Source: Supplied.

Australian Broc Parks is pleased with his YART Yamaha Official EWC Team after the group claimed fifth overall at last weekend’s Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours in Japan, which marked the final round of the 2016/2017 FIM Endurance World Championship.

Parkes was the first out of the three riders on-track for YART Yamaha, piloting the YZF-R1 to ninth, before teammate Kohta Nozane and Marvin Fritz brought it home for a top five placing in the prestigious event.

The result granted the team third in the championship standings, although they were just one position shy at Suzuka for second in the series.

“We have to be happy,” said Parkes. “The four works bikes were the only bikes in front of us in the end. I think we all rode very well, we were very consistent, the times were very good and we couldn’t have hoped for any more at this race.

“Unfortunately, we missed out on second in the championship by one position today. In general, I think we have to be positive for the season. It’s a brand-new team, with Marvin [Fritz] and Kohta [Nozane] coming in, we also had new tyres, so I think next year we will be even stronger.

“I think this year we were the strongest team in most races, so hopefully we can eliminate the problems and be stronger for next year. From this race, we could not have achieved anything more.”

The Endurance World Championship will now go into its off-season, with the 2017/2018 edition slated to kick off later this year.