Suzuka 8 Hours: Honda doesn’t falter and triumphs; Jonathan Rea enters legend

HRC Honda is struggling in MotoGP and is insubstantial in Superbike, but at the Suzuka 8 Hours it’s unbeatable. In 47 editions there are now 32 triumphs (the fifth in a row!) in the Endurance competition that, for Japanese manufacturers, is worth as much as an entire World Championship.

Yamaha fought to the very end with Andrea Locatelli and Jack Miller unstoppable in the heavy rain of the final decisive stint. In the last riding turn, the rider from Bergamo inherited the YZF-R1 with a twenty-second deficit, extremely hard to make up in the downpour and with the first shades of evening enveloping the fantastic Japanese rollercoaster. The outcome of the duel, conditioned by wet conditions for its entire duration, was also influenced by the eight seconds that Yamaha Factory lost overall across the six pit stops for rider changes, tires, and refueling.

But above all, the decisive factor was the Safety Car coming out 30 minutes from the end, due to the weather becoming prohibitive. In these conditions, gaps are reset, which theoretically would have been a wild card for the Yamaha chasers, but only in the unlikely event of a possible restart. Instead, it was the final blow because Honda with Takahashi ended up behind the first car, Locatelli behind the second, meaning over a minute back. The contest ended there, with the final stretch paraded behind the safety cars. Together with Honda, BMW also celebrates with Michael van der Mark, Markus Reiterberger, and Steven Odendaal: it’s the first time a European brand has climbed the Suzuka 8 Hours podium.

The bad weather could have upended the predictions, but HRC Honda handled the situation. The CBR-RR in Endurance configuration is a marvel: it’s blisteringly fast and consumes less than its rivals. In the wet this mattered less, but Jonathan Rea and Takumi Takahashi executed the strategy to perfection, simply flawless. For the Superbike legend, this is the third Suzuka 8 Hours victory: the previous ones in 2012 with Honda FCC-TSR and in 2019 with Kawasaki, despite his slide 90 seconds from the end. Takumi Takahashi, meanwhile, takes home his eighth career win, cementing his status as the most successful rider across the 47 editions of this event.

Andrea Locatelli repeated last year’s second place, again with Miller and Nakasuga, meaning Valentino Rossi (2001) remains the only Italian winner of the Suzuka 8 Hours. On the podium—albeit in Superstock—also stood Gabriele Giannini, “loaned” for the occasion to the Wojcik team. For the strictly production-based bikes, the World Championship will also be decided at the fourth and final round.

Alessandro Delbianco saw the sensational result slip away that had seemed within reach after the third-fastest overall time in qualifying, best among all Yamaha riders, including the factory ones. Unfortunately, the race of Yamaha Marc VDS-KM99 lasted only three laps, then Florian Marino suffered a crash that caused heavy damage to the YZF-R1, which plummeted to the bottom of the standings. In his two stints, however, the Italian Superbike champion was blisteringly quick, on par with the big names. Christian Gamarino brings home 12th place with the factory Kawasaki (KWT Keadear). Kevin Manfredi also paid for his teammates’ mistake in Honda RAC41, but the Ligurian rider, lightning-fast in his stints, would have deserved much more.

The Suzuka 8 Hours has further tightened the situation at the top of the Endurance World Championship. Only one round remains, the legendary 24-hour Bol d’Or scheduled for September 18–19 at Le Castellet (France), with 65 points still up for grabs. Yamaha YART, the reigning champion, remains the leader but has all its rivals on its heels: there are as many as five teams from four different manufacturers (Yamaha, BMW, Honda, and Kawasaki) still perfectly in contention.

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