PJ Jacobsen To Race Factory Honda in Suzuka 8 Hours
Rennie Scaysbrook | July 19, 2018
PJ Jacobsen To Race Factory Honda in Suzuka 8 Hours—American WorldSBK contender PJ Jacobsen will get a golden opportunity to show what he can do after being called up to replace the injured Leon Camier in the factory Red Bull Honda team for the 2018 Suzuka 8 Hours alongside Takumi Takahashi and Takaaki Nakagami.
PJ Jacobsen To Race Factory Honda in Suzuka 8 Hours
Jacobsen will get one of the biggest opportunities of his career when he lines up for the factory HRC team in next week’s Suzuka 8 Hours.
Jacobsen had initially been scheduled to ride for the Musashi RT Harc-Pro team alongside Dominique Aegerter and JSB1000 championship racer Ryo Mizuno. His place in that team will be taken by former MotoGP front-runner, Randy de Puniet.
For Jacobsen, the chance to race a full factory HRC machine at the most important race of the year for Japanese manufacturers could be massive for his international career. The New Yorker has spent the 2018 season riding a privateer Honda CBR1000RR for the Triple M Racing Team after stints in WorldSSP with Honda and MV Agusta.
Honda will be looking to take back some pride in the Suzuka 8 Hour, with arch-rivals Yamaha taking the last three victories at the venue Honda owns. As such, Jacobsen’s Red Bull Honda team is the first full factory effort made by Honda for the 8 Hours in 10 years, highlighting the return to prominence for this classic race for the Japanese manufacturer.
The F.C.C TSR Honda France team with riders Josh Hook, Alan Techer and Freddy Foray lead the series on 146 points. They sit 10 points ahead of 2016/2017 FIM Endurance World Champions GMT94 Yamaha with riders Niccolo Canepa, David Checa and Mike Di Meglio.
The 2018 Suzuka 8 Hours will take place on Sunday, July 29.
For the official EWC website, click here.
