Suzuki with the new GSX-R 1000R at the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours: Superbike can wait

On the occasion of the Suzuka 8 Hours last year, Suzuki publicly unveiled the new GSX-R 1000R for the first time, followed by its international press launch at the Bol d’Or at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet.

Twelve months later, the latest version of the Gixxer will make its racing debut at the Suzuka 8 Hours: in addition to the in-house Team Suzuki CN Challenge, with a project (now in its third year) dedicated to the company’s ecological transition, it will be Yoshimura SERT Motul that brings Hamamatsu’s newborn to the track.

The reigning powerhouse of the discipline (18 world titles, 21 wins at the Bol d’Or, and 12 overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans), partnered with Yoshimura since 2021, contested the first two rounds of the 2026 FIM EWC Endurance World Championship with the “old” GSX-R 1000R. The homologation of the new model (code M7-R) only arrived on June 19, but Yoshimura SERT had already anticipated the timeline. During the official tests on May 12–13, they took to the track at Suzuka with the new Gixxer, showing strong competitiveness—enough to stand out (pending Yamaha’s response) as the primary challenger to the dominant Honda HRC squad, victorious in the last four editions.

Homologating a new model carries a cost for manufacturers: €33,000 must be paid to the FIM for dual Superbike/EWC and Superstock homologation. This is what Suzuki has done, with the GSX-R 1000R now eligible to race in Endurance across two classes (EWC and Superstock; a separate matter for Experimental, where Team Suzuki CN Challenge will compete) and, potentially, also in the Superbike World Championship.

However, the Hamamatsu manufacturer currently has no interest in Superbike. In the near future, they will continue in the Endurance World Championship with Yoshimura SERT Motul and Team Suzuki CN Challenge, as clarified by Shinichi Sahara himself (formerly head of the MotoGP project), who is destined sooner or later to tackle a 24-hour race. If not the Bol d’Or next September, then at the latest the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2027.