Stoner back in action for Suzuka 8 Hour

Casey Stoner will finally get to fulfil a long-held ambition this weekend when he makes a one-off return to competition to compete in the blue-chip round of the world endurance title — the Suzuka 8 Hour in Japan.

Unable to squeeze in the 8 Hour when he was racing in the MotoGP title, Stoner now has time on his hands to compete in the iconic event, which began in 1978.

The 8 Hour is a massive test of physical and mental mettle, as the race is held in sweltering conditions where both 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.
Stoner has linked up with the Musashi RT HARC-PRO team for the 8 Hour, which has won the last two events with Takumi Takahashi, Leon Haslam and Michael van der Mark. With Haslam now an Aprilia rider in world superbike, an opening became available in the team for the two-time world champion.

Stoner represents the best chance of snapping Australia's 23-year winless drought in the 8 Hour, with Daryl Beattie and Wayne Gardner the last to claim the honours way back in 1992.

Musashi RT HARC-PRO, alongside most of the other major teams, tested at Suzuka a few weeks ago, with Takahashi — a three-time 8 Hour winner — the fastest rider on track, with Stoner and van der Mark also showing strong speed. Yoshimura Suzuki, featuring Australia's Josh Waters, was second fastest ahead of TOHO Racing with Moriwaki and Team Kagayama.

Waters, always a slick rider around Suzuka, will link up with world superbike rider Alex Lowes and Takuya Tsuda, TOHO Racing has Tatsuya Yamaguchi, Toni Elias and Ratthapark Wilairot, and Team Kagayama is Yukio Kagayama, Ryuichi Kiyonari and Noriyuki Haga.

Team Kagayama is the only outfit where all three riders have won the 8 Hour, with Kiyonari a four-time winner.

Yamaha Factory Racing Team is also a strong contender, and features the talents of reigning All-Japan superbike champion Katsuyuki Nakasuga and MotoGP satellite factory riders Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, who are making their 8 Hour debuts. Yamaha hasn't won at the 8 Hour since way back in 1996, and is back in with a full factory effort campaigning the all-new YZF-R1M.

Nakasuga was fastest in a previous 8 Hour test in early June, eclipsing the time set by Takahashi a few weeks ago.

The other Aussies competing in the Suzuka 8 Hour are:

Hook is based in Japan this year racing for FCC TSR in the All-Japan title, while O'Halloran and Parkes are British superbike combatants. Herfoss leads the Australasian Superbike Championship.

Other teams with strong chances to at least make it onto the 8 Hour podium are Team Green Kawasaki and some of the regular world endurance outfits such as SRC Kawasaki, BMW Motorrad France, Team Bolliger Switzerland, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) and GMT94 Yamaha. SERT currently leads the world title.

In total, 84 teams will attempt to qualify for the 70 starting positions, with qualifying to begin on Friday. 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 (four) and Kawasaki (1).