Gardner-Sarron Wins Motorcycle Endurance

A two-man Franco-Australian team, driving a Honda RVF750, won the 1986 Suzuka eight-hour World Endurance Motorcycle Race, the third leg of a six-race world endurance championship series.

Australian Wayne Gardner and Frenchman Dominique Sarron sped 197 laps around the 3.7-mile Suzuka International racing course in 8 hours 1 minute 30.738 seconds at an average speed of 87.099 m.p.h.

They split the $31,800 first prize. Some 62 teams competed in the race held before a crowd of 153,000 at the track.

Two drivers share a motorcycle and no team member is allowed to drive for longer than three hours, according to the endurance race rules.

A U.S. team of Kenny Roberts and Mike Baldwin on a Yamaha YZF750 retired from the race after 130 laps when Baldwin overturned the machine.