8 Hours of Suzuka (5 hours): Jack Miller impresses, but efficiency holds Yamaha back

After three hours of racing, the Honda works team was comfortably in control at the front. Jonathan Rea had completed a flawless stint and handed the No. 30 Fireblade over to Takumi Takahashi.

Behind them, a thrilling battle for second place was unfolding. Naomichi Uramoto, in the AutoRace Ube Racing Team’s BMW, was closing the gap on Katsuyuki Nakasuga and the factory Yamaha lap after lap. Shortly afterwards, the Japanese rider effortlessly overtook him and, within a few corners, even pulled clear of the Yamaha rider. At times, Uramoto was even faster than the race leader, Takahashi.

AutoRace Ube ahead of the BMW works team

This meant that the AutoRace Ube Racing Team was the highest-placed BMW team at this stage of the race. The works team, by contrast, had lost valuable time. Markus Reiterberger explained the reason after his stint: due to the persistent rain, the Bavarian had massive problems with his visor. By his own account, he was effectively riding blind at times.

Yoshimura SERT was not without its own mishaps either. Dan Linfoot braked too hard at the chicane and had to swerve through the gravel trap. Shortly afterwards came the next setback: the team received a ten-second penalty because a mechanic had touched the Suzuki in breach of the rules during the pit stop. After the stop, Linfoot drove an impressive stint and brought SERT back into the top five.

Naomichi Uramoto was the fastest rider on the track in the fourth hour of the race. At the wheel of the AutoRace Ube Racing Team’s BMW, the Japanese rider was chipping away at the lead held by the Honda works team lap after lap. Conditions had improved in the meantime; there was significantly less water on the racing line and Uramoto was able to set lap times in the 2:16-minute range on several occasions.

Shortly before the halfway point of the race, the gap behind the No. 76 BMW had narrowed to just eleven seconds. However, the AutoRace Ube Racing Team had to make its pit stop earlier than Honda HRC. The Yamaha teams also headed for the pits shortly afterwards, causing the order at the front to shift once again just before the end of the fourth hour of the race.

For F.C.C. TSR Honda France, the dream of a podium finish came to an end just before the four-hour mark. Alan Techer lost a significant amount of pace due to a technical problem, but was at least able to bring the Fireblade back to the pits under its own power. As a result, the French Honda team fell far behind and dropped out of the top 10.

At the front, Honda HRC carried out the next scheduled rider change exactly at the halfway point of the race. Takumi Takahashi handed the leading Fireblade back to Jonathan Rea, whilst Somkiat Chantra still had to wait for his first stint.

The BMW M1000RR is very efficient – the Yamaha R1 is significantly more thirsty

The BMW works team once again extended its stint slightly longer than the competition, temporarily moving up to third place. This meant that, at this stage, both the BMW works team and the AutoRace Ube Racing Team were on course for a podium finish. After the number 37 car, driven by Steven Odendaal, pitted and handed over to Michael van der Mark, the works BMW was running in fifth position.

Meanwhile, MotoGP rider Jack Miller was at the wheel of the works Yamaha and impressively demonstrated his pace. The Australian set the fastest lap of the race so far in 2:16.147 minutes and steadily closed the gap on Honda HRC and the AutoRace Ube Racing Team.

Nevertheless, there were many indications that the Yamaha works team would struggle to challenge for victory on its own merits. Although the R1 will remain one of the competitive bikes in the World Endurance Championship in 2026, it is increasingly falling behind Honda and BMW in terms of fuel consumption. As a result, the Yamaha teams have to pit more frequently and lose valuable time over the race distance – a disadvantage that was particularly evident at Suzuka. To still make it to the very front, Yamaha therefore seemed to be relying on mistakes or problems from the competition.

After four and a half hours of racing, Jack Miller snatched second place. Riding the factory Yamaha, the MotoGP rider prevailed over Sylvain Guintoli and the BMWs of the AutoRace Ube Racing Team. Miller was the fastest rider on the grid during this phase, consistently clocking lap times in the 2:16-minute range, whilst the front-runners mostly failed to go faster than 2:18.

HRC in the lead without a hitch, slip-up for AutoRace Ube

At the next pit stop, the AutoRace Ube Racing Team made a minor mistake. After Sylvain Guintoli’s stint ended, Naomichi Uramoto took over the No. 76 BMW, but the bike tipped over during the rider change. The incident cost the team a few precious seconds. Honda HRC’s subsequent pit stop went much more smoothly. Jonathan Rea had once again completed a flawless stint and handed the leading Fireblade over to Takumi Takahashi.

After five hours of racing, Honda HRC continued to hold the lead. Behind them was the BMW works team, which, thanks to a different pit stop strategy, had made one fewer stop than its rivals. The Yamaha works team was in third place and was steadily closing the gap on the No. 37 BMW on the track.