YART finish 4th at Suzuka: Praise for BMW, focus on the EWC finale

For YART, the 8 Hours of Suzuka ended without a podium finish, but with an important victory in the battle for the World Endurance Championship. The Austrian Yamaha team defended its championship lead with a fourth-place finish and heads to the Bol d’Or with a 19-point lead over BMW.

Yet the stated aim had initially been different. “Of course we wanted to be on the podium,” admitted team manager Mandy Kainz. “Fourth place isn’t the result we’d hoped for. But for the championship, this result is hugely important.”

In fact, the race went almost flawlessly for YART. Whilst some rivals incurred penalties or made mistakes in the difficult weather conditions, the world champions remained calm and consistent.

YART impresses on the track and in the pits

“Our riders were fast and consistent, we didn’t make any mistakes and the pit stops were strong. That’s why we can be satisfied with the way we managed this race,” emphasised Kainz.

Marvin Fritz, too, focused primarily on the points haul. “We came to Suzuka to score as many points as possible – and that’s exactly what we’ve done. We’re heading home with 21 points and now have a 19-point lead. That’s a fantastic result.”

The German also drew a comparison with last year. “In 2025, we left here without any points and were subsequently just one point ahead of BMW. Now it’s 19 points. That’s a completely different starting position.”

All three YART riders on a par

Karel Hanika spoke of mixed feelings after the race. “Of course, the podium was our goal. But given the circumstances, we got the most out of it.” The Czech rider was particularly pleased with the team’s consistency. “All three riders were fast and consistent. We were the only team in the top five that used all three riders equally. That gives us a lot of confidence for the upcoming races.”

Hanika also recalled the difficult conditions during his first stint. “I was out on a completely wet track for an hour and a half and had a long safety car period on top of that. That was extremely challenging.”

New signing Leandro Mercado also drew a positive conclusion from his first Suzuka outing for YART. “It wasn’t an easy race under these conditions. But we did a really good job as a team. We didn’t make any mistakes, our pace was strong and the pit stops were quick and perfect.”

Although the Argentine would also have liked a podium finish, he sees the championship picture as the decisive factor. “Of course we wanted to be on the podium, because that’s something special at Suzuka. But when you look at the bigger picture, the result is very good. We’re now 19 points ahead of BMW.”

YART: “BMW were very strong”

For Kainz, that is precisely the most important takeaway from the weekend. “Suzuka was very difficult for us last year. The fact that we’re leaving this time with 21 points and a 19-point lead is positive. BMW were very strong, but we focused on our own race and brought the bike safely home under extremely difficult conditions.”

All attention is now firmly on the season finale at Le Castellet. “All that matters now is the Bol d’Or. We’ll give it our all there to defend our world championship title,” announced Kainz.

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