The F.C.C. TSR Honda France reached the finish of the Suzuka 8 Hours(Japan) in 33th position, at the end of a race marked by numerousdifficulties.

・Class / FORMULA EWC ・Machine / HONDA CBR1000RR-R
・SUZUKA circuit (JAPAN)
■Result / 33th
・Total Time / 08:00:52.745 ・LAP / 198
・TEAM STANDINGS / 11th 26pts

The 46 teams entered for the Suzuka 8 Hours took to the track today at 11.30am (local time) under a glorious sun and sweltering heat. Starting from 8th on the grid, Josh Hook got off to a very good start and quickly settled into a fast race pace. The Australian rider completed his first stint keeping the #5 Honda in the top 10. Mike di Meglio and Alan Techer continued the work accomplished by their team-mates, keeping in touch with the leading group. As the hours went by, the outside temperature rose and the #5 Honda suffered a few engine problems. Despite this, the riders intensified their efforts to maintain their positions in the provisional standings.
During the third hour of the race, Josh Hook went off the track. The damage to the Honda was minimal and the Australian rejoined without making a pit stop, in 14th position. By the time he handed over to Mike di Meglio, the #5 Honda was back up to 13th.

Unfortunately, the second half of the race was punctuated by a number of problems for the Franco-Japanese team. First of all, Alan Techer was forced to make a stop-and-go penalty for a mistake in the pits. Around 30 minutes later, the French rider had to make a pit stop to replace the exhaust system on his machine, which had been damaged when Josh Hook crashed. It took the technical team more than 10 minutes to carry out the necessary repairs. When it returned to the track, the #5 Honda CBR 1000RR-R Fireblade was relegated to 28th place. Josh Hook then entered a courageous climb up the rankings. By setting the same pace as the riders in the top 10, the Australian quickly made up a few places. When Mike di Meglio took over, the team was already 25th. But with 1h30 to go, the Franco-Japanese team suffered another blow when the French rider crashed. A further mechanical intervention was required, which dropped the team to 34th place.

In the pits and on the track, thanks in particular to Alan Techer’s last stint which saw him ride as fast as the top 3, all the members of the team battled right to the end to enable the #5 Honda to cross the finish line of the Suzuka 8 Hours. The team achieved this goal, finishing 33th in the final standings.

The whole F.C.C. TSR Honda France team is now looking ahead to the Bol d’Or, the fourth and final round of the championship, which takes place on September 14 and 15 at the Paul Ricard circuit (France). The official Honda team, currently 11th in the FIM EWC championship, will be keen to end this difficult season on a positive note and will be doing everything to challenge for victory.

■Josh Hook – rider
“It was a very tough weekend. Having missed out on private testing, we had a lot of things to try out and not enough time ahead of us. I’m sorry for the team who worked so hard. Everyone did their maximum and unfortunately the result isn’t there. Now we have to analyse how we can come back stronger for the Bol d’Or.”

■Mike di Meglio – rider
“It was a very difficult race for us. We knew it was going to be very hot and that had a big impact on engine performance. The tyres were working well but we didn’t have any acceleration or power. I didn’t want to take any risks and I’m sorry I made a mistake when I wasn’t pushing hard. It cost us some time but we were already far behind. It was the first race with this bike and we have a lot of points to improve. We are going to work hard to prepare for the Bol d’Or.”

■Alan Techer – rider
“A difficult race and a difficult season. We changed the bike just before the race. So we had a lot of new things to deal with, and there’s a lot of work ahead of us. The aim will be to fight for victory at the Bol d’Or to finish the season on a positive note.”

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