Australia was represented in force at the 2014 staging of the iconic Suzuka 8 Hour, with 10 familiar faces spread across the grid on different bikes and teams. Seven of those riders earned places in the top 10, an exemplary result against a field of experienced endurance riders and a large number of locals with an intimate knowledge of the circuit and experience in the Japanese climate. The event would start in wet conditions after a delayed start and was characterised by a host of safety cars along with crashes and comebacks. Today CycleOnline.com.au reviews the Top 10 performances based upon finishing order.

Source: Suzuki Racing.

Josh Waters, 2nd (Yoshimura Suzuki)
Josh Waters’ Suzuki switch in the British Superbike Championship re-opened the door for him with the Yoshimura Suzuki squad so it would have been an easy choice to select him to share the role of steering their lead machine. He has factored on the podium here in the past and would replicate the second place finish with a strong ride in trying conditions. Waters was handed back the bike for the final stint and pushed to within just under a minute of the eventual leaders, a strong result for the Yoshimura brand’s 60th Suzuka showing.

Broc Parkes, 4th (Monster Energy Yamaha with YSP)
Like Waters, Parkes is a priority pick for the factory Yamaha effort due to his breadth of experience and ability to lap consistently over the long distances covered in endurance racing. Qualifying second, the team, featuring fellow Aussie Josh Brookes, ran a competitive race but would strike trouble in Parkes’ second stint when problems with the electric shifter surfaced. The issues, ironically those which hampered the team in 2013, saw a chance at a podium slip away as the leaders built a one lap buffer at the wave of the chequered flag.

Josh Brookes, 4th (Monster Energy Yamaha with YSP)
The BSB ’seat swap’ of Josh Waters and Josh Brookes saw the pieces of the puzzle put back together when Brookes was slot into a ride at the Monster Energy Yamaha with YSP outfit. Registering his debut Suzuka podium just 12 months ago, Brookes propped up the team capably alongside Parkes and Katsuyuki Nakasuga. He was able to brush off a crash during qualifying but would inherit a significant task to keep the team running competitively when over three minutes were spent in the pits fixing the aforementioned gear shift problem. Given the challenges faced, fourth is a solid result for Brookes in his first EWC showing on the R1.

Josh Hook, 7th (Honda Team Asia)
The first domestic-based Aussie home in the race was also the youngest. Second-year Superbike rider Hook raced the event alongside Jamie Stauffer in 2013 and would be snapped up by Honda Team Asia who leaned upon him for his pace and experience. Riding alongside Dimas Ekky Pratama from Indonesia and Zamri Baba from Malaysia, Hook dug deep and delivered when it counted to haul the team forward from a lowly 68th at one stage to a solid top 10 finish. The effort will certainly put him in the picture for the high-ranking endurance and Asian teams moving forward.

Damian Cudlin, 8th (Suzuki Endurance Racing Team)
The versatile Cudlin gained his big Suzuka shot with the 13-time Endurance World Champions when Vincent Philippe, arguably the team’s star rider, was ruled out due to injury. Though the team did make forward progress during the race it was held back by its initial qualifying performance of 13th, with safety cars also slowing the overall progress. Cudlin made continued inroads and built upon his pace steadily, proving a solid stand-in in what he described as a “very good experience”.

Wayne Maxwell, 10th (Monster Energy Yamaha Austria Racing Team)
While Wayne Maxwell has had a fair amount of experience at the Suzuka 8 Hour, he has been troubled in past years by under-performing machinery. Announced as part of the Yamaha Austria Racing Team’s full-season squad, Maxwell’s first hit out with the team at the Bol D’Or 24 Hour was bruising and brutal, with the 2013 Australian champion injured in a crash. The determination to bounce back at Suzuka was apparent and he handled the task capably, making up good ground in each of his stints, the first of which came in tricky wet conditions. Maxwell rounded out the race for the team and picked off a place in the final stages to take a well-earned 10th place.

Source: Honda.

Rick Olson, 10th (Monster Energy Yamaha Austria Racing Team)
A top 10 finish in his maiden outing at the Suzuka 8 Hour is a strong result for Rick Olson who held up his end of the bargain and brought home the Yamaha Austria Racing Team unscathed despite the major technical problems the team faced. Team Manager Mandy Kainz acknowledged the contribution of all three riders, including Olson, in recovering from 22nd on the grid after qualifying, saying he was completely satisfied with the efforts en route to 10th.

Gareth Jones, 19th (Team R2CL)
Former IDM Superbike Championship regular Gareth Jones took on a new challenge in 2014, signing on as a full-time member of the French Team R2CL World Endurance outfit alongside his duties as a Dunlop test rider. With the team making a sensational comeback from 35th to 7th at the first WEC event there was plenty of potential for a strong result at what would be Jones’ first Suzuka outing. With teammate Matt Lagrive suffering a heavy crash in practice, Jones would take on the task of back-to-back stints with Gwen Giabanni. The pairing soldiered on for 19th, with a crash in the earlier stages of the race proving problematic.

Troy Herfoss, DNF (Honda Dream RT Sakurai Honda)
The in-form Team Honda rider was itching to get his Suzuka 8 Hour debut underway and he certainly didn’t disappoint, the end race result not indicative of his pace in the latter stages. Lacking the experience of the largely local Japanese field or WEC regulars, Herfoss eased his way into the event initially but upped his pace as the race went on and was soon lapping quicker than his qualifying effort. Unfortunately a series of electrical problems would put pay to he and teammate Jamie Stauffer’s race, with the first issue costing them time in the early stages and, despite the pairing recovering to as high as 21st, eventually proving terminal.

Jamie Stauffer, DNF (Honda Dream RT Sakurai Honda)
Paired with regular ASC teammate Herfoss, Stauffer’s Suzuka frustrations were detailed above but he also had to contend with riding on an incredibly sore and swollen left ankle which he injured in a qualifying crash. 2014 will be its own unique chapter in Stauffer’s mixed experiences at Suzuka which have seen good results mixed with disappointing DNFs, largely bike-related.