On July 19–21, Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing took part in the 2024 FIM World Endurance Championship’s 45th Suzuka 8 Hours, held at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture. Held a little earlier than usual, the day was characterized by severe heat after the end of the monsoon season.
This is the third time to tackle the race for the team, consisting of Kohta Nozane, who competes in the All Japan Road Race JSB1000 class, as the main rider; Taiga Hada, who competes in the Moto2 European Championship, as the second rider; and Kosuke Sakumoto, who competes in the All Japan Road Race ST1000 class, as the third rider.
In the qualifying round on July 19, Nozane and Hada rode and set its sights on besting the formidable HRC team, finishing 5th overall. Then, in the TOP 10 trial held on July 20 for the top 10 teams, Nozane crashed at the chicane, and Hada's time placed him in 9th place, confirming starting position from 9th on the grid for the final race.
The race day was the hottest day of the race weekend, and with over 30,000 fans watching the Le Mans style race start at 11:30 a.m.
Starting off for Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing was Nozane, who was unable to up his pace from around a 10th place position, followed by Hada and Sakumoto. Due to the heat, Nozane was not in perfect physical condition, but he rode steadily and passed the baton to the next rider.
At the end of the race, the team had to make an emergency pit stop due to a minor problem with the machine. Despite the loss of time, the team completed 215 laps and took the checkered flag in 11th overall and 10th in the EWC class. As a result, Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing has been seeded to compete in the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race in 2025.

■Team Comments
- Team Director Shinichi Ito
With the support of many of our team, the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race 2024 has come to an end. This year, we renewed our team structure, welcomed Nozane to the team, replaced Watanabe who had to leave the team due to injury with Hada, and took on the challenge with Sakumoto in his fourth year.
The tests runs went well, and our goal was to finish on the podium, but in the finals, we had an unexpected turn of events and could only manage a 10th place in our class, which is good enough for the seeding for next year's race. Although this happens every year, I realized once again the difficulty of competing in the 8 Hours race as a spotlight, and we were unable to create a flow in the race, which fell behind. We could show our speed in the timed qualifying in 5th position, so we will prepare well and aim for revenge in the second half of the All Japan Road Race Championship and next year's Suzuka 8 Hours.

- Rider Kohta Nozane
It was great to lap in the 2:05s during qualifying, but I had an unfortunate crash in the first qualifying session and another crash in the top 10 trial, so I was cautious in some areas and could not ride as well as I could have. In the race, I wasn’t feeling well and managed to complete my stint, but I was not able to increase my pace. This put a lot of pressure on Sakumoto and Hada, and I’m sorry that I could not ride like an ace rider. The team helped me finish the race, so if I have the chance next year, I want to make sure I get my redemption.

- Rider Taiga Hada
It was the first time in two years that I was able to race the Suzuka 8 Hours with Astemo Honda Dream SI Racing, and it was another valuable experience. I’d like to thank Director Ito and everyone on the team. It was the first time for me to run the top 10 trials, but I was surprisingly not nervous. In the final race, I had to run a total of four stints due to some irregular pit stops, but was able to prove my personal growth and did my best without any physical problems. Thank you for all your support.

- Rider Kosuke Sakumoto
This time, I was in the position of backing up Nozane and Hada, so I only thought about fulfilling my own role in the race. I would have liked to finished higher in the standings, both for myself and for the team, but there were many things that are unique to the Suzuka 8 Hours, and it was a difficult race. However, this experience will lead to next year's Suzuka 8 Hours as well as All Japan Road Race, so I’d like to improve even further and take on the second half of the season.