ERC Endurance: Why Marcel Schrötter was merely a spectator at Suzuka

For Marcel Schrötter, the 8 Hours of Suzuka were over before the race had even started. The BMW rider sustained a knee injury during Friday’s night-time practice session and was forced to withdraw from his fourth start at the prestigious endurance classic. His team-mates Kenny Foray and Jan-Ole Jähnig subsequently brought the ERC Endurance team’s BMW M1000RR home as a duo.

Yet the race weekend had got off to a promising start for Schrötter. Following the test sessions from Tuesday to Thursday, the 33-year-old confirmed his strong form in qualifying, finishing eighth in his group.

“Up to and including qualifying, things went quite well overall,” Schrötter summed up. “I was actually a little surprised at how well the Japanese Dunlop tyres performed. It was my first time using these tyres at Suzuka. The feel for the bike was really good.”

ERC Endurance at a disadvantage without Bridgestone tyres

Despite his strong performance, the Bavarian still sees a disadvantage compared to the Japanese works teams and their Bridgestone tyres. “There’s a difference compared to the tyres we use in Europe. Especially here at Suzuka, the competition in terms of tyres is a force in its own right.”

Schrötter was nevertheless satisfied with his performance. “I think my 2:05.9 was the fastest lap set so far on Dunlop tyres under Suzuka conditions. I even had the feeling there was a bit more potential there.”

Mechanical failure led to a crash: no start in Sunday’s race

The setback came during night practice. Following a technical fault, Schrötter crashed and injured his left knee.

“Unfortunately, we had a technical problem during night practice which led to a crash. I hit or twisted my left knee quite badly. I was in a lot of pain straight away and the knee swelled up significantly. That meant I had no chance of taking part in the race.” For the former Moto2 rider, this early exit was particularly bitter. “That meant the weekend was over for me, which I’m really sorry about for the team.”

Foray and Jähnig then had to complete the full eight hours as a two-man team. Technical problems in the early stages, as well as the difficult weather conditions, made the team’s day even more challenging.

“The track was wet from start to finish. That didn’t work in our favour, because the other manufacturer’s wet-weather tyres were in a league of their own in these conditions,” explained Schrötter. “After the first stint, we also had a few technical problems and fell well behind.”

Clear goal for the season finale in France

Nevertheless, ERC Endurance fought its way back up to 22nd place overall and finished 17th in the EWC standings. This allowed the team to pick up some points for the championship.

“Kenny and Jan-Ole drove flawlessly and fought their way back up the field. This allowed us to take home valuable World Championship points and remain in the hunt for fifth place in the championship, which is our goal for the season.”

Finally, Schrötter expressed his thanks to the team. “A huge thank you to the whole team. Suzuka, with its schedule spanning almost a week, is a massive challenge in any case and involves an incredible amount of work for everyone.” Upon his return to Germany, the BMW rider now intends to have the injury to his left knee examined more closely by his doctors.

The final results of the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours:

1. Honda HRC (Rea, Takahashi, Chantra), Honda CBR1000RR-R, 188 laps

2. Yamaha Factory Racing (Nakasuga, Miller, Locatelli), Yamaha R1, +1:34.280 minutes

3. BMW Endurance (Reiterberger, Odendaal, van der Mark), BMW M1000RR, +1:44.087

4. YART (Hanika, Fritz, Mercado), Yamaha R1, +3:44.444

5. AutoRace Ube Racing (Uramoto, Guintoli, Ponsson), BMW M1000RR, +3:46.113

6. SERT (Black, Linfoot, Atsumi), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, +2 laps

7. Suzuki CN Challenge (Tsuda, Mizuno, Masson), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, +2 laps

8. SDG Team HARC-PRO Honda (Kunii, Nagoe, Abe), Honda CBR1000RR-R, +3 laps

9. Honda Asia-Dream Racing (Atiratphuvapat, Pawi, Putra), Honda CBR1000RR-R, +4 laps

10. Team ATJ (Iwata, Suzuki, Kunimine), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, +4 laps