BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team achieved a historic feat by securing the first-ever podium finish for a European manufacturer at the Suzuka 8 Hours (Japan) thanks to the #37 BMW M 1000 RR ridden by Michael van der Mark, Markus Reiterberger et Steven Odendaal.
Disputed since 1978The Japanese endurance classic had never seen a European manufacturer reach the podium, specifically third place, before the 2026 edition. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team was also the best full-time team in the FIM EWC. Victory and second place went to Honda and Yamaha teams specially assembled for this race.
The Suzuka 8 Hours constituted the third round of the FIM EWC Endurance World Championship, and pAmong the first to congratulate the team were Markus Flasch, director of BMW Motorrad, present on site in Suzuka.
La BMW M 1000 RR #37 had already demonstrated its potential from the very first sessions of the week. After the two qualifying sessions, the trio van der Mark–Reiterberger–Odendaal occupied second place. The traditional Top 10 Trials Having been cancelled due to weather conditions, the team retained this second position on the grid.
From then on, the official BMW trio ran a solid and consistent race on a track that alternated between heavy rain and drying racing lines, while the pit crew delivered another flawless performance. The final half-hour was run behind the safety car due to large patches of water on the circuit.
After eight hours of racing, the historic result was achieved: a first podium for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team at Suzuka.
Markus Flasch, director of BMW Motorrad: “What an absolutely incredible race! I couldn’t be prouder of what the whole team has achieved here at Suzuka. This is the biggest event of the year for Japanese manufacturers, who field stars from both MotoGP and WorldSBK. Yet, BMW Motorrad, with its team competing in the FIM EWC all season, managed to reach the podium. In incredibly difficult conditions, Mickey, Markus, Steven, and the entire team led by Werner Daemen made history. BMW is the first European manufacturer to reach the podium at Suzuka. Thank you all for your total commitment and determination!”
Sven Blusch, Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “Today is a historic day for BMW Motorrad. After 47 years, we have become the first non-Japanese manufacturer to reach the podium at Suzuka. This makes us extremely proud. The team on the track did a fantastic job, and our riders remained calm even in the most challenging conditions. I would also like to extend my warmest thanks to everyone who supported us from our headquarters. This result is extremely important to us. We were determined to reach the podium here, we are back in the fight for the championship, and we have proven that the BMW M 1000 RR is competitive even on Honda's home turf. Congratulations to Honda on their well-deserved victory. Starting tomorrow, all our attention will be focused on the season finale, the Bol d'Or. A special thank you to our three riders, who kept their heads throughout the race, and especially to Mickey, who finished the event perfectly. We are simply extremely proud!”
Christian Gonschor, technical director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “I’m proud that we’re the first European manufacturer to put a bike on the podium at Suzuka. The fact that both the #37 and #76 BMW M 1000 RRs finished in the top five further demonstrates the enormous potential of our bike. Throughout the week of testing, it was fantastic to see that the BMW M 1000 RR had the pace to fight for victory in the dry. The persistent rain during the race changed things somewhat. With the wet tires, we weren’t able to exploit our potential as we would have with slicks. Despite this, Steven, Markus, and Mickey did a remarkable job in these extremely difficult conditions and fully deserve this podium finish as the best full-time team in the FIM EWC. They perfectly embody our team spirit: never give up and always stick together.” This is what defines us, and I thank the riders, Werner Daemen, our chief mechanic Romain LaMonica, the team managers in Munich, and the entire team. We now have a common goal: we are approaching the Bol d'Or 19 points behind in the championship. It's a difficult challenge, but we believe it's achievable. We believe we can win the world title!
Werner Daemen, team manager of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “This is an important step for us and for all European brands, especially for BMW. We have been working since 2020 to achieve this goal. Last year, we were very close; this year, we made it onto the podium, and I am 100% convinced that if we continue like this, we can aim for victory next year. I am really, really happy.”
Michael van der Mark: “I think we can be really proud of this third place. We’ve been performing very well all week, and to get on the podium here at Suzuka is fantastic. I really enjoyed this race, even though my last stint was a bit boring as we were behind the safety car for a long time. I felt very good on the bike; the track conditions were changing very little, and even when they did, we were very fast. It was great to be able to fight for the podium. In the end, race control made the right decision by bringing out the safety car, as the heavy rain had already been making conditions very tricky for several laps. It’s simply fantastic to finish on the podium with my team and with BMW. We’ve worked incredibly hard all winter, and since we arrived here, all three of us have been very fast. It’s a great gift for the whole team and for BMW to be on the podium at Suzuka.”
Markus Reiterberger: “Finally, we made it onto the podium at Suzuka. I’ve been coming here for many years with this bike and this team: finally, we’ve done it. Congratulations to the whole team, they deserve it. It’s been a very long and very difficult road. We were hoping for a dry race, because I think we could have done even better, but in the rain it wasn’t so easy for us. The team did an exceptional job and we’re back in the fight for the world championship, which is the most important thing.”
Steven Odendaal: “I just want to say a huge thank you to the whole team. Everyone worked as hard as they could. We came here to fight for the win and this third place is an excellent result. Congratulations to my teammates, they did an outstanding job. We're already looking forward to coming back next year.”
Everyone in Munich is delighted, but the official Bavarian team almost had the spotlight stolen by the BMW Motorrad Motorsport Official Team Japan – AutoRace Ube Racing Teamwho also distinguished himself at home…
At the handlebars of the BMW M 1000 RR #76, Naomichi Uramoto et Sylvain Guintoli (The team's usual third driver, Hannes Soomerhad injured his shoulder during private testing prior to the event and had to return prematurely. Christophe Ponsson (who had replaced him during qualifying) were for a long time the best BMW crew and seemed capable of reaching the podium. However, poor fuel management and a penalty in the final part of the race dropped them down the standings and they ultimately finished fifth.
Refueling is clearly the area for improvement because, given the pace set, the #76 BMW could have been in contention for the win!
Honda #30 refueling stops:
42.246
44.321
42.985
43.133
43.564
43.778
Yamaha #21 refueling stops:
43.733
44.473
45.231
42.535
47.896
44.651
Refueling for BMW #37:
42.768
40.167
41.477
47.350
43.741
42.488
BMW #76 Refueling:
48.459
49.857
44.827
50.480
1:09.930
59.955
37.640
Suzuka 8 Hours BMW Suzuka 8 Hours BMW Suzuka 8 Hours BMW