Jonathan Rea goes for a hat-trick at the Suzuka 8 Hours: "With Honda, a return to my roots"

In 2007, after the victory in the 300 km of Suzuka, Honda HRC benched Jonathan Rea for the 8 Hours, even though in private testing he was as fast as an ace of Ryuichi Kiyonari’s caliber.

They chose James Toseland instead, who then crashed in the race, but from 2008 onward the North Irish champion began writing memorable pages in the event’s history. Between thunderous successes (a dominant 2012 with F.C.C. TSR Honda) and a few setbacks: 6 crashes across 5 different editions and in 8 actual appearances. Even that famous crash 94 seconds from the end of the 2019 edition, later won with Kawasaki KRT amid appeals and controversy. For 2026 JR65 is aiming for a hat-trick as Honda HRC’s standard-bearer, with every credential to pull it off.

"For me, racing the Suzuka 8 Hours with Honda HRC is a bit like going back to my roots," Jonathan Rea commented at the end of the two-day test last May. There he set the fastest time, while Takumi Takahashi impressed with a race pace in the 2'05" range despite a 23-lap run. "Johnny is the best teammate I could wish for," said the Japanese rider himself, a 7-time King of the 8 Hours. "I never would have imagined racing the 8 Hours together with him," reflecting on Rea’s Kawasaki years and the fact that, as Honda riders in the past, they were always rivals: Rea with F.C.C. TSR, Takahashi with HARC-PRO.

Johann Zarco’s injury ruled out the possibility for Honda HRC to field a true dream team, with the Frenchman replaced by Somkiat Chantra. Over these two days of pre-event testing, Jonathan Rea acted a bit like a “coach” to the Thai rider, with evident results. Chantra isn’t Zarco, but he was only a few tenths off his more celebrated teammates. With the Suzuka-spec CBR 1000RR-R everything comes a bit easier, even in comparison with Yamaha Factory: fast, yes, but not with the same consistency, fuel management (the CBR comfortably does two more laps), and pit stop speed.

Counting victories across all World Championship motorcycle series, Jonathan Rea stands at 124 wins: 119 in Superbike, 3 in Supersport, plus 2 editions of the Suzuka 8 Hours. A hat-trick would mark his 125th world-level triumph, extending the gap to Giacomo Agostini (123 including Hockenheim 1977 in Formula 750, otherwise the canonical 122) and Valentino Rossi (115 in the World Championship plus one Suzuka 8 Hours, therefore 116).