YART EWC Will Lead Yamaha’s Suzuka 8 Hours Teams

With the famous endurance race taking place from August 4-6th, 2023, it’s been announced YART EWC will lead Yamaha’s Suzuka 8 Hours teams.

The Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team is currently competing in the Endurance World Championship under owner and manager Mandy Kainz. Their riders are Italian former WSB, MotoGP and Mo2 rider Niccolo Canepa who won the EWC championship in 2017, former IDM Supersport and Superstock champion Marvin Fritz, and Czech former Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and European Moto3 champion Karel Hanika.

The Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART) was founded in 2001, and has achieved top-three championship finishes, along with a number of race wins. They’ve started the 2023 season with a second place at the opening 24 Herues Motos in France.

“Since our first appearance at the Suzuka 8 Hours in 2004, I have been obsessed with standing on the podium. After a few 4th places, we were so close last year, until we crashed in the last hour lying on P3 and ended up only 7th. For 2023 we will fight even more focused and harder and hopefully make it.” Mandy Kainz

For the 2023 Suzuka 8 Hours, the team will use a special Suzuka 8 Hours livery based on the Yamalube RS4GP bottle design.

And for many of us who maintain a more passing interest in endurance motorcycle racing, the unique Suzuka liveries are perhaps the most exciting part of the build-up. Especially if you fancy creating a YZF-R1 race replica which stands out from the usual MotoGP and WSB-inspired designs. Most famously, the travelling marshals at the race in 1990 were given the Honda NR750 for transport – it took until 2013 for us to ride one.

Check out all of our motorcycle sport coverage, here. Along with new, classic and custom Yamaha motorcycles here. And if you’re inspired to create a Suzuka 8 Hours replica, you can find suitable R1s for sale via eBay.