. I can’t wait to get over there; it’s going to be an awesome experience.”

Meanwhile, Parkes (pictured) and Waters probably present as the strongest Antipodean pairing, while another Australian, Alex Cudlin, will be a reserve for the French-based SERT Suzuki. Waters finished second in the 2011 event alongside Nobuatsu Aoki and Yukio Kagayama on a Suzuki.

Kagayama has announced a famous teammate to join him in this year’s event -- 1993 world 500 GP champion Kevin Schwantz, who is 48 years old. The American will be the third rider, with Noriyuki Haga also on the roster.
Brookes is currently running second in the 2013 British Superbike Championship, and he will compete in the 8 Hour alongside Suzuki factory MotoGP test rider Nobuatsu Aoki and Takuya Tsuda.

"I'm absolutely delighted to have been asked to join the Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team at this year's Suzuka 8 Hour,” said Brookes. “I have had an ambition to win at Suzuka since watching GPs as a kid, when all the... greats like Doohan, (Wayne) Rainey and Schwantz stopped mid-season to take part in the event."