Suzuka 8 Hours testing complete as Miller leads Aussie charge

Suzuka 8 Hours Preview

The 47th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours looms as a proper factory arm-wrestle, with Honda HRC chasing a fifth successive victory at its home endurance classic, while Yamaha returns with clear intent after pushing Honda to the line last year.

The tone was set before the weekend had even properly started, with Honda HRC and Yamaha Factory Racing Team coming together for a joint press conference at Suzuka Circuit on Thursday. There was mutual respect, a few laughs and some good-natured sparring, but underneath it all the message was clear enough: Honda wants to keep its run alive, and Yamaha believes it has the rider strength, pit-work preparation and recent test pace to turn last year’s near-miss into victory.

Honda HRC again has Takumi Takahashi as its spearhead, the seven-time Suzuka 8 Hours winner joined by Jonathan Rea and Somkiat Chantra on the factory CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Chantra has been brought into the line-up in place of the recovering Johann Zarco, and much of Honda’s early test programme was built around giving the Thai MotoGP rider as much mileage as possible on the Suzuka-spec machine.

Yamaha’s factory effort is built around Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Jack Miller and Andrea Locatelli on the YZF-R1. The trio had not been able to test together earlier this year due to scheduling clashes, meaning the two-day official test was their first time back together since last year’s 8 Hours. Miller arrived at Suzuka straight from back-to-back MotoGP rounds, but Yamaha’s own notes suggest he quickly brought his usual spark to the garage as the team worked through the process of getting all three riders comfortable on the 2026 R1.

Tuesday’s opening test day was run in dry conditions and Yamaha made the biggest late statement. The #21 Yamaha Factory Racing Team topped the day with a 2m04.920s in the fifth and final session, the only team to break into the 2m04s on Tuesday. BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team was second on 2m05.098s, Honda HRC third on 2m05.497s, YART Yamaha fourth on 2m05.613s and Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99 fifth on 2m05.806s.

That did not tell the full Honda story, however. HRC had been inside the top three in all five Tuesday sessions, topping the first two before Yamaha and BMW sharpened the pace later in the day. For Honda, the first day was less about one-lap theatre and more about bedding in Chantra, building a shared set-up for three riders, and keeping Takahashi and Rea in the range needed to fight when the race begins.

Wednesday changed the complexion of the test. The morning was dry, but rain arrived around lunchtime and the afternoon sessions ran in wet conditions, with several red flags also interrupting the day. BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team ended up fastest overall with a 2m04.680s, the quickest time of the two-day test, ahead of F.C.C. TSR Honda France on 2m05.130s, YART Yamaha on 2m05.213s, Honda HRC on 2m05.598s and SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda on 2m05.620s. Yamaha Factory Racing Team was sixth on 2m05.622s, only two-thousandths behind HARC-PRO.

The wet running could prove just as important as the outright dry pace. Honda HRC topped the third and fourth Wednesday sessions in the rain, Rea setting a 2m18.898s in session three before Takahashi went slightly quicker again with a 2m18.678s in session four.

Takumi Takahashi

“First of all, I’m happy that we were able to complete the first day without any issues.With Chantra suddenly joining the team as Zarco’s replacement, the team put together a plan to give him as much track time as possible on this first day. Following that plan, he was able to do a lot of laps and his pace has been improving smoothly. I don’t think there is anything particularly concerning at the moment. As for the bike, I personally am still not yet completely satisfied with it, so I want to continue working to create a bike that is easier for everyone to ride. The week is still long and it has only just begun, so I want to make sure we can prepare a really good machine by the time of the race.”

Jonathan Rea

“It’s nice to be back on track. We quickly settled into a sensible rhythm and gained a better understanding of the bike, although there are still some areas we need to improve, especially in terms of grip at the edge of the tyre. We understand where we need to make progress, and now it’s a matter of putting our heads together. Endurance racing is always a compromise between three riders, so we need to find a package that works for everyone, while still taking a step forward to be with the fastest teams. Takumi and I have a similar pace, while Somkiat is continuing to build his speed as he hasn’t had much testing here. By tomorrow, all three riders should be at a good level. We still have another day of testing, then some time before official practice and, of course, the race itself. For the first day, it’s very much a work in progress.”

Somkiat Chantra

“The first day for me was not so bad. I tried to learn more about the track and also to understand the bike set-up. It was a positive day and I completed some longer stints, which were good for me. The pace was also quite good, although my best lap is still not where I want it to be. We still have another test day tomorrow, I will keep pushing and I hope we can make another step forward. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Yamaha Factory Racing Team was also strong in the wet, taking second in session three, third in session four and third again in the final session, valuable experience for Miller and Locatelli in particular as they sampled Suzuka in the wet on Bridgestone rubber.

For Australian fans, Miller is clearly the headline act. His #21 Yamaha squad was fastest on Tuesday and sixth on Wednesday, but the second day’s result needs to be viewed through the weather and test-programme lens rather than as any great step backwards. Yamaha had already shown its dry speed, then used the wet afternoon to build a broader race base across all three riders. With Nakasuga’s Suzuka experience, Locatelli’s speed and Miller’s racecraft, Yamaha looks a genuine victory threat.

Jack Miller

“We’ll try to be stronger in the pits. We’ve minimised the time we take there. The forecast looks unpredictable, and eight hours in the rain is going to be a long time, but we’ll try our best to keep the rubber side down and see what we can do.”

Andrea Locatelli

“We’re a strong unit. Nakasuga-san always delivers, and Jack gives his all from the beginning. I will do the same. So it will be a nice fight and a great weekend.”

Katsuyuki Nakasuga

“This is our chance to settle the score from last year, and we’ve prepared well enough to reach the top step of the podium. On race day, we’ll do our stints smoothly, put on a great show, and do everything in our power to take the win. You never know what’s going to happen in an eight-hour race, so we’ll stay locked in and give it everything until the end. To all the Suzuka 8 Hours and Yamaha fans around the world, we’re counting on your cheers on Sunday!”

Max Stauffer is also back on the Suzuka 8 Hours entry, riding the #50 Marumae Team Kodama Yamaha. The team finished Tuesday 18th overall with a 2m07.590s, then improved its best lap to 2m07.431s on Wednesday, ending that day 22nd overall. That small improvement came despite the second day offering only two dry sessions before the rain arrived, making it a solid continuation of Stauffer’s Suzuka apprenticeship in a deep field packed with factory and permanent EWC opposition.

Varis Fleming is entered with #31 Team Sugai Racing Japan on a Honda CBR1000RR-R. The team’s Tuesday running appeared to build through the latter sessions, finishing the day 46th with a 2m13.883s. On Wednesday, the #31 Honda improved to 2m13.151s, again 46th overall, before also banking wet mileage through the afternoon. The outright position is well away from the factory fight, but the improvement of more than seven-tenths across the two days is still worth noting in a 50-bike Suzuka field.

Beyond the Australian interest, the championship picture adds another layer. YART arrives as the reigning EWC champion and current points leader with Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika and Leandro Mercado on the #1 Yamaha. The Austrian squad was fourth on Tuesday and third on Wednesday, all three riders showing broadly similar pace as the team focused on race speed, tyre management and the broader points equation. Suzuka carries major championship value, so YART does not need to get drawn into a pure factory ego fight if the smarter play is to bank a heavy haul of points.

Mandy Kainz – Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team Manager

“Suzuka is always one of the toughest races of the season, and for us the target is clear. We need to stay calm, avoid mistakes, make a smart race and score as many points as possible for the championship. There are a lot of points available this weekend, so qualifying and the race are both important. The test was positive because we had the chance to work in both dry and wet conditions, and all three riders were fast and consistent, which is exactly what you need for an eight-hour race. The team also did a very good job after Karel’s crash, and the feeling with the R1 is stronger than it was here last year. Now we need to carry that into the race.”

BMW, meanwhile, arrives at Suzuka with genuine momentum rather than merely threatening from the margins. The #37 BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team of Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal and Michael van der Mark claimed victory last time out at Spa-Francorchamps, converting pole position into a win in changeable conditions and taking maximum points to climb back into championship contention. They then backed that form up at Suzuka, finishing second on Tuesday before topping Wednesday’s running with a 2m04.680s, the quickest lap of the two-day test. Honda and Yamaha will still dominate much of the pre-race focus in Japan, but BMW has already shown it has the pace, rider strength and recent race-winning form to be far more than a spoiler.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France, Yoshimura SERT Motul, SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda, Kawasaki Webike Trickstar Kaedear, AutoRace Ube Racing Team and Elf Marc VDS/KM99 also showed enough speed across the two days to suggest the factory Honda-Yamaha narrative will not be the only story once traffic, pit stops, tyre windows and weather begin to bite.

Free Practice and qualifying take place on Friday, the Top 10 Trial will decide the sharp end of the grid on Saturday, and the Suzuka 8 Hours starts at 11:30 local time on Sunday, which is 12:30 AEST.

The polite face-off is over. Now it comes down to eight hours of pace, pit work, tyre calls, fuel strategy, weather judgement and the sort of restraint that only endurance racing demands.

Suzuka 8 Hours Two-Day Test Combined Times

• Combined classification based on each team’s quickest lap across the Tuesday and Wednesday test sessions.
• The day shown under each team indicates when its best lap was set.

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