Takahashi makes history as Honda wins rain-hit Suzuka 8 Hours
Takumi Takahashi extended his Suzuka 8 Hours record as Honda HRC claimed a fifth consecutive victory, while Jack Miller helped Yamaha to second and set the fastest lap of the race. BMW also made history with the first Suzuka podium for a European manufacturer.
Round Three – Suzuka 8 Hours
Suzuka Circuit, Japan
Takumi Takahashi has added another line to an already unmatched Suzuka 8 Hours record, taking his eighth victory in the Japanese endurance classic as Honda HRC claimed a fifth consecutive win at the event.
Honda HRC – Takahashi, Rea and Chantra win the Suzuka 8 Hours
Takahashi shared the victorious #30 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP entry with Jonathan Rea and Somkiat Chantra, although once race day settled into persistent wet and mixed conditions, Honda’s strategy effectively became a Takahashi/Rea effort, with Chantra supporting the team after showing strong speed in the dry sessions earlier in the week.
The result gave Honda its 32nd Suzuka 8 Hours victory and came at the end of a race that was shaped by rain, long safety-car periods, interrupted pit cycles and a late neutralisation that froze the battle for victory with just over half an hour remaining.
Rea on the Honda HRC bike at the Suzuka 8 Hours 2026
Honda HRC completed 188 laps in 7h54m19.425s, winning by 1m34.280s from the Yamaha Factory Racing Team entry of Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Jack Miller and Andrea Locatelli. BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team completed the podium, 1m44.087s from victory, with Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal and Michael van der Mark securing a landmark result for BMW.
Honda controls a race that never really settled
The day had already begun wet, with Jonathan Rea fastest in the morning warm-up before the 50-bike field lined up for the 11:30 am start. Takahashi started from pole, but Naomichi Uramoto immediately put the AutoRace Ube Racing Team BMW into the early lead, giving HRC a genuine fight in the opening phase.
Suzuka 8 Hours start
AutoRace Ube remained a factor for much of the race, and the timing sheets underlined the pace in that #76 BMW. The best-sector data gave AutoRace Ube the strongest ideal lap of the race at 2m15.203s, while the team’s race-best lap was a 2m16.249s. A penalty for incorrect pit-stop procedure, however, dropped the team back to fifth at the flag, just 1.669s behind fourth-placed YART.
Suzuka 8 Hours start
Honda HRC took command after the early exchanges and, once clear, Rea and Takahashi controlled the lead through changing levels of rain and grip. Miller’s pace for Yamaha kept the pressure on, particularly in the middle and latter stages, but HRC had track position when the final heavy rain arrived.
The last safety-car period was triggered with around 34 minutes remaining, as standing water and fading light made conditions increasingly marginal. That neutralisation effectively settled the result, with Takahashi bringing the #30 Honda home behind the safety car.
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team
Jack Miller set the fastest lap of the race with a 2m16.034s on lap 102, BMW’s Michael van der Mark was only 0.063s slower, and all of the top four completed six official pit stops with their total recorded pit times separated by just over 15 seconds. HRC won by being quick enough, clean enough, and in front when the final weather call came.
Miller fastest as Yamaha finishes second again
For Australian fans, Jack Miller was one of the clear standouts of the race. The MotoGP regular again joined Yamaha’s factory Suzuka effort alongside Nakasuga and Locatelli, and once settled into the conditions, Miller produced some of the strongest wet-weather pace of the race.
Yamaha Factory Racing Team
After a tricky opening stint, Miller returned to the #21 Yamaha R1 and began lapping in the 2m16s, eventually setting the race’s fastest lap with a 2m16.034s on lap 102. That pace helped Yamaha move past AutoRace Ube and into second, before the #21 squad began reducing Honda’s advantage.
Locatelli handled the final run for Yamaha and had the gap to HRC down to around 15-20 seconds before the last safety car halted any chance of a late fight. Yamaha thus finished second for the second year in succession, while the podium scenes were emotional as Miller and Locatelli lifted Nakasuga onto their shoulders in front of the Japanese fans.
Jack Miller
Jack Miller
“We gave it our all in the 8 Hours! Loka was fantastic, and Nakasuga was amazing too. I’m proud of the efforts we all made here. I’m happy with my own performance, too. I gave it 100 per cent, that’s for sure.
“I struggled in the first stint quite a bit with the rear end, and at that point I was just trying my best to stay in the race. From the second stint on I had absolutely no problems, I could push at full throttle and close the gap to Honda in front of us. We were closing them down, but in the end we couldn’t quite catch them.
Jack Miller
“I think the EWC is super cool, and I absolutely love the 8 Hours as one of its rounds. I’m so honoured I got to do this race and represent MotoGP here. I hope everyone could see that I was giving it my maximum.”
BMW makes Suzuka history
Third place for BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team was more than a strong race result. It was the first Suzuka 8 Hours podium for a European manufacturer, and came with BMW’s full-season EWC squad rather than a one-off home-race special.
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team
The #37 BMW M 1000 RR had already shown its hand in qualifying, securing second on the grid after the Top 10 Trial was cancelled due to rain. In the race, van der Mark, Reiterberger and Odendaal stayed composed in conditions that caught out plenty of others, and the BMW crew also executed strongly in pit lane.
BMW was also the highest-placed permanent FIM EWC entry, and that matters in the championship picture. YART retained the series lead, but BMW leaves Japan 19 points behind heading into the Bol d’Or finale.
Michael van der Mark
“I think we can be really proud of third place. All week we’ve been so strong and to be on the podium here at Suzuka is amazing. I enjoyed it so much, even if my last stint was a bit boring because we stayed a long time behind the safety car.
“I was having fun with the bike; the track conditions weren’t changing much, and even when they did, we were really fast. It was nice to be quick and fight for the podium. At the end, race direction made the right call to bring out the safety car as it had already been quite tricky for a few laps with too much rain.
“It’s just nice to finish on the podium with my team and with BMW.”
YART fourth and still in control of the title race
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team came to Suzuka with a 22-point championship lead and left with a 19-point buffer. Fourth was not the podium the reigning world champions wanted, but it was a clean and important result in a race where mistakes were heavily punished.
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team
Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika and Leandro Mercado completed 188 laps on the #1 Yamaha, finishing fourth overall and fourth in EWC. YART also banked two points from qualifying after the Top 10 Trial cancellation meant Friday’s combined times set the grid.
That left YART with 21 points from the weekend and a 19-point championship lead over BMW heading to the Bol d’Or.
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team
Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99 had started third but lost around ten laps after Florian Marino crashed at Turn 3 early in the race. The #99 Yamaha eventually reached the finish in 30th overall.
Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99
Yoshimura SERT keeps title hopes alive
Yoshimura SERT Motul had a bruising Suzuka, but sixth place still kept its championship hopes alive ahead of the French finale.
Gregg Black made a superb start from eighth on the grid and grabbed the holeshot on the wet track aboard the #12 Suzuki GSX-R1000R. From there, however, safety-car timing and a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for a refuelling procedure infringement blunted the team’s challenge.
Black, Dan Linfoot and Cocoro Atsumi completed 186 laps to finish sixth overall and sixth in EWC, two laps down on Honda HRC. With 84 points, Yoshimura SERT Motul now sits third in the provisional championship standings.
Damien Saulnier
“It has been a difficult week, so naturally there’s some disappointment with the final result. We had several crashes during practice, then a race made even more complicated by the weather, the stop-and-go penalty and, above all, the safety car interventions.
“On two occasions, the safety cars came out between us and the race leaders, costing us half a lap each time and significantly reducing our chances of getting back into contention. Winning probably wasn’t realistic, but I genuinely believe a podium finish was within our reach.
“That said, we’ve come away with valuable championship points and the title fight is far from over.”
Stauffer strong in P12 for Kodama Yamaha
Max Stauffer also put together a strong Suzuka 8 Hours on the #50 MARUMAE TEAM KODAMA Yamaha alongside Yuta Kodama and Takumi Takahashi.
The team finished 12th overall and 11th in EWC, completing 183 laps, five laps down on the winner. Stauffer’s own pace was impressive, with his 2m20.189s on lap 131 standing as the team’s fastest lap of the race, ahead of Kodama’s 2m21.957s and Takahashi’s 2m21.575s.
Stauffer also completed three race stints in difficult conditions and was on the bike during both major wet-weather safety-car periods.
Max Stauffer
“Great race for me. It was pretty crazy with all the weather. In the first stint I was feeling good in the beginning, and I was able to hang onto the back of Rea for a few laps before the safety car came out.
“Both of the times the safety car was out due to the track being too wet, I was on the bike. It was a super tricky race with constantly changing conditions.
“Overall though, I had great pace the whole race, in all three of my stints. The Kodama team did a great job to supply a bike that felt good the whole race, therefore I could consistently lap competitive lap times. P12 across the line, and I’m looking forward to getting back next year.”
Fleming’s first Superbike race was Suzuka no less!
Australian rider Varis Fleming competed in the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours aboard the #31 Team Sugai Racing Japan Honda, qualifying 45th before the team was eventually classified 39th in the finishing order.
Varis Fleming
“What an amazing experience. As it was my first race meeting on a superbike, my only goal was to survive the wet conditions and improve over the course of the meeting.
“I’ve learnt so much about how endurance racing is conducted compared to short-circuit racing; the long sessions and racing are ones I could really get used to.
“Unfortunately, a few little hiccups at the start of the race left us quite a few laps down, but very happy to have finished.”
Superstock and Experimental honours
Superstock produced one of the tightest class fights of the day. NCXX Racing with Riders Club took the class victory with the #52 Honda, finishing 14th overall on 181 laps.
NCXX Racing with Riders Club
Team Étoile placed second in Superstock with the #25 BMW, only 14.355 seconds behind the class winner, while Wójcik Racing Team completed the Superstock podium just 1.031 seconds further back. Champion-Hert Powered by MRP was fourth in class, also on 181 laps.
Team Suzuki CN Challenge also delivered one of the more notable results of the race, taking seventh overall and winning the Experimental class with its #0 Suzuki GSX-R1000R. The project bike, running sustainable fuel and recycled components, completed 186 laps and finished only one place behind Yoshimura SERT Motul.
At a glance
Honda HRC #30 – Takumi Takahashi / Jonathan Rea / Somkiat Chantra – won with 188 laps in 7h54m19.425s.
Takumi Takahashi claimed his eighth Suzuka 8 Hours victory and fifth in succession.
Honda recorded its 32nd Suzuka 8 Hours victory and fifth consecutive win.
Jack Miller set the fastest race lap with a 2m16.034s on the #21 Yamaha Factory Racing Team R1.
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team finished third, giving BMW the first Suzuka 8 Hours podium for a European manufacturer.
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team finished fourth and heads to the Bol d’Or with a 19-point championship lead.
NCXX Racing with Riders Club won Superstock.
Team Suzuki CN Challenge won the Experimental class and finished seventh overall.
The 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship now moves to the Bol d’Or at Circuit Paul Ricard, with the season finale taking place across September 17-20.
