Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama has won the prestigious Suzuka 8 hour race in Japan! Riding a GSX-R1000, for team Suzuki Yoshimura with Jomo 34, he and fellow countryman Kosuke Akiyoshi took the chequered flag nearly one lap ahead of the HRC team of Tadayuki Okada and Carlos Checa, with Honda riders Yusuke Teshima and Shinichi Itoh third.

Yuki and Kosuke’s win for Suzuki was the factory’s first win since 1983 and also broke Honda’s ten-year long winning streak. For many race fans, the Suzuka 8 hour race may just be one round of the Endurance World Championship, but for the Japanese manufacturers, who all put massive effort and expense into it, the race is more then just that - it is the race of the year!

Afterwards, Yuki said, “This feels so good. To win this race against HRC is really rewarding because they are serious and here to win. They encourage us to race better and race harder. I want to thank all the fans for patiently waiting for Yoshimura Suzuki to win again.”