Isle of Man TT star Davey Todd wins Suzuka 8 Hours debut after test
Todd will make his Suzuka 8 Hours debut this weekend
The AutoRace Ube Racing team has announced that Isle of Man TT winner Davey Todd has been given the nod to complete its line-up for the 2025 Suzuka 8 Hours.
Todd had been selected by the squad alongside Spanish Superbike rider Ivo Lopez to audition for the seat freed up by Hannes Soomer, who was injured in an IDM Superbike crash earlier this month.
The pair were pitted head-to-head during Wednesday’s test day for the 2025 Suzuka 8 Hours, with Todd ultimately getting the seat over Lopez.
The three-time Isle of Man TT winner, who added to his haul at the event this year with a Superbike race victory, will line up alongside ex-MotoGP racer Loris Baz and Naomichi Uramoto on a BMW M1000RR.
A statement from the team read: “No.76 AutoRace Ube Racing Team, which will be competing in the FIM EWC 46th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race, will change its rider line-up for the official session, which begins on Friday 1 August.
“Due to the absence of Hannes Soomer (Estonia), who was scheduled to participate, we have invited two riders, Ivo Lopes (Portugal) and Davey Todd (UK).
“They auditioned for the team during a test run held at Suzuka on Wednesday 30 July.
“After the test session, we decide that Davey Todd will be racing with us from Friday Qualifying Practice.
“As you can imagine, we are in a difficult situation, but we will remain united as a team and fight to deliver a podium finish at the Suzuka 8 Hours. We appreciate your support.”
Following Wednesday’s test day, the No.76 AutoRace Ube Racing entry was ninth fastest overall with a best lap of 2m07.158s.
The No.30 Honda HRC entry of Johann Zarco, Xavi Vierge and Takumi Takahashi led tthe way with a 2m05.645s ahead of the factory Yamaha No.21 crew of Jack Miller, Andrea Locatelli and Katsuyuki Nakasuga.
In this article
