Gino Rea impresses on debut Superbike ride at Suzuka 8hours FIM Endurance World Championship Race

August 02, 2016

 

Gino Rea and TOHO Racing made an incredible comeback to finish 11th position at the FIM Endurance World Championship "Coca-Cola Zero" Suzuka 8hours Race after dropping back to 50th position as a result of a crash. 

 

The TOHO Racing team had a great showing from all three riders Gino Rea, Tatsuya Yamaguchi and Ratthapark Wilairot throughout free practice and qualified in 7th position for Saturdays “Top 10 Trial” Superpole event.

 

Starting from 8th position on a ‘Le Man’ style grid, TOHO Racing got off to a strong start and were sitting in 5th during the second hour of the 8hours race, until a small incident forced an early pitstop to repair the bike, losing valuable time. The team worked together to get back on track and finished the second hour of racing in 43rd position. A strong and consistent effort from the riders saw the team climb up to 11th at the chequered flag, a valiant race through the field. 

 

“The whole experience has been amazing!” Gino comments. “I am gutted that we had a small crash whilst in 5th position but to recover from 53rd to 11th was a fantastic comeback. After the misfortune, the rest of the race was really strong for us, our pace was great and everything was smooth sailing. If not for the crash I think we would have finished 4th, or 5th at worst, but thats racing. 

 

“It’s been great to show my potential on a full superbike and I’m very grateful to the TOHO Racing team for the opportunity. The team were really impressive, very professional and the bike was immaculate. The big Japanese factories put in an incredible amount of effort into the Suzuka 8hours race, so to be close to them on track with TOHO Racing as a privateer team was great. 

 

“I have a few weeks off now before my next World Supersport race with GRT Racing Team at Lausitzring in Germany, which is probably a good thing as I was racing in Suzuka with a damaged ankle. That made the race a little bit tougher on my body so I’m glad I can rest a bit now!”

 

The next World Supersport race will take place at Lausitzing, Germany on September 16-18, 2016. 

Follow Gino on social media- Twitter: @GinoRea, Instagram: @GinoRea4, Snapchat: Gino_Rea and Facebook: @GinoRea.Page