Jonathan Rea

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s World Superbike rider, Jonathan Rea, climbed the podium at yesterday’s prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour race in Japan. The race was won by former team-mate, Ryuichi Kiyonari.

The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland had topped the timing sheets but it was his team-mate, Kousuke Akiyoshi, that was selected to take part in Saturday’s Superpole, putting the FSS TSR Honda CBR1000RR in second place on the grid.

However, the team suffered a number of problems in the early part of the race with the engine not starting and Akiyoshi being handed two stop-go penalties for overtaking under a yellow flag.

In a charge to get back on terms, Rea tangled with a back-marker at Spoon corner but was able to return to the pits for some quick repairs. However, by the time he was able to rejoin, the team was four laps down in 42nd place.

With some stunning lap times – their best lap being almost a second quicker than anyone else – Rea and Akiyoshi hauled their way back into contention for third place, giving Honda a clean sweep of the podium positions.

“First of all, I want to thank all my team and the Japanese fans,” said Rea afterwards. “Today was a tough day. We had some unexpected troubles and mistakes, so to be honest I am not so happy. Yet working well together with Akiyoshi and repeatedly telling myself ‘never give up, keep going’, we were able to get into third place. If I have a chance, I want to participate in the Suzuka 8 Hours again!”