Australian rider Cameron Donald has been confirmed as stand-in rider for Honda TT Legend Steve Plater at the Suzuka 8-hour race at the end of July. Plater suffered a broken arm during a British Superbike event at Thruxton in May and will be unable to compete in Japan at the third round of the 2011 Endurance World Championship.

Donald – who acted as reserve rider for the team at the Bol d’Or 24-hour earlier this year – will now join John McGuinness and Keith Amor as they contest one of the toughest races on the EWC calendar. All three riders will take part in qualifying and a decision on who will compete in the race itself will be made following the final session. The 8-hour race will take place on Sunday 31 July at the Suzuka circuit in Japan.


Neil Tuxworth, team manager

This has been a difficult decision but we talked to Steve at length and in the end, he and the team know that he is not going to be fit enough for Suzuka. Cameron is our official reserve rider so it makes perfect sense for him to stand in. We won’t be taking a reserve rider to Suzuka – all three will qualify and we will make a decision on which two riders will race after qualifying. If the conditions are hard we may even run a three-rider team. It’s a new circuit for all the riders and the extreme heat and humidity make it the toughest race of the year so let's see how we go.

Cameron Donald

It’s a lifelong dream of mine to compete in the Suzuka 8-hour and I am honoured to be taking part with the Honda TT Legends. I obviously feel for Steve and wish him a speedy recovery – I hope I can do him justice if I get the opportunity to race.