SUZUKI DOMINATES 2011 PHILLIP ISLAND 8 HOUR

Team Suzuki were the only factory squad to enter this year's revamped eight hour race (2010 was a six hour) and the support and experience paid off, with the Suzuki factory Superbike squad of Josh Waters, Troy Herfoss and Robbie Bugden topping the time sheets in all practise and qualifying sessions to start from pole. However, the event's unique Le Mans-style running start meant that the pole slot wasn't quite the advantage it would in normal, grid-start competition.

Second fastest qualifiers were the Cube Racing Suzuki crew of Bryan Staring, Ben Henry and Nicholas Waters. Superstock 1000 outfit Team Cessnock (aka Lovetts Earthmoving) bettered more fancied opponents in the final 'Super Qualifying' session to start from third on the grid after holding off the Team Suzuki Supersport line-up and the Warwick Nolan-backed WNR Kawasaki (Supersport) team, who qualified fourth and fifth respectively.

At 9:30AM Sunday morning, the riders all bolted to their bikes for the traditional Le Mans start, with Josh Waters leading the way from Staring. WNR Kawasaki's Glenn Scott struggled to get away after a loose starter button meant he couldn't fire up and take off straight away, but he eventually got the ZX-6R going, albeit trailing the entire field through the first few laps. At turn 4 on the opening lap, Staring overshot the corner, but recovered to be up amongst the front runners soon after. A light rain shower added additional drama to the opening laps, but the precipitation wasn't enough to cause riders to come in for a change of tyres.

The Japan Planning squad were the first major crashers of the day, going down within the first half hour of the race start and suffering major damage to their Suzuki GSX-R 1000 in the process. The first rider changes came soon after, with the frontrunners coming in on lap 22. With each team employing different strategies for the timing of their fuel and tyre replacement and rider changes, it made for a frantic pit lane at times. After the first hour, Team Suzuki's Superbike and Supersport squads were in first and third place respectively, split by the Cube Racing privateer outfit. The 'Krusty Wobblers' team were the first DNFs of the day following a crash at Lukey Heights that bent the frame of their GSX-R 600.

After the opening hour, the race settled into something of a groove, with the Team Suzuki outfits leading the way from Cube Racing and the Bridgestone Endurance Superstock squad of Trent Gibson, Jay Layman and Greg Epis. These four teams would still be at the top of the time sheets by the race's midpoint - the four hour mark - with Team Suzuki's Superbike squad a full two laps ahead of their Supersport counterparts.

The Blue Sky Brewery/FNQ Lager squad suffered a heavy crash on lap 83 but managed to limp back to the pits and continue, while the 399 Tradie Websites team were out of the race after their YZ-F R6 refused to start during a pit stop. The Japan Planning team had repaired their damaged bike and were back out on track. Two other teams, including the well-publicised Akermanis Race Workshop squad led by Jason Akermanis, were given stop-go penalties for track and pit lane infringements.

For the second half of the race, it became a battle between the factory Suzuki squads in the dry but windy conditions. The Quadriant Developments (BEARS) squad retired soon after the halfway mark with gearbox problems on their Ducati 848. They would be the last retirements of the day, the good weather conditions helping to reduce the attrition rate. That's not to say the remaining teams didn't have dramas. The California Superbike School (Superstock 600), Blue Sky Brewery/Team FNQ Lager (Superstock 1000) and Team Cheese International (Superbike) outfits were all delayed by mechanical problems, while the WNR Kawasaki lost time in the pits repairing damage from a crash earlier in the day.

For the 8 Hour's closing stages, it became a question of how much the Team Suzuki Superbike squad would win by. After extending their lead each hour, the trio of Josh Waters, Herfoss and Bugden were three laps up on their Supersport team mates going into the final hour. Behind them, Cube Racing were a further five laps behind, but they in turn had a comfortable six lap gap over the Bridgestone Endurance outfit. The final hour, and final round of pitstops, proved to be incident free, with Josh Waters taking the reins of the Team Suzuki GSX-R 1000 for the final stint to the 5:30PM race finish.

At the chequered flag, Team Suzuki's Superbike outfit had completed 279 laps of the Phillip Island circuit, five laps ahead of their Supersport squad. Third place overall for Cube Racing meant there were three Waters brothers on the podium - Josh, Brodie and Nicholas - a fact not lost on Josh Waters in his post race interview.

"It was a pretty cool day, and the team didn't miss a beat all day," Waters said. "It's also been great working with two great riders and it's a credit to Suzuki and our whole team for the way the bikes have been prepared.
"I'm also stoked that my brothers have joined me on the podium, and it will certainly make for a great photo."

Josh Waters also set the fastest lap of the race (1:34.805) to make it a clean sweep of accolades (pole, race win, fastest lap) for the winning machine. Waters was third in last year's Phillip Island 6 Hour alongside Shawn Giles, who was in the pits this time around, in charge of the fuel refilling.

Fourth overall and first Superstock 1000 team home was Bridgestone Endurance, completing 264 laps. Fifth overall and first non-Suzuki team was WNR Kawasaki. Kawasaki also claimed the Superstock 600 class win, with the WET4U Racing team of Paul Grant-Mitchell, Michael Thomas, Murray Clark and Colin Lewis finishing seventh overall, a mere lap ahead of the California Superbike School team. Best finisher amongst the BEARS runners was the Mitronics Corporation's Triumph Daytona 675, ridden by Steve Cutting, Dean Holmes, Phil Gray and William Shanahan, who came in twelfth overall.

Jason Akermanis' Honda-backed team finished in 16th spot, and third in Superstock 600, despite being troubled by a warped disc in the last 90 minutes. Amazingly, 22 of the 25 teams completed the distance, although a few of them had to spend lengthy periods in the pits tending to crash repairs or mechanical gremlins.

TOP 10 RESULTS
1. Team Suzuki (Josh Waters/ Herfoss/Robbie Bugden), GSX-R1000, 279 laps
2. Team Suzuki (Brodie Waters/Mitchell Carr/Ben Attard), GSX-R600 +5 laps
3. Cube Racing (Ben Henry, Bryan Staring/Nicholas Waters), GSX-R1000, +9 laps
4. Bridgestone Endurance (Trent Gibson/Greg Epis/Jay Layman), GSX-R1000, +15 laps
5. WNR Kawasaki (Glenn Scott/Jed Metcher/Alex Cudlin), ZX-6R, +17 laps
6. Lovetts Earthmoving (Phil Lovett, Simon Galloway/Dustin Goldsmith, Kawasaki ZX-10R, +19 laps
7. WET4U Racing (Paul Grant-Mitchell/Colin Lewis/Murray Clark/Michael Thomas), ZX-6R, +24 laps
8. California Superbike School (Kris Parnell/Luke Martin/Josh Galster/Adam Raffe), GSX-R600, +25 laps
9. Mick Muldoon Kawasaki (Sam Muldoon/Steve Wood/Jim Burke), ZX-10R, +27 laps
10. Dirty Bits Racing (Rob Vikuckis/Jamie Videon/Brian Clow), ZX-6R, +27 laps

Despite the 'last minute' nature of many elements of this year's race, the event was generally agreed to be a success by the teams and the Phillip Island event organisers. The organisers have already locked in a date for the 2012 8 Hour, and are using this event as a template for a future tilt at a round of the World Endurance championship. The 2012 8 Hour will be the final event held at the track before major resurfacing work is done the island, which is due to be completed in advance of the 2013 Phillip Island World Superbike round.

For more details on the 2012 Phillip Island 8 Hour as next year's event draws nearer, go to www.phillipisland8hour.com.au