Suzuka 8 Hour podium shake up after post-race disqualification

2023 FIM Endurance World Championship
Round Three – Suzuka 8 Hours

The 44th running of the fabled Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance race was held over the weekend and it was a 1-2-3-4 result for Honda. However, overnight FIM EWC organisers have confirmed that during post-race technical inspections, motorcycle no.104 (TOHO Racing), which finished in second position, was subjected to a fuel tank capacity control by the FIM Technical Directors.

The control recorded a fuel tank over-capacity in contravention of article 2.6.6.10 of the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship Regulations. As is required, a secondary fuel tank capacity control was conducted by another FIM Technical Director with a fuel tank overcapacity also recorded.

The FIM EWC Stewards Panel convened to consider the evidence provided by the FIM Technical Director and declared motorcycle no.104 did not conform to the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship Regulations and disqualified motorcycle no.104 from the results of the 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race.

TOHO Racing appealed the decision of the FIM EWC Stewards Panel, but this was subsequently rejected by the FIM EWC Appeal Stewards Panel.

As such, the decision to disqualify motorcycle no.104 has been upheld and the positions of all other finishers have been reclassified as below and the championship points table changed to reflect the amended race results.

The disqualification promotes the SDG Honda squad, consisting of Naomichi Uramoto, Teppei Nagoe and Haruki Noguchi, into second place.

Defending FIM EWC Champions F.C.C. TSR Honda are also promoted from fourth to a podium finish, extending their lead over YART in the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship to 13-points. Due to Josh Hook missing the event due to a training accident, Tarran Mackenzie had stepped into replace Hook alongside Mike Di Meglio and Alan Techer.

Our full comprehensive recap from the Suzuka 8 Hour may be read here.

With the unique scoring system the EWC uses, there are still 85 points available to teams at the final round of the season, the Bol d’Or. This is because the points awarded at the end of the last race of the year are multiplied by 1.5, with the winner standing to collect 60, which, when added to the ten on offer at the eight and 16-hour marks during the race, plus the five up for grabs during qualifying, means that the championship is still wide open.

Bol d’Or takes place at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, southern France, from 14-17 September when the FIM Endurance World Championship and FIM Endurance World Cup titles will be decided