Five Aussies on Suzuka 8-hour duty

The 2011 Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance Race will be held this weekend, with five Aussies – three with a real chance to fight for outright honours – to contest the gruelling event.

Australian Superbike Championship regulars Wayne Maxwell and Jamie Stauffer will be aboard a HRC-backed Sakurai CBR1000RR at Suzuka, reminiscent of the mid 1980s when local Team Honda riders Andrew Johnson and Mal Campbell competed together in an all-antipodean entry.

And the third Australian with a strong shot at joining the likes of Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan, Kevin Magee and Daryl Beattie on then 8-hour honour board is Mildura’s Josh Waters, who will join Yukio Kagayama and Nobuatsu Aoki in the Yoshimura Suzuki outfit.

“Getting the opportunity to race such a prestigious race along side two of the best riders in the business is a huge compliment for me,” said Waters. “I really appreciate all the support Suzuki and Fujio (Yoshimura) have given me -- I’ll be doing everything I can to repay them for the faith they’ve put in me in giving me this great opportunity.”

Waters has impressed in testing at Suzuka in recent weeks, at a team where he has already competed in two rounds of this year’s world Superbike title as a wildcard.

Meanwhile, both Stauffer and Maxwell have experience at the 8-hour, which also doubles as a round of the Endurance World Championship. In 2007, Stauffer teamed up with the late Norick Abe to finish ninth, while in 2010 Maxwell teamed with Chojun Kameya at Sakurai Honda, so he is no stranger to the team.

“I am really excited to be returning to Japan to compete in the Suzuka 8-hour and I feel honoured that Team Sakurai Honda has chosen Wayne and me to compete as an all-Australian team,” said Stauffer. “The opportunity for us is fantastic. The team itself is a highly professional and successful team and I believe our chance for a podium is very high.”

The other Australians in action will be Isle of Man star Cameron Donald for the Honda TT Legends team, and Damien Cudlin for BMW Motorrad France, both endurance championship regulars. BMW Motorrad France is currently second in the championship standings behind Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.

“The Suzuka 8-hour is a something I have dreamed of doing since I was a kid so to get the chance to take part with the Honda TT Legends is incredible,” said Donald. “It’s going to be a big challenge to go up against the regular teams from Japan as well as the other endurance teams, but I am just so excited about the opportunity. I can’t wait to get out there and see what we can do.”

Last year’s 8-hour was won by the all-Japanese Honda team of Ryuichi Kiyonari, Takumi Takahashi and Takaaki Nakagami. Kiyonari – a former world Superbike winner – will return in 2011 with two even stronger team-mates – Kohsuke Akiyoshu and veteran Shinichi Itoh.

Fifty-one teams are entered for the 2011 race.

Honda’s victory last year was its 23rd in 33 events, placing it streets ahead of Suzuki (five), Yamaha (four) and Kawasaki (one).

Mick Cole and Tony Hatton were the first Australian winners in 1979, and since then Gardner (1985-1986, 1991-1992), Magee (1987-1988), Doohan (1991) and Beattie (1992) have all tasted success at Suzuka, in an era where most of the 500cc GP stars competed, such was the event's importance for the Japanese factories.

Valentino Rossi also teamed with American Colin Edwards to win in 2001.