After the heat at Most, Schrötter headed straight to the EWC at Suzuka

For Marcel Schrötter, what is arguably the most famous endurance race is a must-attend event on his calendar this year, having decided to compete in the entire FIM Endurance World Championship with the German team ERC Endurance.

The Suzuka 8-Hour in Japan is Round 3 on this year’s World Endurance Championship calendar. Marcel Schrötter is already very familiar with the circuit and the event, as this will be his fourth time competing in this unique race. Nevertheless, some aspects will be new to Schrötter, as he was part of a Japanese team during his previous appearances, whilst this time he aims to battle for championship points in the familiar surroundings of the Karlsruhe-based ERC Endurance team.

A top-ten finish would be a success

As was the case at the last race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, Schrötter will be riding the team’s BMW M 1000 RR alongside his team-mates Kenny Foray and Jan-Ole Jähnig. As Suzuka is practically on the doorstep of the four major Japanese manufacturers, the event attracts enormous attention, which does not go unnoticed in the rest of the world either. It is not only because of the official works teams of the domestic brands that the competition here is even tougher and more intense than in Europe. For Schrötter and his team, therefore, even a place in the top ten would be a success.

Suzuka also stands out because of its unique schedule. The race week begins as early as Tuesday with the first practice sessions. Qualifying takes place on Friday, and on Saturday afternoon the top ten teams from the qualifying standings compete against each other in the ‘Top Ten Trail’ to secure the best starting positions. The main event, the ‘Suzuka 8 Hours’, begins on Sunday at 11.30 am local time (3.30 am CEST) and ends after dark at 7.30 pm local time (11.30 am CEST).

The toughest weekend of the season

“Being at Suzuka is always something special,” says Schrötter. “The Suzuka 8 Hours is part of the championship I’ve chosen to compete in this year. Nevertheless, it will definitely be a highlight of the season to be back at this truly unique event. What makes Suzuka special is that many Japanese teams take part, even though they don’t compete in the other races of the World Endurance Championship. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead, especially as I’ll be competing at Suzuka with my own team for the first time.”

“I realise that, for us as a European team, this is likely to be the most difficult weekend of the season in terms of being competitive,” the Bavarian acknowledges. “Virtually all the Japanese manufacturers are on the grid with their own works teams, as are several other teams competing at a very high level, and on top of that, almost all of them are fitted with Bridgestone tyres. That’s why I think a place in the top ten would be a success for us. I’m curious to see how it will go, as we’re getting tyres from Dunlop Japan this time. What’s more, the weather forecasts aren’t predicting temperatures as high as last year, for example, which is a good thing. It could also get very wet, though – hopefully that won’t be too much of a problem. Nevertheless, I’m really looking forward to being back in Japan, and above all, of course, to the ‘Suzuka 8 Hours’.»