2026 FIM Endurance World Championship
“Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours 47th Edition

Friday, July 3   Weather : Fine    Track : Dry

Saturday, July 4   Weather : Cloudy/Rain    Track : Dry/Wet

Sunday, July 5   Weather : Rain,sometimes cloudy    Track : Wet

Race Report of SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda

The official qualifying sessions for the Suzuka 8 Hours were held on July 3rd. Under clear blue morning skies, the sessions took place with ambient temperatures reaching 30°C and track temperatures hitting 55°C. In the official qualifying format, each rider runs two sessions, and the average of the two riders' combined best times determines the grid positions. During the second qualifying session, Yuki Kunii clocked a 2'05.944, while Keito Abe recorded a team-best time of 2'05.759. By a slim margin, the team successfully secured their spot in the Top 10 Trial.

Although rain was forecasted for the morning of July 4th, the weather managed to hold out as overcast during the AM hours. However, just before the free practice session scheduled for 13:00, rain began to sprinkle, causing a 10-minute delay to the start of the session. The early stage of the session remained mostly dry, allowing the riders to make final adjustments for the main race. Abe steadily picked up his pace and set a time of 2'06.681 to place 4th. Following this, the team was scheduled to run first in the Top 10 Trial, but the session was ultimately canceled due to rain. As a result, the official qualifying results were applied to the final grid, placing SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda in 10th position for the race.

The rain that had been falling since the previous day mostly stopped before the final race on July 5th, though the track remained wet. As scheduled, the race commenced at 11:30 with a traditional Le Mans-style start, where riders dashed to their machines. Keito Abe, who had shown stable performance in wet conditions, served as the starting rider for SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda. Starting from the 10th grid, the team unfortunately committed a jump start and was handed a ride-through penalty. Although this penalty dropped their position, the team stayed resilient as Kunii and Teppei Nagoe took their turns, keeping up a gritty and persistent performance throughout their stints. In the final stages of the race, the rain intensified. Following a crash on the track, the Safety Car (SC) was deployed for the third time that day. The race concluded under the SC run, with Abe taking the checkered flag. SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda completed 185 laps to finish the race in 8th place.

Rider Blue : Yuki Kuni

Rider Yellow : Teppei Nagoe

Rider Red : Keito Abe

Report of SDG RACING FAMILY

SANMEI Team TARO PLUSONE with SDG

Qualify：22nd place（2’07”150）
Race：43rd place（overall）27th place(EWC class)

 

Comment of the rider, Taro Sekiguchi "To our sponsors and fans who support us, although there were crashes, we were able to safely finish the 8 Hours race again this year. Thank you very much. As for the race, early in the first stint that I was responsible for, I rode onto some oil and crashed. After repairing the machine, the second rider, Tatsuya Nakamura, also rode onto oil at the same corner and crashed, resulting in two crashes early on. Additionally, Nakamura suffered a concussion, so after that, the third rider, Keisuke Tanaka, and I connected the stints to the checkered flag and managed to finish the race. However, it became a very frustrating result."

SHINSYUREN with TOTEC

Qualify：36th place（ 2’09”073）
Race：24th place（overall）19th place(EWC class)

 

Comment of the team manager,Katsuyuki Yoshii "This year, our team entered the 8 Hours endurance race with extraordinary determination.
With last year's challenges fresh in mind, the entire team staff was on edge. Amidst this tension, Nakajima took the final stint and rode hard all the way to the checkered flag—a moment where two years of built-up hopes and dreams finally came true.
Being able to run for eight hours in the rain without any major trouble was purely down to the hard work and unity of our team, as well as our sponsors, suppliers, and fans who fought right alongside us.
Thank you all so much for your incredible support.“

Team SUZUKI CN CHALLENGE
Ryo Mizuno

Honda Hamamatsu ESCARGOT RT With DREAMO
Kai Aota

» Click here for PDF