Suzuka 8 Hours: BMW ahead of the Japanese works teams on the final test day!

The BMW works team, comprising Markus Reiterberger, Michael van der Mark and Steven Odendaal, made a strong statement on the second and final official test day ahead of the Suzuka 8 Hours. Following an already strong performance on Tuesday, the team stepped it up once again on Wednesday, securing the fastest time of the day with the BMW M1000RR. In doing so, the team underlined its ambitions for Sunday’s endurance classic.

BMW was already among the fastest teams on the first day of testing. They finished two sessions with the fastest time, and in the final fifth session were just a few hundredths of a second behind the Yamaha works team. On Wednesday, the team impressively confirmed this form and moved to the top of the standings.

BMW is putting the Japanese under pressure!

BMW is therefore heading into the decisive phase of the race week with plenty of confidence. Following their victory at the Spa 8 Hours, the team appears to be well prepared for the historic Suzuka Circuit too. In the battle for the World Endurance Championship, the third round of the season takes on particular significance. BMW sits third in the overall standings with 68 points, just one point behind Yoshimura SERT Motul (Gregg Black, Dan Linfoot, Cocoro Atsumi). Championship leaders and defending champions YART (Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika, Leandro Mercado) travelled to Japan with 91 points.

BMW works rider Markus Reiterberger had already emphasised before the test sessions that he sees a great opportunity for his team at Suzuka. Whilst Honda and Yamaha are fielding additional high-calibre works entries at Suzuka and spreading their resources across several projects, BMW can concentrate all its firepower on its permanently registered EWC works team. This is precisely where Markus Reiterberger sees a potential opportunity in the World Championship battle. Should the Japanese works teams secure top positions, they could take vital points away from their direct World Championship rivals.

Great excitement ahead of the race weekend

Alongside BMW, the factory teams from Honda (Jonathan Rea, Takumi Takahashi, Somkiat Chantra) and Yamaha (Jack Miller, Andrea Locatelli, Katsuyuki Nakasuga) also looked in strong form. Honda was among the top three in all five sessions on the very first day of testing, thereby confirming its status as one of the top favourites for a fifth consecutive victory at Suzuka. Yamaha also impressed with consistently fast lap times and is likely to play a decisive role in the battle for pole position and race victory.

With the official test sessions now over, the crucial phase of the race week begins. Friday’s programme features the free practice sessions and the two qualifying sessions, before the final starting positions at the front of the field are decided in Saturday’s Top 10 Trial. The 8 Hours of Suzuka gets underway on Sunday at 11.30 am local time (4.30 am CEST).