Yoshimura Suzuki did a fine job to finish in second place on the podium.

Australia’s Josh Brookes played a leading role in Yoshimura Suzuki’s impressive second place finish at the Suzuka 8 Hour, trying hard to turn around a setback that saw him crash in the third hour.

Takuya Tsuda opened the running for the outfit and led in the early stages, before handing the GSX-R1000 over to Nobatsu Aoki.

The team’s hopes were dealt a blow when Aoki was served with a stop-go penalty for speeding in pit lane after forgetting to switch on the speed limiter.

Brookes took over the reins shortly after and was pushing hard to make back the time lost when he crashed.

“It’s a great feeling, but I’m a little disappointed for my mistake in the race, because I know the Suzuka 8 Hours is great race and very important in all aspects for the manufacturers, sponsors and fans,” reflected Brookes.

“When I crashed, I didn’t let go of the handlebars; I was dragged by the bike. It was like a trophy you don’t want to let go of!”

Brookes kept hold of the bike as he fell and was able to remount it and continue on to complete his stint, earning the acclaim of his team.

Yoshimura Suzuki rolled the dice in the decisive stages, electing not to pit for wet tyres when light rain began to fall half an hour from the end.

The team was on the lead lap behind eventual victors Musashi RT Harc-Pro Honda, and around one minute adrift of outright victory.

“I tried so hard, it is a great honour to be here as part of the team; and I’d like to come back again,” said Brookes.

“Thank you to everyone at Yoshimura for this. The bike was perfect and I know we could have won had it not been for a mistake.”