The field is set and practice is on the verge of beginning. The preparation work is done and the time has come for the talking to stop and the racing to take centre stage at Suzuka. Who will be the leading actors at this year’s race? Asphalt & Rubber breaks down the field.

There aren’t many circuits as challenging as the Suzuka International Racing Course. So what’s the key to a quick lap?

Suzuka is a real rollercoaster racetrack. The unique figure-of-eight layout ensures that it is unlike any other circuit on the racing calendar, but the Japanese venue isn’t a gimmick, it’s a true test of skill and bravery for every rider.

As riders come across the start-finish line, it is a rare chance to catch their breath as they look across for their pitboard – and the Suzuka 8-Hours is not a short race.

The mental challenge of Suzuka is huge, and it’s easy to get fatigued. The heat and humidity play havoc with the riders, but the 20 corners, with most linked together, mean that mental errors are heavily punished. With such a long lap and stifling conditions, the lap counter seems to grow at a snail’s pace.

When Glenn Frey released one of the biggest hits of the 80s, the Suzuka 8-Hours was on the verge of its glory days. Those days are now being repeated.

In 1984, the Suzuka 8-Hours was on the cusp of being the biggest race of the season for the Japanese manufacturers, and that year’s edition was won by double WorldSBK champion Fred Merkel and 500GP rostrum finisher Mike Baldwin.

The win was Baldwin’s third and final victory, but started a run of success by the world’s biggest names in racing. The following six years saw riders such as Wayne Gardner, Kevin Magee, Wayne Rainey, and Eddie Lawson all have their name etched on the winners’ trophy, and in 1991 the first “Suzuka Super Team” emerged victorious.

With Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner winning, the all-Australian team was a 500GP dream team taking on the rest of the field. With Doohan sidelined by his horrific Assen crash the following year, Gardner nevertheless claimed his third win in Japan, with Daryl Beattie as his teammate.

The run of Grand Prix winners then came to an abrupt end in 1993 with Superbike stars Scott Russell and Aaron Slight delivering Kawasaki’s only victory in the race.

It was an era of exotica, with the Japanese manufacturers using incredible machinery to try and win the race; an era of big budgets and no holds barred racing – a true golden era of motorcycle racing.