The Eight Hours of Suzuka
THE EIGHT HOURS OF SUZUKA
RACE WATCH
Fast becoming the world's premier four-stroke race
Matthew Miles
THOSE WHO SUBSCRIBE TO THE THEORY THAT REAL roadrace bikes have to be grand prix-style two-strokes should listen to four-time world champion Eddie Lawson talk about the Superbike-derived 750s that competed in Japan’s Suzuka 8-Hour endurance race. “There’s nothing wrong with Superbikes,” said Lawson. “Kenny Roberts and I used to joke around, calling them ‘diesels,’ just to wind up the Superbike guys. The 8-Hour bikes are incredible; they’re GP bikes. They just happen to be four-strokes.” Lawson should know. In his second race since retiring from the GP circuit, fresh off his Daytona 200 win last March, he and co-rider Satoshi
Tsujimoto were pre-race favorites, and Lawson had the team’s factory Honda RVF750 out in front early in the race until he tossed the bike away after running through a patch of oil on the track.
Mick Doohan and Daryl Beattie were actually the quickest riders in qualifying for this year’s Suzuka 8Hour. The Australian grand prix regulars put their HRC-backed RVF750 on the pole with a blazing time of 2 minutes, 12.011 seconds, but were also tripped up by oil deposited on the racetrack, resulting in a minor lowside. At the end of eight hours, it was American Scott Russell and his New Zealand teammate Aaron Slight, riding an Itoham-sponsored Kawasaki ZXR750, who won the prestigious race.
“Our plan was to run a good, steady pace and be there at the end,” said Rob Muzzy, Kawasaki’s team manager. “At Suzuka, the guys who are riding really fast always seem to screw up. We didn’t want to get caught up in that.”
The oil-related crashes of Doohan and Lawson, in addition to mechanical problems from the leading Yamaha
team, gave Russell and Slight the opportunity they needed. After an inspired charge from 27th place, Lawson and Tsujimoto finished second, twoand-a-half minutes behind the leaders. “A lot of it (the comeback) was Tsujimoto,” said Lawson. “I just kept riding around, doing the best I could. When I crashed, I hit my head real hard against the barrier. I had a mild concussion and couldn’t see very well; the next few hours were miserable.” Finishing in third was the duo of American Mike Smith and Takuma Aoki, one place ahead of the Doohan/ Beattie team.
Russell and Slight may have run a conservative race, but their qualifying effort was anything but subdued. Russell was one of only three riders
to lap the 3.6-mile, Honda-owned circuit in under 2 minutes, 13 seconds, qualifying in 2:12.599, third-quickest behind polesitter Doohan.
“He made that motorcycle do things it didn’t want to do,” said Lawson, who qualified fifth. “We knew that to do a 2:12 lap time on the Kawasaki was asking a bit much. It was impressive that Russell could ac-
tually do that.”
Smith and Aoki qualified ninthquickest on the same Honda RVF750 that Beattie and Wayne Gardner rode to victory last year. Smith, who rides an RC30 for Commonwealth Honda in AMA Superbike competition, was pleased with the team’s year-old Cup Noodle-backed machine, which weighed approximately 65 pounds less than his AMA Superbike.
“The lighter weight lets you go into the corners deeper and carry a higher cornering speed,” said the 27-yearold. “The only problem is that the cornering speed is so high and you’re leaned over so far that once it lets go, it goes really quick.”
Besides drawing the best machines and a handful of the world’s top riders, the 8-Hour, which also serves as the fifth round of the FIM World Endurance Championship, offers insight into next year’s production 750 sportbikes. The machines ridden by Doohan and Lawson were prototypes of the soon-to-be-released RC45, the long-awaited replacement for the aging RC30. “In principal, the ’94 RVF (RC45) is the same bike that Doohan was riding,” HRC Vice President Yoichi Oguma confirmed.
According to American Honda’s Ray Plumb, who accompanied Smith to Japan, the new Hondas, reportedly
powered by 90-degree V-Fours with right-side cam drives, 360-degree crankshafts and six-speed cassette gearboxes, and with Showa suspension and 16.5-inch front wheels, were “completely different from top to bottom” than the old-style RVFs.
The production version of the bike (see “Preview ’94,” CW, September) is expected to be fitted with programmable fuel injection and a new twinduct induction system, similar to Kawasaki’s ram-air design. A new aluminum frame, with revised steering geometry and a 54.9-inch wheelbase, is also expected. A 6.3-gallon fuel tank, a stronger single-sided rear swingarm and a 17 x 6-inch rear wheel have also been specified. The street-going version will weigh more than the feathery 300-pound racebike, probably in the 390-pound range.
Last year, attention focused on the factory Yamaha YZF750 ridden to second place by Kevin Magee and Niall Mackenzie. This year, two-time Suzuka winner Magee was to pair with Kenny Roberts Jr., but the Australian crashed the team’s YZF750 in untimed practice, suffering multiple fractures to his left hand. With Katsuyoshi Takahashi substituting for Magee, the team finished eighth, the top-placing Yamaha team, three laps behind Russell/Slight.
Suzuki has struggled with its liquidcooled GSX-R750 this year, enjoying little success in either AMA or World Superbike competition. At Suzuka, the factory Suzuki of Akira Yanagawa and Noriyasu Numata qualified fourth fastest, but DNFed in the first hour. GP sensation Alex Barros and British privateer Peter Goddard qualified 11th on their Lucky Strike-sponsored Suzuki and rode well during the race, but a seventh-hour low-side placed them seventh at the finish.
The Barros/Goddard Suzuki was a prototype of a limited-edition GSX-R that may be sold next year (see “GSXR750RR,” page 34). It used a one-off frame with steeper steering geometry, larger radiators, six-piston Nissin brake calipers and a new intake system. Due to cost considerations, the production version may use the current chassis and engine, but will be fitted with 40mm carburetors, six-piston Nissin calipers borrowed from the GSX-R 1100 and bodywork modeled after that of the Suzuka racebike.
Russell and Slight’s race-winning Kawasaki hardly resembled the production ZX-7. “Everything is different,” said Rob Muzzy. “The frame is similar to the standard design-the top spars are the same-but it’s lighter and stiffer with more weight on the front end. The engine is basically a detuned version of the Superbike motor, not so much for endurance as for gas mileage.”
During the race, several top machines, including the factory Kawasaki, were demonstrably slower than in qualifying, prompting some riders, including Lawson, to speculate about the use of short-fuse qualifying engines.
“Our bike ran the same as it did in qualifying,” said Lawson. “But you could see a big difference between other teams and us. All of a sudden, we got real fast. I believe they had special engines. Whatever those guysKawasaki, Yamaha and maybe Suzukiwere using in qualifying, they were very slow in the race.”
“We didn’t have any special motors for qualifying,” responded Muzzy. “Our bike was down on top speed during the race. We ran different carburetion and it wasn’t quite right.”
Fuel injection-the use of which was neither confirmed nor denied-could account for the Honda’s consistent performance.
“Fuel injection is ultimately the way to go, if it’s done properly,” said Muzzy. “Once they get it sorted out, Honda should go from being uncompetitive to being right in the hunt, in both World Superbike and AMA Superbike competition. But I guarantee the bike will not be competitive with > standard fuel injection, any more than you can win on a Ducati with standard fuel injection. The only fuel-injected race Ducatis that really work are the factory bikes. The new Honda is a nice bike, certainly better than the RC30. But whether it’s going to offer some miraculous advantage...I don’t see that. Honestly, I’m more worried about the new Ducati 916. Based on the current (Superbike) rules, there is an advantage to being on a two-cylinder motorcycle.”
But at Suzuka, it was Russell and Slight who finished first, giving Kawasaki its first-ever 8-Hour victory-and with it the all-important Japanese four-stroke bragging rights until next year’s race.
“I think we would have beat the Yamahas regardless,” said Muzzy. “But if Lawson or Doohan hadn’t crashed, it’s debatable whether we would have won. Part of that was planned, we simply didn’t want to run that fast. At the end, though, only a major mistake would have kept us from winning.” □
Rainey leads 500 GP title chase
With a victory at the Czechoslovakian GP, Wayne Rainey recaptured the 500cc world roadracing championship points lead from Kevin Schwantz, who battled handling problems to finish fifth. “We couldn’t get the bike to stop or turn,” said the frustrated Texan. “The Suzuki’s been good all year and this is the first time we’ve run into trouble.” Rainey’s Marlboro Team Roberts teammate Luca Cadalora fin-
ished second and Honda-mounted Mick Doohan was third.
Rainey qualified fastest at Brno, his first pole in two years, attributing his Yamaha’s improved performance to an updated frame and a new batch of Dunlop tires. “We’ve been struggling all year,” said the three-time world champion. “Now, things are finally coming around.”
John Kocinski made his return to grand prix racing aboard a factory Cagiva. The 25-year-old qualified third fastest and finished fourth, following a race-long battle with Doohan. “I beat a lot of people, but I’m not really happy,” he said. “We need more time with the bike.” Kocinski is expected to finish the season with Cagiva, but has not yet signed a deal for ’94. He has been linked to several teams and most recently tested Max Biaggi’s Honda NSR250.
Freddie Spencer also made a return to racing at Czech Grand Prix. Unfortunately, the three-time world champion’s injured right wrist and knee were not completely healed. Spencer qualified his Yamaha Motor France YZR500 in 20th, but pulled out of the race after only four laps. “I was having problems changing gears,” he said. “I couldn’t move my wrist enough to control the engine revs. I can’t explain how disappointed I am.”
With three races remaining, Rainey leads Schwantz by eleven points, 214 to 203. Mick Doohan is third with 136 points.
Quarterley victorious at Mid-Ohio
A`fter 10 years of trying, Dale Quarterley finally won his first AMA Superbike national. The longtime privateer, riding a Muzzy-equipped Team Mirage Kawasaki ZX-7R, survived several late-race challenges to defeat Vance & Hines Yamaha’s Jamie James at the 2.7-mile Lexington, Ohio, facility. Commonwealth Honda rider Mike Smith was third, with newly crowned AMA Superbike Champion Doug Polen in fourth, reportedly the victim of a broken motor mount. Thomas Stevens, aboard the ever-improving Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750, rounded out the top five.
Going into the event, the ninth round of the 10-race series, Quarterley trailed Polen and Muzzy Kawasaki rider Miguel DuHamel in the point standings. DuHamel suffered tire problems in the race and finished 10th, which relegated him to third in points. Going into the final round at Sears Point, Quarterley holds an 11point advantage over the Canadian. With his win at Mid-Ohio, Quarterley became one of only four ridersthe others being Polen, Eddie Lawson and Scott Russell-to have won an AMA Superbike final this year.
Russell leads World Superbike series
Muzzy Kawasaki rider Scott Russell heads the World Superbike championship points standings by a slim margin over factory Ducati rider Carl Fogarty. In Czechoslovakia, Russell
overcame handling problems to finish second and first in the two-leg event, opening a 21 -point lead over Fogarty. But three weeks later in Anderstorp, Sweden, Fogarty fought back, winning both legs while Russell finished second and fourth, respectively. Fogarty also dominated in Malaysia, overcoming miserable conditions to qualify on the pole and win both races. Russell was second in both legs, with Yamaha’s Fabrizio Pirovano third. With five rounds remaining, Russell has a five-point lead over Fogarty. Giancarlo Fallapa, also Ducati mounted, is in third.
Kiedrowski takes 250cc Outdoor National Championship
ICawasaki’s Mike Kiedrowski clinched the 1993 250cc outdoor MX championship with a win at Troy, Ohio. The victory completed the triple crown of outdoor motocross for the 24-year-old Kiedrowski; he also has two 125cc national championships and a 500cc national title to his credit. At the series’ final round in San Bernardino, California, the newly crowned national champ hurt his back in practice and sat out of the event in hopes of being fit for the upcoming 500cc nationals. Kiedrowski finished the season with 339 points, 34 points ahead of teammate Mike LaRocco. Honda’s Steve Lamson was third with 281 points. LaRocco and Yamaha’s Damon Bradshaw were the only other riders to score wins in the series.
Toland wins Spa 24-Hour
A team that included roadracer Doug Toland won the Belgian round of the World Championship Endurance Series at Spa-Francorchamps. Toland thus became the first American to win a world championship 24-hour endurance race. The former Cycle World Associate Editor teamed with Englishmen Steve Manley and Simon Buckmaster on a kitted Kawasaki ZXR750R for his Spa victory. At the rain-soaked Swedish round in Anderstorp, the same team finished fourth. Toland was also present at the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hour, this time serving as a reserve rider for a Moriwaki Engineering effort. With one race remaining, Toland is currently second in the points standings. □
