The grid for the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours after the Top 10 Trial was cancelled; the starting order is based on Friday’s qualifying times consequently. Honda HRC start on pole position as they chase a fifth consecutive win at Suzuka with Jonathan Rea, Somkiat Chantra, and Takumi Takahashi aboard the factory Fireblade. BMW line up second with their factory EWC team of Michael van der Mark, Markus Reiterberger, and Steven Odendaal. Marc VDS KM99 complete the top-three on Sunday’s grid with Randy de Puniet, Florian Marino, and Alessandro Delbianco. Fourth will be the YART Yamaha team, the reigning EWC champions, with Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika, and Leandro Mercado. Yamaha’s one-off factory team of Jack Miller, Katsuyuki Nakasuga, and Andrea Locatelli will start fifth. FCC TSR Honda France will line up sixth ahead of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing, SERT Suzuki, AutoRace Ube Racing, and the SDG HARC-PRO Honda team which completes the top-10. The full starting order for the race is below. 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours | Grid (Qualifying Result) Pos Team Manufacturer Rider Blue Rider Yellow Rider Red Timing 1 Honda HRC Honda Takumi Takahashi Jonathan Rea Somkiat Chantra 2:04.738 2 BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team BMW Markus Reiterberger Steven Odendaal Michael van der Mark […]
YART Clinches 2025 EWC Title in Heart-Stopping Bol d’Or Finale The 88th Bol d’Or at Circuit Paul Ricard delivered one of the most electrifying conclusions in FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) history. In a race packed with drama and heartbreak, the Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team seized the 2025 world title by a razor-thin margin—just one point—after BMW’s championship dreams went up in smoke with less than 30 minutes remaining. SERT Dominates, But Falls Just Short Yoshimura SERT Motul once again proved unbeatable at Paul Ricard, claiming a third consecutive Bol d’Or victory with clinical precision. Gregg Black, Etienne Masson, and Dan Linfoot were relentless from the start, with Black setting a new lap record in qualifying before the trio took command of the race. Even a stop/go penalty couldn’t derail their momentum. The Suzuki squad led at both the eight-hour and 16-hour marks, earning maximum bonus points and maintaining a two-lap lead to the finish. It marked SERT’s third win of the season—yet heartbreakingly, they missed out on the championship by a single point. BMW’s Title Bid Ends in Agony For much of the race, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team looked poised to make history. Markus Reiterberger, Sylvain […]
