Image: Tomomitsu Kato.

F.C.C. TSR Honda’s Josh Hook has resumed his All Japan Road Race Championship assault with a hard-fought eighth place in the JSB1000 race at Autopolis on Sunday.

A troublesome qualifying session saw Hook forced to start out of 13th on the grid, before clawing his way to eighth in the race won by runaway series leader Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha).

“It was a very difficult weekend for us here at Autopolis,” Hook reflected. “Leading up to this week’s race I had a very bad flu and was in bed for most of it, so coming out here on Friday and riding I didn’t have a great feeling with the bike and my condition is also not so good. Today I’m feeling much better.

“Yesterday we had some problems in qualifying and made it very difficult for the race – we had to start way back in the field. I got a fairly good start, but I just had too much work to do and riders to pass in order to get with the front group.

“By the time I got in front of the slower riders, the front group had checked out already and that was my race done. We made some small inroads with the machine, it’s obviously not perfect at the moment, but we made some progress and it all takes time. We’re moving forward, which is the main thing.”

Hook is now sixth in the JSB1000 standings ahead of the penultimate round of season 2015 at the Okayama International Circuit on 16-18 October.

2015 All Japan Road Race Championship
Round six – Autopolis

Click here for detailed results