The excellent Moto Racing Japan www.motoracing-japan.com site have pub-lished a translated version of the official Suzuka 8 Hour entry list here:

www.motoracing-japan.com/result/spl/078h_e.html

Here are some random thoughts:

SERT Suzuki: Julien da Costa makes his first appearance at Suzuka. How will the world champions fare without local expert Keiichi Kitagawa?

Yamaha Phase One: Stefan Nebel is third rider, taking the place of Didier Van Keymeulen for this race.

FCC TSR Eurosport Benelux: Platacis rides with Suzuka specialists Iwata and Sugai. It'll be interesting compare lap times for these three.

Yamaha Austria: Aussie veteran Steve Martin stands in for injured Sebastien Scarnato

Zone Rouge Yamaha: Second Suzuka for the Belgians; they'll know what to expect this year.

Bolliger Kawasaki: Will they be top Kawasaki finisher this year?

Amadeus X One: It's not shown on the entry list, but Will Gruy won't ride at Suzuka as he is still recuperating from a broken pelvis after a road bike crash. Riccardo Ricci and Paolo Tessari will share the riding.

Team HRC 11: Kiyonari and Toseland. On a factory Fireblade. In Japan. Talk about pressure.

Suzuki Sweden: Paul Young is back with the Swedes for another crack at Suzuka.

Maco Moto Yamaha: Whatever happens to Rowley, Miksovsky and Verboven at Suzuka you know they're going to have a good time.

Team Raffin Motos: Maybe they'll be top Kawasaki?

RMT21 Honda: Heideger, Meyer and Smrz ride the German Honda.

Endurance Moto38: This time, their luck will change and they'll finish on the podium. Possibly.

Team LTG57 Yamaha: Another team of first timers. Don't forget to pack the paddling pool.

Yamaha Racing 81: Norick Abe and Jamie Stauffer, on the factory Yamaha. A lot of Aussie Yamaha riders will be out to scalp Stauffer…

QERT Kawasaki: Al-Naimi treams up with two Japanese riders - Karita and Shimizu - for this race. Maybe they'll be top Kawasaki?

Moto45 Yamaha: Another team making their second appearance in Japan.

ABG Performance Suzuki: Expect tiny Japanese girls in green frog suits. Probably.

Diablo 666 Kawasaki: Gary Mason joins James Hutchins and Alex Cudlin on what might be the top Kawasaki. Perhaps.

FCC TSR ZIP FM: The other FCC bike, this time ridden by Itoh, Tsujimura and Teshima.

Team Kawasaki France: Definitely won't be the top Kawasaki at Suzuka, as they haven't entered. Expect their championship hopes to slip away after Suzuka.

Interesting bikes: Well, there's the La Bellezza Speed Ducati 999… and that's it, as far as I can see. No home made Asahina Z1, no BMW R1200S, no Ducati Monster. Shame.

85 teams are entered, but only 19 are eligible to score points (10 from the SBK class, 6 from SPP and 3 from STK). The other 66 are entered in the JSB Japanese Superbike class. No Formula Xtreme this year.

Any more thoughts or comments?