The 46th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours is in full swing under a blazing sun and a heat that puts the riders to the test. After a hectic start, Honda and Yamaha took the lead over the entire field of 55 teams. Find out now what happened during this third hour of racing.
Read also: 8H Suzuka 2025, H+2: Johann Zarco and HRC take the lead
After the crash and retirement of the No. 5 Honda, the carnage continues among the championship leaders. The third hour of the race was marked by a major blow for YART Yamaha, who had been in the fight for the podium until then. Jason O'Halloran, then third after the final pit stops, crashed in the chicane while trying to keep up with BMW rider Michael van der Mark.
Although he managed to restart immediately, O'Halloran had to take the No. 7 Yamaha back to the garage for repairs. The mechanics' quick intervention allowed him to return to the track after just four minutes, but the mishap relegated the championship leader to 29th place, three laps behind the leaders.
Meanwhile, the #30 Honda HRC, first driven by Johann Zarco and then by Takumi Takahashi after another pit stop, held onto first place with poise. The #21 factory Yamaha, now ridden by Jack Miller, was in second place, about 13 seconds behind Takahashi. Miller then began his first stint at Suzuka and stabilized the gap with a series of solid laps (2:07-2:09).
Behind this leading duo, the battle for the podium rages on. Michael van der Mark gets the better of Teppei Nagoe's No. 73 Honda Harc-Pro and O'Halloran's YART Yamaha, thus moving the No. 37 BMW Motorrad into provisional third place in the standings.
Unfortunately, Michael van der Mark suffered a violent crash in the chicane, moments after the footrest on his factory BMW broke. This cut his stint short, and he immediately pitted to hand over the No. 37 bike to Markus Reiterberger, who was now in 20th place.
In the rest of the field, the Kawasaki Webike Trickstar No. 11 continues its race in the top 15, while Ducati remains in the top 10 thanks to the Panigale Kagayama.
After three hours, the race settled down to a Honda-Yamaha duel for victory. At this point in the race, it was Jack Miller's first stint. He handed the No. 21 Yamaha over to Nakasuga, and was in second place, about 12 seconds off the lead, behind Takumi Takahashi (Honda). Nothing was decided yet at Suzuka. See you in an hour for a mid-race time update.
8H of Suzuka 2025 – The standings after 3 hours of racing:
Ranking : FIM EWC
