In the typical Japanese heat, the official start of the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours took place this Friday morning with a two-hour free practice session. Dominated by Yoshimura SERT Motul, this first official session was particularly disrupted by several interruptions and red flags.
Cocoro Atsumi set the benchmark time of 2:05.323 aboard the Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki #12, just before a final red flag brought the session to an abrupt end. No machine managed to dip below 2:04, remaining well short of the benchmark time set by the BMW #37 during this week's private testing.
Markus Reiterberger nevertheless distinguished himself by placing the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team in second place with a time of 2:05.360. FCC TSR Honda France completed the top 3 thanks to a lap time of 2:05.415 by John McPhee.
A top 4 in a pocket square
The competition promises to be particularly close, with the top four separated by less than a tenth of a second. Within this tight margin, the favorites are vying for a top-three finish, with the Yamaha #21 edging out the HRC factory Honda #30 by a mere 47 thousandths of a second.
In the Superstock category, the best time went to the BMW #25 of Team Étoile with a time of 2:06.505. In Experimental, the Suzuki #0 of Team SUZUKI CN CHALLENGE, driven by the experienced Étienne Masson, won in 2:06.219, thus beating its only rival in the category.
A final opportunity for the teams to fine-tune their settings before the real competition begins: qualifying. Scheduled to start at 12:00 local time, the discussions are already shaping up to be fierce.
8 Hours of Suzuka 2026 – Friday Free Practice Results:
Photos and ranking: FIM EWC
