Ducati Takes Historic Win in Japan

Ducati might be sweeping the board in MotoGP and still showing strong in WorldSBK (in the face of a super fast BMW in the hands of Toprak Razgatlioglu), but this month it added a new race win to its tally, scooping first in the All Japan Road Race Championship (also called the Japanese Superbike Championship or JSB1000).

The round took place at the historic Motegi circuit, and the rider who managed to beat the rest of the field was a certain Ryo Mizuno. BSB fans will likely remember the name of the 26-year-old rider, as a couple of seasons ago he was competing in the British Superbike Championship, then aboard a factory-backed Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade.

Mizuno may have struggled in the BSB, having never cracked the top ten while racing on our famously narrow tracks, but his race win in the JSB1000 shows that on the right circuit, and with a Ducati Panigale V4 R beneath him, the Japanese ace is still very much a force to be reckoned with.

After taking the pole position on Saturday, Mizuno took the lead after passing the Honda Fireblade-mounted Kohta Nozane on the opening lap and then led the race until the finish line. On the way to the chequered flag, Mizuno managed to set the fastest lap of 01:48.005s, just three seconds off the track record of 01:45.198 set by Jack Miller on the Ducati Desmosedici GP22.

By the time Mizuno crossed the line, he’d built a gap of 4.135 to the second-placed Yamaha YZF-R1 of Katsuyuki Nakasuga, and 5.384 seconds over the sister bike of Yuki Okamoto.

The JSB1000 win isn’t the first historic result Ducati has claimed this month, with Mike Browne winning on the Isle of Man TT course, something that hasn’t happened for almost 30 years. Browne, riding a beautiful Key Racing Ducati 916 in the Manx GP, was untouchable, building a lead over 13 seconds, before the race was brought to an end after just one lap thanks to deteriorating weather conditions.