BMW hot on Honda’s heels: Markus Reiterberger torn between joy and frustration

The BMW works team was among the strongest in qualifying for the third round of the 2026 World Endurance Championship, the legendary Suzuka 8 Hours. Behind Honda HRC, the Munich-based team secured second place in the combined standings, thereby confirming their strong form of recent days. Markus Reiterberger is nevertheless convinced that even more could have been achieved.

“That was brilliant today!” the Bavarian told SPEEDWEEK.com. He was particularly impressed by his team-mate Michael van der Mark, who, in the red group, narrowly missed out on the day’s fastest time set by Honda star Jonathan Rea with a lap time of 2:04.485 minutes.

“Van der Mark was really strong in qualifying. For me, it was okay. I didn’t feel quite so comfortable on the bike. The feeling wasn’t quite right, especially with the front fork,” explained Reiterberger.

Michael van der Mark auf der Werks-BMW

Foto: BMW

Reiterberger couldn’t put together a perfect lap

Nevertheless, the German was also on course for a top time. By his own account, it was only a small mistake in the final sector that cost him the chance of a 2:04 lap. “I still managed a really good lap. It would have been a 2:04 lap, but I was pushed a bit too far out in the final sector. That’s why it ended up being a 2:05.1 time – and the lap after that was the same.”

As BMW was only 0.075 seconds behind in the combined standings, Reiterberger was frustrated by his minor slip-up in the final sector. The top spot was within reach on Friday. “That annoys me, because without that small mistake we would have finished in first place,” says the former World Superbike Championship rider.

Saturday’s showdown: Will the Top 10 Trial be called off?

However, the BMW works rider does not attach too much importance to the provisional starting order. The final decision will only be made on Saturday in the Top 10 Trial – provided the weather cooperates.

“Strictly speaking, it doesn’t matter anyway, because the starting grid won’t be decided until tomorrow in the Top 10 trial,” said Reiterberger. However, the weather forecasts could still throw a spanner in the works for the traditional individual race against the clock. Rain is forecast for Saturday. “If it rains, consistent conditions cannot be guaranteed. In that case, there will be a 30-minute session to determine the starting grid.”

Regardless of the format, the BMW works team is heading into Saturday with a great deal of confidence. After setting the fastest time in official testing and finishing second in the combined qualifying session, the Munich-based team have impressively demonstrated that they can compete not only for a podium place but also for overall victory at the Suzuka 8 Hours.

Combined results of the two qualifying sessions:

1. Honda HRC (Rea, Takahashi, Chantra) – 2:04.738

2. BMW (Reiterberger, Odendaal, van der Mark) +0.075

3. Marc VDS Yamaha (De Puniet, Marino, Delbianco) +0.222

4. YART (Hanika, Fritz, Mercado) +0.431

5. Yamaha (Nakasuga, Miller, Locatelli) +0.458

6. F.C.C. TSR Honda (Techer, Perolari, McPhee) +0.583

7. Atemo Pro Honda (Nozane, Hada, Arakawa) +0.585

8. SERT (Black, Linfoot, Atsumi) +0.621

9. AutoRace Ube BMW (Uramoto, Guintoli, Ponsson) +0.723

10. SDG Team HARC-Pro Honda (Kunii, Nagoe, Abe) +1.113