The 46^th edition of Suzuka 8 Hours event, the prestigious endurance race held every year at the Suzuka Circuit in south Japan, took place this weekend with a star-studded grid featuring multiple riders from the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and MotoGP™ paddocks. The 2025 edition saw up to 55 teams comprised of two or three riders take part in the event, with several familiar faces in prominent positions.  

Honda HRC continued their recent domination of the event with their fourth consecutive Suzuka 8 Hours win, the two-man team of MotoGP’s Johann Zarco and former WorldSBK rider Takumi Takahashi taking the honours. The team originally included WorldSBK’s Iker Lecuona, but he was forced to withdraw following the injuries he sustained at the Hungarian Round, while Xavi Vierge was ultimately unable to replace his teammate due to procedural reasons.

‘LOKA’ SHINES IN SUZUKA: Debut podium and fastest lap of the race

Part of a three-rider outfit also featuring MotoGP’s Jack Miller and four-time Suzuka 8 Hours winner Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) put in a fantastic performance on his debut at the Japanese circuit, helping the Yamaha Racing Team to a comfortable second-place finish, 34 seconds down at the chequered flag from the #30 Honda bike.

After setting the second fastest time in qualifying, just 26 thousandths of a second off of Zarco’s pole time, Locatelli and his teammates faced an uphill battle from the start, dropping from second to seventh by Lap 1. The #21 Yamaha made swift progress from there onwards however, moving up to second during Locatelli’s first stint, which would be their ceiling for the remaining hours of the 217-lap race.

Setting the fastest lap of the race with a 2’06.604, Locatelli later shared his thoughts following his first taste of Suzuka action: "It was a super hot and difficult weekend, but Jack, Nakasuga, and I all gave it our best. As a member of the Yamaha family, I'm very proud to have stood on the podium at the Suzuka 8 Hours, and I'm thankful for the support of so many team members. We finished 2^nd place and broke the race circuit record. My name will remain there until at least next year, which is wonderful. It's a shame we couldn't quite set a record in the Top 10 Trial, but overall the 8 Hours was absolutely amazing!”.

WORLDSBK STARS ROUND-UP: van der Mark and Zaidi score top-10 finishes

Several other riders from the WorldSBK and WorldSSP grids also featured in prominent roles in Japan. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished the race in fifth position for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, racing alongside Markus Reiterberger and Steven Odendaal. Van der Mark, a four-time Suzuka 8 Hours winner himself, had been riding as high as third position, before a loose footpeg caused the #37 machine to crash, dropping them to 21^st before making a remarkable comeback back to the top-5.

Zaqhwan Zaidi (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) also had a positive performance at Suzuka, finishing in 10^th position for the Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Astemo team, despite a post-race 60-second penalty. Two riders from WorldSSP were also on the grid for the 8 Hours, with Marcel Schrotter (WRP Racing) finishing the race in 29^th position for SDG-DUCATI Team KAGAYAMA with 2010 WorldSBK runner-up Leon Haslam as a teammate, and Kaito Toba (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) crossing the finish line in 31^st place for Honda No Limits, 12^st amongst the Superstock teams.

The WorldSBK grid returns from the summer break at Magny-Cours in September – follow all the action with the WorldSBK VideoPass!