Watch Niccol Canepa Destroy Mere Mortals Around Suzuka

Troy Siahaan
by Troy Siahaan

Niccolò Canepa is a bit of a journeyman in the racing scene. With stints in both MotoGP, Moto2, World Superbike, Superstock 1000, and Supersport 600, the Italian has now found a home in the Endurance World Championship, where he’s riding the factory GMT94 Yamaha R1. In this video, you can see why Canepa has raced in virtually all of the top-tier classes the world has to offer. In this practice session for the Suzuka 8 Hours, Canepa takes you on board as he slices and dices his way past lesser riders – all of whom would likely smoke the biggest hotshot at your local trackday.

The EWC enters its season finale on July 29 with the Suzuka 8 Hours – the largest endurance race for all of the Japanese manufacturers. For 2018 Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha are all fielding factory efforts with riders from both the World Superbike and MotoGP paddocks making a special appearance to take part in this race.

As for Canepa, we promise this video isn’t sped up – he’s simply riding the wheels off his Yamaha. Amazingly, during the practice sessions at Suzuka, Canepa and the GMT94 team aren’t the fastest team. In fact, GMT94’s fastest practice time so far – a 2:09.315 – is more than three seconds off the official Yamaha Factory Racing Team’s time of 2:06.273, set by mult-time Japanese superbike champion Katsuyuki Nakasuga. Nakasuga, along with his World Superbike teammates Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark, are the defending champions of the Suzuka 8 Hours and are looking to keep the crown for a second consecutive year.

Among the teams regularly competing in the EWC, YART Yamaha is leading the other FIM EWC full-season teams with a 2:08.005 quickest lap. This was good enough for 7th-quickest of the teams on track in testing, ahead of Musashi RT Harc-Pro Honda’s 2:08.070 best lap. F.C.C. TSR Honda France set a 2:09.186, ahead of GMT94 Yamaha, and Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (2:10.581).

Troy Siahaan
Troy Siahaan

Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.

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  • 77641183 77641183 on Jul 17, 2018

    "Nakasuga, along with his World Superbike teammates Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark, are the defending champions of the Suzuka 8 Hours and are looking to keep the crown for a second consecutive year."

    Incorrect. They're looking to keep it for a fourth consecutive year.

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    • 77641261 77641261 on Jul 17, 2018

      Ah, I didn't read it that way. Thanks for the clarification.

  • Jjjjjjay Jjjjjjay on Jul 17, 2018

    Canepa's vids are probably better than anything else out there. With helmet POV, getting the sense of hanging off, it is so much better than more static footage. The wind whipping around the windscreen... Plus that he is so blazing fast. High quality and high performance.

    • Mad4TheCrest Mad4TheCrest on Jul 18, 2018

      Blazing fast indeed! Not sure my heart could stand watching a lap 3 seconds quicker than that one. Better not blow your braking points ...

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