Yamaha beaten by Honda once again: Miller and Locatelli gave it their all

As was the case last year, the Yamaha works team had to settle for second place at the Suzuka 8 Hours. Despite an impressive comeback in the second half of the race, Jack Miller, Andrea Locatelli and Katsuyuki Nakasuga were unable to put Honda HRC under any real pressure.

After crossing the finish line, the Yamaha riders were in agreement: under the extremely difficult conditions, they could not have done any more. In dry conditions, the number 21 bike would probably have struggled greatly to achieve this result.

“In the end, we got the most out of it that we possibly could,” said Andrea Locatelli. “The conditions here at Suzuka are always crazy. Last year it was really hot and this year it rained. We did an incredibly good job. I think we deserve this podium.”

Rain played into Yamaha’s hands

The race demanded everything from the riders. Constant rain, changing grip conditions and several safety car periods turned the endurance classic into a real challenge.

“Eight hours in the rain are incredibly complicated,” explained the Italian. “It probably looks exciting from the sofa, but on the motorbike every single lap was difficult. You constantly had to overtake slower riders. On top of that, there was oil on the track from a broken-down motorbike. In dry conditions, everything is more predictable; in the rain, however, you never know what’s waiting for you in the next corner.”

In the closing stages, race control sent the safety car onto the track and brought the race to a neutralised finish. Locatelli understood this decision. “To be honest, I was initially surprised that the safety car was sent out so late in the race. But the rain was extremely heavy, particularly at Spoon 1 and Spoon 2. I’d already been having a really bad feeling there. The motorbike kept spinning out and it was getting really dangerous. We saw several more crashes. So it was probably the right decision.”

Jack Miller set the fastest lap of the race

Jack Miller was among the fastest riders in the field for long stretches and at times significantly reduced the gap to Honda HRC. Miller set the fastest lap of the race and lived up to his reputation as a wet-weather specialist. The Australian looked back on the weekend with satisfaction.

“We pushed like mad. Loka, Nakasuga and I gave it our all. That was the absolute maximum,” said the MotoGP rider. “It was an impressive week in Japan. The weather here is always extreme. Last year it was insanely hot; this year we were practically swimming around the track.”

Despite missing out on the chance to win, Suzuka has lost none of its appeal for Miller. “I enjoy racing here at Suzuka and I’ll be back,” hinted the MotoGP race winner, who is looking for a ride for 2027, adding: “A win here still appeals to me.”

Andrea Locatelli verhalf Yamaha zu Platz 2

Foto: FIM EWC

Locatelli took the opportunity to expressly thank his team-mates. “Thanks to Nakasuga and also to Jack. Both pushed hard right from the start of the weekend.”

In the end, Yamaha once again finished in second place. Whilst the long safety car period prevented a possible final challenge on Honda, it also spared the R1 an extra pit stop.

Under normal racing conditions, the Yamaha works team would likely have had to make one more pit stop than the winning Honda due to higher fuel consumption. Nevertheless, Yamaha demonstrated with a strong team performance that the R1 can fight for victory even under the most difficult conditions.

The final standings 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