Locatelli and Rea set to make their return to Japan for the Endurance World Championship’s legendary Suzuka 8 Hours
One former WorldSBK rider and one current, both have enjoyed success at Suzuka
Two veterans of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock, former rider and six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea and his past teammate Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha), have announced that they each will partake in the 47th edition of the FIM Endurance World Championship’s Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race. July 3-5 at Suzuka Circuit, Rea will Race for Honda HRC alongside defending race winners Johann Zarco and Takumi Takahashi, and Locatelli will represent the Yamaha Factory Racing Team alongside Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Jack Miller, who finished in second in 2025.
2025 saw Yamaha’s factory team return to competition at Suzuka 8h for the first time since 2019 in honour of the company’s 70th anniversary. The #55 made a splash last season as he competed for the first time at Suzuka 8h, finishing in second and setting the fastest lap of the race after his qualifying effort saw him place second just two hundredths of a second off of Johann Zarco’s time for Honda HRC. In 2026, Locatelli and his teammates will look for the manufacturer’s ninth Suzuka 8h victory.
On the opportunity, Locatelli said: “I got some great news from Japan this year! I’m super thankful to compete in the Suzuka 8 Hours again with the factory team. Getting to ride the factory R1 and join incredible teammates like Jack and Nakasuga-san is so good for my growth as a rider. This year, our target is to get the win we missed last year. Jack and I were picked to join Nakasuga because we both have 8 Hours experience. We’ll be going against some tough teams, but we’re definitely not losing out to anyone! We’ll do our best to get a great result for all the Yamaha fans!”
Rea steps into the reigning Honda HRC squad, who won last year's race with only two riders instead of their originally planned three after Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) was injured, and his contemporary teammate Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) couldn’t replace him due to procedural problems. Rea returns to a familiar package as he won Suzuka 8h atop a Honda CBR1000RRW back in 2012. His affinity for P1 isn’t limited to World Superbike either, as he returned to win the race in 2019 with Kawasaki alongside Leon Haslam and Toprak Razgatlioglu, and he will hope to make it two wins in two years for the Honda HRC faithful.
Catch all the race action coming up this weekend, featuring Locatelli and the rest of your favourite riders at Most! Watch live or OnDemand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!
