Source: Supplied.

Australian duo Jason O’Halloran and Jamie Stauffer pressed on to 10th position in Sunday’s 40th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours, the final round of the 2016/2017 Endurance World Championship (EWC).

British Superbike front-runner O’Halloran made the most of his Suzuka opportunity with the Honda DREAM RT Sakurai team, leading them to the result among one of the toughest fields in history.

“I’m so glad to be able to come back to Suzuka riding for Sakurai Honda,” O’Halloran commented. “I’m grateful to everyone for welcoming me as part of the team. Racing at Suzuka is always fun and I’d like to be back next year.

“The race itself wasn’t bad. We started 18th, but were sixth an hour later. It was unfortunate that we could come out of the pits because of the safety car and lost a lap in no time, but I did everything I could and I managed to finish 10th with this team. We didn’t have serious problems like crashing and everyone did a marvelous job, so I’m thankful.”

Stauffer, who was making his first competitive appearance of the year alongside O’Halloran and Japanese local Ryo Mizuno, said it was a satisfying result for he and the team. A top 10 was a fitting reward for the privateer outfit.

“I’m happy with the results,” Stauffer said. “The first time I rode this bike was at the test, so it was still difficult to bring out its full potential. I made a few mistakes, but managed to finish well. Sakurai Honda put a lot of effort in preparing for this race, and that’s why we could finish 10th.”