The race is part of the Endurance World Championship but bears little or no resemblance to the rest of the Endurance programme. The Suzuka 8 Hours is an ultra-fast eight-hour sprint race run at incredible speeds around the 5.864km grand prix circuit.

The street-based Superbikes the factories race at Suzuka are the closest cousins to the standard over-the-counter production sports motorcycles that carry their names. The Suzuka 8 Hours is the ultimate test for rider and machine. Eight hours of torrid action in high temperatures and dense, energy sapping humidity, which starts at 11.30 and finishes in darkness at 7.30.

The victorious motorcycle has to be able to run consistently at World Superbike lap times for eight hours straight. The rewards for the winning factory in sales returns are considerable.

Race winning riders join a very special group of exceptional motorcycle racers. No less than 12 world champions have won the race during it's 23 race history. The list of world champions who have tried and failed to win the race is almost as long.

Honda have an enviable record in the Japanese classic having won no less than 15 times. The task of extending their winning streak lays in the hands of three fast teams fielded by Honda Racing Corporation who have entered three VTR1000SP-W Cabin liveried Superbikes.

The 2000 race winning partnership of Tohru Ukawa and Daijiro Katoh has been retained with 1999 winners Tadayuki Okada and Alex Barros reunited in an attempt to taste success a second time. The third pairing, World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards and 500cc world championship leader Valentino Rossi is potentially the fastest in the race.

Race testing has been intensive over the past two months and has gone well. The teams will arrive at Suzuka with most of the hard work behind them.

World 250cc championship leader Katoh was in very laid-back mood when he departed for Japan. He said. "This is my second year together with Ukawa and we now know each other well. Both of us are thinking of only winning, we have set our hearts on it."

"I'm very happy with the machine. When we tested at Suzuka recently I didn't have any problems. The machine is slightly different this year, but not so much. I only ride the machine once a year so I don't remember much about last years race bike. But everything is going well for me, I feel really comfortable with the bike and the tyres, no worries machine wise."

"My only worry is the weather. It's a long hard race and it's one week later than normal and it's getting close to the Typhoon season in Japan."

Team-mate Ukawa was equally confident, despite a high speed crash at the German GP on July 19. If Ukawa wins on Sunday he will equal Wayne Gardner's record of four wins in the prestigious event.

"We have tested everything necessary for the race including long runs, tyre testing, etc. I think no other team has done as much testing as we have and I'm quite satisfied about it, although I could not go for fast laps." Said Ukawa.

"I've been doing the eight hour race since 1994 and I have won all the races in which I've completed without making any mistakes. Once we crashed and finished ninth. So I think we can win again, if we don't make any mistakes. I want to win again desperately, and contribute to Honda's fifth consecutive win."

Former grand prix rider Okada has been racing a VTR in this year's Superbike World Championship. The 1994 Suzuka 250cc grand prix winner is struggling to make his mark in Superbike racing and Sundays race offers him the chance to reverse his fortunes at a venue he knows as well as any other man in the race.

"Being Japanese I really appreciate the importance of the Suzuka 8 Hours and having won it before I also know how much it means to Honda." Said Okada. "Riding with Alex (Barros) will be good. When he first rode a Superbike for Honda I think he surprised a few people, he really is a quick rider and between us I'm sure we an challenge for victory this year."

"The machine is very much like the VTR I'm riding in the World Superbike Championship, detuned a little bit to guarantee reliability and also a little heavier because we run a lot of lights but apart from that it's very much the same as the Castrol Honda we race in World Superbike."

Partner Barros is delighted to return to Suzuka for the race. "The 8 Hours is a very hard race, a big challenge, a race with a lot of surprises. I really enjoy the technical and tactical aspects of the race. The race strategy can change mid-race due to so many outside factors, it's really different and really enjoyable."

"The bike was very good in testing and I'm really pleased with the way things have gone so far. The bike is better than last year and I have confidence for the race."

"I'm racing with Okada again this year and we ride well together. He will test my race set-up before the race but I have no doubts he will be fast with my settings. I feel very fit and very strong, both mentally and physically. I believe I'm strong enough to win this race." Concluded the Brazilian.

Much was expected of the Edwards - Rossi pairing in 2000 but they were never a factor to be reckoned with as both men crashed and they eventually retired. But the experience convinced both men they have the potential to take the big prize on Sunday.

Edwards, who won the race for Yamaha with Noriyuki Haga in 1996, has his hands full defending his World Superbike title and arrive at Suzuka in determined mood.

Edwards said. "I'm really looking forward to riding with Valentino. He's a quick rider but more importantly a sound, down to earth guy. We work well together and I'm really determined to put last year's problems behind us and win the race."

"It was always going to take a year to get used to each other so now we've gone through that learning period we both feel confident of challenging for victory. You know that anything can happen at Suzuka but one thing is certain, if you don't have a problem in the race you'll be on the podium - that's a must for us."

Rossi's march towards the 500 GP title suffered a set-back in Germany where he finished seventh and saw his championship lead over arch rival Max Biaggi reduced to just ten points. The Italian youngster could be excused for conserving his energy for GP racing by giving Sundays race a miss.

But Rossi was impressed by the 2000 event and willing accepted to race again this year. "I'm really looking forward to the race. I'm doing it because I want to win the Suzuka 8 Hours, not because I have to do it."

"I like riding with Colin (Edwards) we are similar in size and we found machine settings that are good for both of us. Tasting is crucial in order to win the race and tyre and suspension settings are the main factor this time. Last year we retired so I want to win the race this year."

HRC have three reserve riders waiting in the wings should they be required, for whatever reason, to replace any among the listed race pairings.

Shinichi Itoh, race winner with Ukawa in 1997-1998, Makoto Tamada, who won both races at the Japanese round of the World Superbike Championship, and Manabu Kamada are all capable of running consistently fast lap times at Suzuka and will not disappoint if called upon to race.

The opposition facing the Cabin Honda teams is formidable. Yamaha appear to pose the biggest threat to Honda on Sunday. The combination of Haga and talented Australian Anthony Gobert are more than confident of their own ability and will pose Honda major problems at Suzuka.

They will be backed-up by successful Superbike campaigner Wataru Yoshikawa and the very fast Takeshi Tsujimura, a former five-times 125 grand prix winner, now successfully contesting the All Japan Superbike Championship.

Suzuki will again have Akira Ryo, second in 2000 with Keiichi Kitagawa, racing their number one machine, this year with Yukio Kagayama as his partner.

Kawasaki have just one Suzuka 8 Hours victory to their credit and have brought in their Superbike World Championship riders Akira Yanagawa and Gregorio Lavilla as team-mates to Hitoyasu Izutsu and Tamaki Serizawa.

The Yanagawa - Izutsu pairing will show an exceptional turn of speed around Suzuka. Yanagawa is always fast and reliable while Izutsu is a multi-race winner in Japan. He was also second fastest, to Katoh, in pre-event testing trailing the Honda by just three-tenths of a second.

Should the factory teams falter they will fall into the clutches of the Kotake & Sakurai Honda team who are more than capable of capitalising on the situation. Team riders Yuichi Takeda, a race winner in World Superbike, and Tetsuya Yamaguchi race in the All Japan Superbike Championship. Yamaguchi for Cabin Honda, Takeda on the Sakurai Honda. At the recent Suzuka test session the two riders caused a few eyebrows to be raised when they posted joint third fastest times.

But the Suzuka 8 Hours is about more than riders and their machines. Race winning teams depend upon a massive back-room support operation to achieve success.

The pit crews at Suzuka rival any in motorsport with slick, no-nonsense pit stops for refuelling and rider and tyre changes, every 50 minutes. Two-rider teams are supported by 25 - 30 personnel, all busy for eight hours non-stop.

Mechanics, engineers, computer operators, suspension man, tyre engineer, Doctor, masseur, manager, and more. All doing there absolute best to stay calm and play for the team. But each team member has to be flexible.

At the eight hours rain, crashes, full course yellow flags, the pace car, will all affect the way the team tactician runs the race. A pit stop made at just the right time to take advantage of a disruption can win the race, bad timing can lose it all. Suzuka has seen both. High drama played out between some of the worlds best, and at Superbike speeds around grand prix racing's most demanding circuit.

The circuit has it all. And all 5.864kms of it demands total concentration, there is nowhere to relax. Not just due to the incredible race pace. Potential race winners have also to contend with the nerve wracking task of weaving their way through the riders on slower equipment. The men aboard factory machines often outpacing the less experienced private riders by as much as 50km/h.

The physical and mental demands placed upon the riders are immense. Eight hours racing at grand prix speeds in the oppressive weather conditions leave riders physically drained. Some riders losing two kilograms in body weight during the race. Mentally they far little better, the concentration required of them is absolute. Even the youngest and fittest among them takes two full weeks to recover from the gruelling event.

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