August 4th, 2022.



This weekend, the FIM Endurance World Championship makes its long-awaited return to the Suzuka 8 Hours as the top tier of motorcycle endurance racing heads back to Japan for the first time in three years. As ever, Dunlop is supporting teams in both the top Formula EWC class and near-standard Superstock category.

The Suzuka 8 Hours is a considerably different event to the other three rounds of the EWC season. Not only is it the only race outside of Europe, it is also the only one that doesn’t run for 24 hours. But this doesn’t mean it will lack in excitement; the historic Suzuka race always attracts a high-quality field of top Japanese teams alongside the European EWC superstars.

This year, Dunlop will provide tyres for ten teams fighting for the outright victory, and a further six Superstock outfits. Amongst the top teams are Webike SRC Kawasaki France and 24H SPA EWC Motos winner BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, both with their usual rider lineups.

A number of top Japanese teams have also chosen Dunlop tyres, including operations with BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha machinery. Dunlop-supported teams in Superstock include the TERAMOTO@J-TRIP Racing Suzuki, which features 90s/00s Grand Prix racer Nobuatsu Aoki, and the TONE RT SYNCEDGE 4413 BMW with former WSBK rider Shinichi Nakatomi.

As usual, Dunlop teams benefit from a wide range of tyres, including different variations of the KR racing slick range of KR109 front and KR108 rear, along with a number of development tyres for the top teams. Competing at the highest level in championships like EWC allows Dunlop to develop and test the next generation of tyres in a competitive, high-demand environment.

David Auerbacher, Event Leader EWC, Dunlop: “As the first flyaway race for EWC since 2019, excitement levels for Suzuka are very high. For us, it’s a different challenge to the European races at Le Mans and Spa-Francorchamps so far this year, but we’re pleased to have support from Dunlop Japan to ensure every team gets the level of service and support they require.
“We completed a test in June to learn the track and validate tyres, which has gone a long way to helping our preparations for the race week, although conditions now are warmer and more humid. The test sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday allowed us to further validate and confirm the tyre choices, so we’re ready to fight for the win.”

Dunlop and the teams have already been in action this week, gaining experience of the track and conditions in test sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. Free practice, qualifying and night practice are all scheduled for Friday, before a final top-10 qualifying shootout on Saturday afternoon.

The 43rd edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours gets underway at 11:30 local time (04:30 CEST) on Sunday the 7th of August.


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