Source: Supplied.

Yamaha will field two full-factory teams in the 2017 Suzuka 8 Hours, the final round of the Endurance World Championship on 27-30 July.

The Yamaha Factory Racing Team will return to challenge for their third consecutive Suzuka victory alongside full-time EWC challengers, YART Yamaha Official EWC Team.

Clocking 218 laps to win the race last year, the Yamaha Factory Racing Team will again feature Japanese legend Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who in 2016 took his second consecutive Suzuka 8 Hours win as well as a record-breaking fifth-straight All Japan JSB1000 title.

Lining up with Nakasuga will be Alex Lowes – Nakasuga’s Suzuka teammate from last year – and Michael van der Mark, who will be making his first Suzuka 8 Hours appearance with Yamaha.

“I’m really looking forward to racing at the Suzuka 8 Hours again,” two-time winner can der Mark said. “I’ve been racing there for four years now and won two times, so it will be a really special event for me to come back and do it with Yamaha. It’s also the 40th anniversary of the race and Yamaha has won there for the last two years, so it’s going to be really good and I hope we can take the victory with Nakasuga-san and Alex.”

Forming the second factory effort at Suzuka will be the YART Yamaha Official EWC Team battling full-time for the 2017 title. It will field Australian Broc Parkes, Marvin Fritz and rising Japanese star Kohta Nozane.

“First of all I would just like to say a big thanks to Yamaha for giving me the opportunity to do Suzuka,” Parkes said. “I’m really excited and believe that we can be really strong as a team with Bridgestone tyres. I can’t wait to start testing.”

The riders will participate in the event aboard a factory-spec YZF-R1 developed specifically for the 8 Hours and shod with Bridgestone tyres. Joining the two factory Yamaha teams will be the GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team.

The two teams will be aiming to make Yamaha history by taking a third consecutive victory and the brand’s seventh overall at the event.