Source: FIM.

Team Honda Racing Australasian Superbike Championship trio Jamie Stauffer, Troy Herfoss and Josh Hook traveled to Japan today for preliminary Suzuka 8 Hours testing.

Stauffer and Herfoss will team up on board the Sakurai Honda Dream RT entry with local ace Chojun Kameya, while Hook has landed a plum position on the official Honda Team Asia CBR1000RR.

Last year saw Stauffer and Hook team up but ultimately experienced difficulties in the race on their way to 48th in the final classification, however Herfoss has been drafted in for his debut in the iconic event.

“Troy hasn’t been there before, so it will be good to take him over there and get some experience,” Stauffer said. “I don’t really target any result in particular, because anything can happen in eight hours. We could have had some really good results in the past.

“Wayne [Maxwell] and I have been going good in the past and had things happen, so you can never tell. You just have to be experienced as possible without making any mistakes, so we will see how we go. We’ll go through a few things with Troy, but it’s just another race and he’s going good at the moment, so he will be fine.”

“It’s obviously a race that everybody wants to do,” Herfoss said. “It’s a demanding race, a famous track, and I’m really thankful for Honda Australia and everybody involved to help make the ride happen.”

Hook was an 11th-hour addition to the Team Asia effort that finished sixth in 2013, making contact directly with HRC after missing out on an opportunity to compete with the Sakurai team for a second year.

“Flying out on Monday morning for Suzuka testing,” Hook confirmed. “It’s going to be nice and warm over there, so I’m keen to get stuck into it.”

Team Motul Honda regular Wayne Maxwell will contest the race aboard his regular World Endurance mount, the Monster Energy Yamaha Austria Racing Team YZF-R1, alongside Rick Olson and BSB regular Tommy Bridewell. The Pirelli-shod YART squad isn’t scheduled to test at the venue in the lead-up to the race weekend.

Meanwhile, international Australians Broc Parkes and Josh Brookes will ride with local legend Katsuyuki Nakasuga on the factory Monster Energy Yamaha with YSP R1. Suzuka standout Josh Waters will return to Yoshimura Suzuki along with Randy de Puniet and Takuya Tsuda – all in one-off guest appearances.

The 2014 running of the prestigious Japanese round of Endurance World Championship will take place on 27 July.