An international team of British rider Leon Haslam, Dutch rookie Michael van der Mark and local hero Takumi Takahashi has taken the Musashi Honda CBR1000 RR to a hard-fought victory in an incident-packed Suzuka Eight-Hour Endurance.
The Musashi team led the early stages of the race Japanese motorcycle manufacturers regard as the most prestigious on the calendar, but were methodically hunted down by pre-race favourite Jonathan Rea on the FCC TSR Honda CBR1000RR - Haslam's Pata Honda World Superbike team mate - who won this race in 2012.
Rea built up a significant cushion before handing the Honda over to his FCC team mate, former World Superbike and MotoGP rider Ryuichi Kiyonari, a Suzuka veteran with four Eight-Hour wins to his credit.
‘KIYO’ CRASHES OUT
Kiyonari, however, crashed in the third hour of Sunday's race, injuring his chest and damaging the bike too badly to continue - dashing Rea's hopes of back-to-back wins.
The Musashi team inherited the lead, gradually extending their advantage to one lap over their nearest rivals, and held it to the chequered flag, despite a rainstorm over Suzuka during the final, nerve-wracking 40 minutes.
Haslam, 30, whose father 'Rocket Ron' finished second in the 1979 Eight Hours, became the second British rider to win at Suzuka in as many years after Rea's victory last season.
Talented 20-year-old Van der Mark, who usually rides a CBR600RR in the World Supersport series for the Pata Honda outfit, became the first Dutch rider to win the Eight Hours, doing so at his first attempt, in his first outing on a litre-class Superbike and his first race on Bridgestone tyres.