Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP carries Team HRC to Suzuka 8 Hours victory

MANILA: Honda’s factory team, Team HRC  with Japan Post, has claimed victory at the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship Suzuki 8 Hours Road Race with the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. 

The said victory for Team HRC marks its third consecutive win at the eight-hour race held at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie, Japan. It is also the Japanese motorcycle brand’s 30th win at the said event. 

Team HRC’s CBR1000RR-R was ridden by Takumi Takahashi, Teppei Nagoe, and Johann Zarco. For Takahashi, this marks his sixth Suzuka 8 Hours win. This is also the first time Nagoe and Zarco have won in the aforementioned annual endurance race. 

According to Honda, the team was third fastest in the qualifying stages. After some initial battles, Takahashi gained a lead on lap 11 of the race proper. As the competition went on, Zarco and Nagoe’s consistent riding also created a wider gap.

The race, however, wasn’t entirely drama-less due to a 40-second penalty incurred by Team HRC during its closing stages. Nevertheless, Takahashi rode the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP through the checkered flat after completing a total of 220 laps. 

“I am relieved to have won the Suzuka 8 Hours for the sixth time, and achieve Honda’s 30th win. Thanks to my teammates, the staff, and all the fans who cheered me on. Without them, I could not have made it. I would like this to be the beginning of a good offer from HRC to win even more. If I’m given the opportunity, I would like to try to win the Suzuki 8 Hours again,” Takahashi said. 

Notably, the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP is classed as a street-legal superbike, representing the pinnacle of the Japanese marque’s motorcycle engineering.

For the Philippine-spec version, its 1,000-cc four-cylinder engine can produce up to 189 horsepower and 116 Netwon meters of torque. The Honda bike's gear shifts are handled by a wet-type multi-plate clutch manipulated by a six-speed manual transmission. 

Pricing for the locally available CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP is set at P1.699 million. Its lineup of rivals include the Yamaha YZF R1M, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR, and the BMW S 1000, among others. 

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