Preliminary tests in mid-May completed, private tests in early July finished, the 47th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours, the third round of the FIM EWC Endurance World Championship, continues to run its program with a rest day today before the start of qualifying on Friday.
This break is welcome to use the past to assess the chances of the official Honda HRC #30 ridden by Takumi Tahashi, Jonathan Rea et Somkiat Chantra, in the absence of Johann zarco.
Why focus on the Honda #30?
Having won the last 4 editions, it seems difficult to imagine a better favorite…
First, the machine, the CBR1000RR-R SP: John Zarco set the unofficial circuit record (specific regulations apply, qualifying does not count towards the official record) at 2'04.290 last year, when
Top 10 Trials, a super qualifying session that determined the final pole position for the 46th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours.
A remarkable performance, but not outrageously dominant, since Andrea Locatelli he had clocked 2'04.316 on the Yamaha YSF-R1 of Yamaha Factory Racing team #21.
With only 26 thousandths of a second difference between a MotoGP rider and a Superbike rider, one might think that the two Japanese factory machines are equal.
La BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team #37 (Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal, Michael Van Der Mark), who dominated the early-week tests, had clocked 2'05.508 when Top 10 Trial 2025 with Michael Van Der Mark.
On Tuesday, the BMW M 1000 RR clocked a time of 2'04.680, a sign of significant improvement compared to last year… It will be a force to be reckoned with, even if…'Other factors may determine the final victory!'
And it's not the tires, since all the top teams are equipped with Bridgestones. Initially, only the official Japanese teams had access to the mandatory development tires required to compete for the top step of the podium, but the Japanese manufacturer has somewhat expanded its offering, and today all the contenders for victory are using them, as seen with the top 15 in the last dry practice session…
While no clear favorite seems to emerge in terms of technical aspects, motorcycles and tires, Honda is playing its trump card on the riders' side.
Obviously, the absence of Johann zarco This is a major blow for the Tokyo-based manufacturer, as it now only has one and a half aces left: Takumi Tahashi, Winner in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025!
The man probably knows every square inch of the Suzuka asphalt and maybe even every spectator by their first name: in any case, he makes absolutely no mistakes, while going fast, very fast, as evidenced by his
2,052,223 from last year.
As a reminder, Takumi Tahashi et Johann zarco had to race in pairs, Iker Lecuona having first fractured his wrist, then his replacement Xavi Verge He too had to withdraw from the competition « procedural reasons« (or failure to obtain medical authorization).
This year, Honda HRC fields Jonathan Rhea et
Somkiat Chantra in addition to its star driver.
A formidable team, as the first won in 2012, then in a dramatic turn of events in 2019, while the second can boast MotoGP level, even if that's not everything (as evidenced by the pitiful performance of Jack Miller
last year in qualifying)...
In any case, so far only 3 teams have managed to break the 2'04 barrier this year: Honda HRC (2'04.773), Yoshimura SERT Motul (2'04.856) and FCC TSR Honda France(2,049,690)) during the mid-May tests, as well as BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team (2,04680) last Wednesday, when the Yamaha Factory Racing team #21 (Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Jack Miller, Andrea Locatelli) More than likely, he's hiding his true intentions.
As for the role that the cooler-than-usual temperatures might play, due to the race being held in early July rather than early August, but especially rain expected this weekendIt will undoubtedly be decisive…
Here again, Johann zarco would have been a major advantage!
Without the Cannes native, and despite his mastery of the exercise of
Jonathan Rhea In the wet, the dominance of the Honda HRC would be far from assured.
There would then be many challengers, both among the usual scoring teams and among the local Japanese teams…
Takumi Takahashi : " The team and the riders all agreed that it was important for Chantra to get as much track time as possible. The most important thing was for him to familiarize himself with the bike and the circuit. Over these two days of testing, his lap times improved steadily, and all three riders showed good pace. So I think everything went well. As for the conditions, they are completely different this year. Honestly, I would prefer it to be warmer, as I think higher temperatures can be an advantage for Honda. Personally, I would like it to be at least ten degrees warmer. Last year, the conditions were very difficult because we only had two riders. This year it's different with three. Johnny has a lot of endurance racing experience, and Chantra comes from a hot country, so from that perspective, I would have preferred it to be warmer. But the race is a month earlier this year, and the rainy season isn't over yet, so we're making do. Even in the rain, everyone was fast and I think we can be optimistic. Frankly, I was probably the most worried. Regarding the rain, I hadn't really ridden in the rain for several years, even though that's the case for many riders. But once I was on the bike, the lap times came one after another without any problems and I felt better than expected.
Jonathan Rea: “I’m satisfied with our work over the last two days. It’s Chantra’s first time competing in the Suzuka 8 Hours, but we shared the bike and all three riders showed good pace. The weather conditions were different today, but I was happy because I was able to analyze the tires and the bike in the wet. Whatever the weather on Sunday, we’ll at least be ready to tackle both conditions. On the team side, I’m delighted to be sharing the garage with Somkiat and Takumi. Chantra is doing an excellent job. He’s progressing little by little and was very impressive this morning. Of course, whenever I can, I try to help him because I have a good amount of experience and this is his first time competing in the Suzuka 8 Hours. He has all the talent to be fast, but I can sometimes give him advice on the bike, the conditions, or the circuit. Takumi is the most successful rider in Suzuka’s history. He’s a great guy and very fast in both the dry and the wet.” Day after day, I try to make him a little more comfortable because… It's very calm, so maybe on Sunday, the atmosphere will be a bit more lively in the garage. Here, we're all one team. We work like a family because we all share the same goal. As for the other teams, I'm not too worried about them, because we have enough to do in our own garage. Of course, there are many strong teams in both conditions, but during practice, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly who's the fastest because everyone has their own strategy. I'm happy with our work, and if we continue like this, we can achieve good results.
Somkiat Chantra : “I’m happy with my day. My best lap time in the dry improved by about half a second this morning. We also did a long stint, and my pace was pretty good. I still have track time on Friday and Saturday to continue making progress. In the afternoon, the rain arrived, and it was my first time riding in the wet at Suzuka. At first, it was difficult, so I did a lot of laps to get to know the bike and the tires. Honestly, coming here for the first time, I felt some pressure. But Jonathan and Takumi helped me a lot to stay calm and take it one step at a time. Takumi has a lot of experience here, and Jonathan also knows Suzuka very well, so I’m very happy to share the garage with them. The team was great. The bike was already well set up, and I felt comfortable right away.” I didn't need to make many adjustments; I could just get on and ride, which made things easier. The Suzuka 8 Hours is a very important race, and I've watched it every year. I've always dreamed of racing here one day, and now I have the opportunity. My goal this weekend is to give it my all and continue to improve. I want to enjoy this weekend because when you enjoy riding and working as a team, everything becomes easier.
While we wait for tomorrow's qualifying, relive the emotion of the... here Top 10 Trial 2025 :
Suzuka 8 Hours Honda Suzuka 8 Hours Honda Suzuka 8 Hours Honda Suzuka 8 Hours Honda Suzuka 8 Hours Honda
