Exclusive Interview: the winning Suzuka 8 Hours strategy

Race decided by Takumi Takahashi's first stint

The No. 30 machine, Team HRC with Japan Post, is, as its name suggests, HRC's factory team. The machine was researched and developed in Asaka, with HRC managing both racing and testing operations. Thus, the pit crew working at Suzuka 8 Hours consisted of HRC employees and contracted mechanics. The same applies to the team manager and data management staff, with HRC handling all aspects of racing team management and operations.

The team's riders consisted of ace rider Takumi Takahashi, who shares the record for most Suzuka 8 Hours wins; MotoGP rider Johann Zarco; and Teppei Nagoe, who rides the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP for HARC-PRO in the All-Japan Championship. This year (2024), the team revolved around Takahashi, both in development and on the field.

For the final race, the basic strategy was to run 27 laps per stint. For instance, if there were no safety car interventions and the team maintained fast lap times in the 2 min 8s range for 27 laps, they would have 5-6 laps remaining at the end (after 7 PM), requiring a splash-and-go (minimal fuel top-up). The tires would likely be at their limit by then, so with a sufficient lead, they would want to change them and also consider a rider change due to fatigue.

Alternatively, if planning for eight pit stops from the start, they would run 26-lap stints, with around 12 laps for the final stint. This was the strategy YART Yamaha chose. Of course, multiple contingency plans - Plan A, B, C, and so on - had been prepared in advance for various scenarios such as no safety car periods, one safety car intervention, or rain.

"The decision to switch from dry to wet rests with the rider, as only they can truly understand the track conditions. Of course, we have tires ready, so pit entry is allowed after we show the 'Tires Ready' pit board. (During last year's 8 Hours) when it started raining while Takumi was running, he continued on (with slick tires) before pitting, and clearly told us 'We can do this!' We were uncertain ourselves but hearing that helped us make the decision to stick with dry tires. Takumi isn't just fast - his situational judgment is also remarkable." (Team HRC Manager Teruaki Matsubara, same for following quotes)

What was the team’s strategy for qualifying and the Top 10 Trial?

"Getting into the top 5 was good enough. We didn't need the fastest lap time. However, I did tell them 'I want all three riders to maintain a high average pace in the race.' Actually, we hadn't set any target for the number of laps (needed to win) either, since everything would be disrupted if a safety car came out."

As planned, the team secured third place on the grid, and all three riders consistently lapped in the 2 min 8s range during the race. The strategy unfolded as expected. How were the instructions communicated to the riders?

"To Takumi, our starting rider, I simply said, ‘Just do the same as last year.’ To Zarco and Nagoe, I instructed, ‘Maintain the gap.’ But both of them did more than just maintain it - they actually extended our lead."

As in previous years, Takahashi took on the role of starting rider. He maintained position around third place until mid-stint, then moved forward in the latter half (keeping the lead from lap 16), demonstrating an ideal race by extending the lead. This was partly due to the late-stint drop in pace from rivals YART Yamaha (Niccolò Canepa) and DUCATI team KAGAYAMA (Ryo Mizuno). Takahashi's riding in the first stint was truly “artistic,” showcasing the work of an absolute master of the Suzuka 8 Hours.

27 Laps in a standard stint, but something unusual with Nagoe

Nagoe extended his stint to 28 laps. Why was this?

"Nagoe had shown good fuel efficiency since the test sessions. His lap times were consistent, so I told him 'Extend your stint when possible.' Actually, when we extend the stint during a safety car period, we can complete the race with 7 pit stops. This is because the safety car typically stays out for 5-6 laps for track cleanup and such. That's why we wanted to extend the stint as much as possible. From a fuel consumption perspective, 27-28 laps is the absolute limit."

"While we could manage 7 pit stops if we reduced power output, that would result in slower lap times. It's a balance between power and fuel efficiency. When running in the 2 min 8s range, 28 laps is the limit. For Takumi and Zarco, 28 laps isn't possible. So with 27 laps each, if there's no safety car and they're running in the 2 min 8s range, we'd need 8 pit stops (9 stints) rather than 7 pit stops (8 stints). With 7 pit stops, we'd come up just short of fuel at the end."

And this year, with a rotation order of Takahashi → Zarco → Nagoe and 8 pit stops, Nagoe was supposed to be the rider for the final stint, but Takahashi ended up being the checkered flag rider.

"Originally it was supposed to be Nagoe, but he suffered from dehydration (during his second stint). It would have been dangerous to put him back on the bike... if anything happened, there would have been a risk of crashing. Once you get dehydrated, you don't fully recover. Takumi still had some energy left, so we had him do it. However, due to the extremely high temperatures, Takumi also ended up suffering from dehydration by the end."

"I think the heat this year was brutal for the riders. Nagoe was maintaining an impressive pace (the team's longest stint at 28 laps) during the hottest hours of the day (around 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM), but during his second stint (around 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM), his lap times dropped to the 2 min 10s range in the latter half. We decided 'This isn't good' and brought him in early (pit stop after 26 laps). I suspect he was no longer able to brake properly."

This was when dehydration hit Nagoe. However, he hadn't given any signals (such as signs of feeling unwell).

"I wish we had noticed it sooner. He's a man with a strong sense of responsibility. Apparently, he knew something was wrong just a few laps after leaving the pit. Riders always say, 'I'm fine.' At that time too, he said, 'I can do it' and went out. At this point, I knew we'd need 8 pit stops. When we asked Takumi (about taking the final stint), he also said 'I can do it.'"

The team assigned Takahashi for the start (27 laps), then rotated through Zarco (27 laps), Nagoe (28 laps), Takahashi (27 laps), Zarco (27 laps), Nagoe (26 laps), Takahashi (25 laps), Zarco (23 laps), and Takahashi (10 laps), claiming victory with a new record of 220 total laps.

The change to 8 pit stops meant Takahashi had to ride an unusual four stints, even though he hadn't done any laps during Friday night's free practice session - that session had been handled by Zarco and Nagoe.

"It wasn't in the original plan. Since Takumi had night racing experience from before, we knew he could handle it even without practice. Zarco was quite thoughtful about it, suggesting 'It would be difficult (even for Takumi) to suddenly ride in complete darkness, so let's do the switch while it's still light by shortening my stint.' We could have actually switched with 4 or 5 laps remaining, but that was his suggestion."

When Nagoe suffered from dehydration, Zarco, who was handling the eighth stint, made this suggestion out of consideration for Takahashi, who would be the final stint rider (checkered flag rider). He shortened his own stint (after 7:08 PM) and left the remaining 10 laps to Takahashi. While Zarco could have done a double stint, that would have meant 33 laps (23 laps in the eighth stint plus 10 laps in the final stint), which would have been physically demanding and tough on the tires.

Given their comfortable lead, they took the opportunity to fit new tires, add fuel for about 10 laps, and change riders. The eighth pit stop seemed to have gone without a hitch.

The Truth Behind the +40 Second Penalty

Here, the team made a critical mistake. During refueling, neither the 4 mechanics nor the rider are allowed to touch the bike. However, before the refueling rig was removed from the fuel inlet, the rear mechanic lowered the jack prematurely - effectively touching the bike. This mistake resulted in a penalty.

"I think it was a reaction to someone saying 'Hai' (Yes/OK). But that 'Hai' didn’t come from the fuel man; it came from somewhere else. Before the rider change, Takumi (had clearly been tired and) asked something like 'It's okay if my lap times are 5 seconds slower, right?' The mechanics had heard this conversation and probably thought 'We want to help him save even one second."

"While we were discussing that we could take it easy given our (approximately 50-second) lead, one second saved in the pit is still significant. If you ask whether they were visually confirming the completion of refueling... well... I think it's natural for them to instinctively react to 'Hai.'"

Although the regulations changed in 2024 from a two-port system (one for fueling and one for air release) to a single port, which adds about one second to the process, Team HRC can still fill a full 24-liter tank in 4-5 seconds, with the total pit stop, including tire changes, taking only 11-12 seconds.

The fuel man signals the end of refueling with a "Hai," prompting the rear mechanic to lower the jack and push the tail cowl to assist with the starter. Simultaneously, the front mechanic grabs the upper cowl on the right side and pushes the bike forward while running alongside it (or perhaps 'pulls' would be a more accurate description).

The penalty was a Stop & Go plus 10 seconds (which requires a ride through the pit lane and a stop). It was issued at 7:19 PM, then at 7:25 PM it was converted to a 40-second addition to the finish time. Since a ride through at Suzuka's pit lane takes 29 seconds, plus the 10-second stop penalty, the 40-second addition was deemed equivalent. In fact, this alternative penalty option was already established in the regulations.

"We were called to the control tower, and we went there ready to protest, but they immediately showed us the video footage and we had no choice but to respond with 'Yes, understood' and sign the documents. Earlier that same race day, officials had made a point of distributing documents to all teams outlining the penalty options. That's why we had a choice between a ride through or a time addition."

The Team Manager Matsubara chose the time addition.

"With a ride through penalty, even if the rider pushes hard all the way to the chicane on the in-lap, the out-lap would inevitably be slower. We calculated that this could result in losing more time than the 40-second penalty."

The limitations of communication through pit boards

The challenge was how to communicate this to Takahashi, who was out on the track, using only the pit board.

"HRC's pit board is LED-based, and you can input as many messages as you want using a computer. However, if there’s too much information, the rider won’t be able to read it. While we weren't sure how best to communicate this, we decided to keep it simple with just the usual lap count and the time difference (to second place)."

Normally, the pit board only displays L5 (remaining laps) and +50 (gap to the competitor). The sudden change from +50 to +10 must have been confusing for the rider. Takahashi later said he initially thought he must have been looking at another team's pit board. However, he saw the same numbers on the next lap... Although the lead eventually dropped to single digits, he determined that maintaining his lap times would be enough. Indeed, he safely took the checkered flag. After adding the 40-second penalty, the margin over the second-place YART Yamaha was a mere 7.860 seconds.

"This incident has made us realize that we need to reconsider how we communicate in situations like this (when receiving penalties). It was completely an operational error on our team's part. For a ride through, we could display 'P' (Pit in), but... if we show 'PENALTY,' the rider might misunderstand and come into the pits unnecessarily. It was a tough call."

This confusion was unique to EWC (Endurance World Championship) where pit boards are the only means of communication. In MotoGP, riders receive information about cautions such as yellow flags and safety cars, as well as penalties, through their dashboard displays. Furthermore, they are now testing radio communications (one-way from pit to rider).

In EWC, especially in a class like SST1000 with its strong amateur element in classes, may not be able to match MotoGP's level of technology, it might be worth considering simple LCD displays at least for yellow cautions and penalties (since they already carry transponders). Despite not everything going smoothly, the result was an almost perfect victory.

"If YART Yamaha had maintained that strong pace, who knows what might have happened..."

YART Yamaha had chosen soft tires for their first stint, which led to tire degradation and slower lap times in the latter stages. Why did they opt for the soft compound?

"Actually, since their pre-race testing, Yamaha had been testing softer tires and completing long runs, so I think they were confident. Although we both use BS (Bridgestone) tires, Yamaha's machine can probably achieve good cornering and grip without putting as much stress on the tires. That's why they can run softer compounds."

In contrast, the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade/SP needs to properly work with harder compound tires to generate cornering performance and grip, making its characteristics the polar opposite of Yamaha's.

"I think this year went well overall, aided by the weather conditions. When temperatures rise, lap times tend to slow down, which makes fuel consumption more manageable. Well, looking ahead to next year, we still have plenty of work to do with both hard and soft compounds."

Written by: Tomoya Ishibashi　Photography by: Naoyuki Shibata/Honda　Edited by: Shigeki Ueno

Source: https://mc-web.jp/life/154094/