Suzuka 8H – Endurance – Moto GP: Yamaha lines up Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro at the Suzuka 8H 2015 –

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Endurance / Moto GP: Yamaha lines up Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro at the 2015 Suzuka 8H

Suzuka 8H - Endurance - Moto GP: Yamaha lines up Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro at the Suzuka 8H 2015 -

The 2015 edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours revives the tradition of engaging top riders in this famous Japanese motorcycle endurance race: Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, currently 7th and 8th in the MotoGP classification, will defend the Yamaha colors there on the new R1, thus confirming the high expectations placed by the brand in tuning forks …

The 2015 Suzuka 8 Hours revives the tradition of engaging top riders in this famous Japanese motorcycle endurance race: Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, currently 7th and 8th in the standings, will defend the Yamaha colors on the , thus confirming the .

Smith, Espargaro and Stoner: nice poster at the "Suzuka 8H GP" ! 

Scheduled from July 23 to 26, the Suzuka 8 Hours have always been of enormous importance for Japanese manufacturers, who do not hesitate to deploy significant resources to shine at home. Technical preparation worthy of a Grand Prix prototype, careful logistics, boxes full of engineers: nothing is neglected to show off your power and know-how at Suzuka, a matter of principle and honor !

In the same vein, in the past Japanese manufacturers regularly called on their best speed representatives to form "elite" crews at Suzuka..

We remember in particular the victory of Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards on a VTR in 2001, the same year of the Italian’s first title in the premier class.. 

Since then, this "tradition" has been somewhat lost, with the riders arguing that they have now too busy speed seasons (as well as the accompanying promotional obligations) to take the risk of scattering in endurance – literally. , as figuratively…

It is undoubtedly for this reason that Yamaha finally aligns Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro in the Japanese event, when it was a question of sending Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo there, just to celebrate in style the arrival of and the 60 years of Yamaha! A project certainly salivating, but risky insofar as Rossi and Lorenzo currently occupy the first and second place in the MotoGP ranking. "Exposing" them to Suzuka could have cost Iwata‘s firm dearly in the event of a fall !

Smith and Espargaro will therefore team up with Katsuyuki Nakasuga, reigning champion in the Superbike category in Japan (JSB1000). The three men will ride a YZF-R1 specially developed for the Suzuka 8 Hours, an official motorcycle designed and supported directly by the parent company in Japan, unlike the R1s of private teams such as YART and GMT94, world champion in endurance title. 

In short, Yamaha deploys heavy artillery to achieve its first victory in 19 years at Suzuka, the fifth in its history. But the two Tech3 pilots will find on their way a certain Casey Stoner, … Beautiful people, certainly !

Nakasuga is aiming for his fourth consecutive title in the "All Japan Road Race Championship" and has participated in the Suzuka 8 Hours on seven occasions, with a fourth place in 2014 as the best result..

Smith and Espargaro delighted, but aware of the scale of the challenge…

"I thank Yamaha for having thought of me for their team for the 8 Hours of Suzuka, a legendary event. I can’t wait to try my hand at another discipline and especially to do it in the company of my teammate Pol and Katsuyuki Nakasuga ", comments Smith.

“It will be an unforgettable event and another chapter in my career with Yamaha. I am very excited to try out the new Yamaha YZF-R1, which I have heard a lot of and am delighted to ride. . We will have to approach this event very seriously since we will be the official team and I will go to Japan with the intention of securing an excellent result for Yamaha ".

"I am very happy that Yamaha has chosen me to represent them at one of the most famous motorcycle events, the Suzuka 8 Hours. It is an honor but there will be a lot to learn," said Pol. Espargaro, .

“I am not under any illusions about the difficulty of the event since I have never run endurance and I do not know the endurance yet, although I have heard a lot of good things about it. MotoGP calendar is also very demanding and we will have to train for this event between our races. It will be good to work with Bradley, this time we will fight together instead of fighting each other: I think that we will complement each other very well ".

"On the other hand, we don’t know the Suzuka circuit and I hope that Nakasuga-san can help us with the track, with the bike but also with the strategies to follow to succeed in our race. It will be special and we will do our best. better to show us up to the confidence that Yamaha places in us "

The Yamaha crew will also have to deal with the youth of the YZF-R1, still in the break-in phase for a discipline as demanding as endurance: during, the Yamaha suffered from some technical problems, in particular an unforeseen crown change. on motorcycles of two teams, or a damaged sensor for that of the GMT94…

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