Ben Young will compete at this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours event in Suzuka, Japan, a race that is considered to be the premier event on the Endurance World Championship (EWC) calendar.
Young, a three-time Canadian Superbike (CSBK) champion and current leader of the CSBK standings, will join Team Taro Plus One BMW for his World Endurance debut.
The 31-year-old joins a short list of Canadians to compete at the Suzuka 8 Hours, which includes Ruben McMurter, Steve Crevier, and Jordan Szoke.
Young will compete alongside Japanese former Grand Prix riders Taro Sekiguchi and Kyosuke Okuda on Team Taro Plus One BMW. He recently competed in a private test with the team on an M1000RR bike.
“The bike felt really good, and the team and everyone there is great to deal with,” Young said in an interview with CSBK. “We’re about half a second from our target time, so hopefully we can put on a good show and get a strong result.”
Team Taro Plus One BMW finished 16th out of 50 teams at last year’s Suzuka 8 Hours and finished as high as 14th at the event in 2022.
The Suzuka 8 Hours was launched in 1978 and attracts various stars from MotoGP and World Superbike, among other series. This year’s race runs from July 19 to July 21.
Young is competing in CSBK action this weekend at the Grand Bend Motorplex
