Preview: 2016 Suzuka 8-Hour

Japan's iconic Suzuka 8 Hour world endurance race will be held for the 39th time this weekend, with a cluster of Aussie stars vying for victory.

2016 SUZUKA 8 HOUR NEWS AND RESULTS HERE

Broc Parkes (YART Yamaha) and Josh Brookes (Yoshimura Suzuki) represent the best chance of snapping Australia's 24-year winless drought in the 8 Hour, with Daryl Beattie and Wayne Gardner the last to claim the honours way back in 1992.

Both Aussies have two Japanese teammates in the race,  which is a massive test of physical and mental mettle where heat and humidity are all-encompassing from start to finish. To add to the intrigue, the last hour of the race is held in the dark, as the field of vision narrows and the scenery changes.

Other fast Aussies in early practice include Josh Waters (Suzuki), Damian Cudlin (Honda) and Mark Aitchison and Corey Turner, who are competing together on a Yamaha.

The defending champion is Yamaha Factory Racing Team, which is fielding Katsuyuki Nakasuga, MotoGP rider Pol Espargaro and WorldSBK pilot Alex Lowes, who has replaced Bradley Smith from last year's winning combination. Before that, Yamaha hadn't won the Suzuka 8-Hour since 1996.

Musashi RT HARC-PRO, a three-time 8 Hour winner, will field WorldSBK riders Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden, as well as Takumi Takahashi. Casey Stoner rode with Musashi in 2015, but spectacularly crashed out when the throttle on the CBR1000RR stuck open.

Other leading outfits include Team Green (Akira Yanagawa, Leon Haslam and Kazuki Watanabe) with its Kawasaki ZX-10R, Team Kagayama (Yuki0 Kagayama, Ryuichi Kiyonari and Naomichi Uramoto) on the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and FCC TSR Honda (Patrick Jacobsen, Dominique Aegerter and Kazuma Watanabe). Kiyonari is a four-time Suzuka 8-Hour winner, while Australia's Josh Hook was in the FCC team which finished second in 2015.

The other Aussies competing in the Suzuka 8 Hour are:

•    Anthony West for Akeno Speed WJR Yamaha; and
•    Aaron Morris and Aiden Wagner for Team R2CL (Suzuki).

The top 10 teams in qualifying will then move on to the Top 10 Trial on Saturday, where two riders from each team will run a single qualifying lap to decide the final grid. The race will start at 11:30am on Sunday Suzuka time.

In addition to Gardner (1985-1986, 1991-1992) and Beattie (1992), other Australians to have won the 8 Hour are Mick Cole (1979), Tony Hatton (1979), Kevin Magee (1987-1988) and Mick Doohan (1991).

Other heavyweights of the road racing scene to have greeted the chequered flag include Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards, Carlos Checa, Jonathan Rea, Carlos Checa, Eddie Lawson, Alex Barros, Aaron Slight, Wayne Rainey and Graeme Crosby.

Honda has dominated the Suzuka 8 Hour since its inception, and has 27 victories, way ahead of Suzuki (five), Yamaha (five) and Kawasaki (one).