FIM EWC: Suzuka 8 Hours

#37 BMW Motorrad EWC

Suzuka. BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team celebrated a historic achievement as the team secured the first-ever podium finish for a European manufacturer at the Suzuka 8 Hours (JPN) with the #37 BMW M 1000 RR. In extremely challenging conditions, Michael van der Mark (NED), Markus Reiterberger (GER) and Steven Odendaal (RSA) rode to third place. The Japanese endurance classic has been held since 1978, and until the 2026 edition no European brand had ever reached the podium. Among the first to congratulate the team was Markus Flasch, Head of BMW Motorrad, who was on site at Suzuka. The Suzuka 8 Hours marked the third round of the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC).

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The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team was also the highest-placed permanent FIM EWC entry. Victory and second place went to all-star line-ups fielded by Honda and Yamaha specifically for this race. In the world championship standings, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team has therefore continued to close the gap.

 

The #37 BMW M 1000 RR had already demonstrated its pace in the opening sessions of race week. After the first two qualifying sessions, the trio of van der Mark, Reiterberger and Odendaal held second place. As the traditional Top 10 Trial was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, they retained second place on the starting grid. From there, the BMW factory trio delivered a composed and consistent race in conditions that alternated between heavy rain and a drying track, while the pit crew once again performed flawlessly. The final half hour was run behind the safety car due to excessive standing water on the circuit. After eight hours of racing, the historic result was secured: a podium finish for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team.

 

Standings (after 3 out of 4 races):

1. YART Yamaha Official EWC Team 112

2. BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team 93

3. Yoshimura SERT Motul 84

4. Kawasaki Webike Trickstar 73

5. AutoRace Ube Racing Team  60

 

Next race:

The 2026 FIM EWC season finale, the 24-hour Bol d’Or, will take place on 19/20th September at Le Castellet (FRA).

 

Reactions after Suzuka 8 Hours:

Markus Flasch, Head of BMW Motorrad: “What an absolutely incredible race! I couldn’t be prouder of what the entire team has achieved here at Suzuka. This is the most important event of the year for the Japanese manufacturers, and they line up with stars from MotoGP and WorldSBK. Yet BMW Motorrad, with our full-season FIM EWC team, has managed to stand on the podium here. In incredibly difficult conditions, Mickey, Markus, Steven and the entire team led by Werner Daemen have made history. BMW is the first European manufacturer ever to finish on the Suzuka podium – thank you to everyone for your total commitment and determination!”

Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “Today is a historic day for BMW Motorrad. After 47 years, we have become the first non-Japanese manufacturer to reach the podium at Suzuka. That makes us incredibly proud. The team at the circuit did a fantastic job, and our riders kept their composure even in the most challenging conditions. I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone back home who was supporting us. This result is hugely important for us. We were determined to finish on the podium here, we are back in the fight for the championship, and we have proved that the BMW M 1000 RR is competitive even in Honda’s home territory. Congratulations to Honda on a well-deserved victory. From tomorrow onwards, our full focus will be on the season finale, the Bol d’Or. A special thank you goes to our three riders, who kept cool heads throughout the race – and especially to Mickey, who brought it home in commanding fashion at the end. We are simply incredibly proud!”

Christian Gonschor, Technical Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “It fills me with pride that we are the first European manufacturer ever to put a motorcycle on the podium at Suzuka. The fact that both the #37 and the #76 BMW M 1000 RRs finished in the top five further highlights the tremendous potential of our bike. It was fantastic to see throughout the entire practice week that the BMW M 1000 RR had the pace to fight for victory in dry conditions. The persistent rain during the race changed the picture somewhat. On wet tyres, we were not quite able to maximise our potential in the same way as we could have on slicks. Even so, Steven, Markus and Mickey did an outstanding job in these extremely difficult conditions and thoroughly deserved to finish on the podium as the highest-placed permanent FIM EWC team. They perfectly represent our team spirit: never give up and always stand together as one team. That is what defines us, and I would like to thank the riders, Werner Daemen, our crew chief Romain LaMonica, the team leaders in Munich, and the entire team. We now have one shared goal: we head into the Bol d’Or 19 points behind in the championship. It is a difficult challenge, but one we believe is achievable. We believe we can win the world title!”

Werner Daemen, Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “It’s a milestone for us and for all the European brands, especially for BMW. We’ve been working since 2020 to achieve this. Last year we were very close; this year we made the podium, and I’m 100 percent sure that if it stays like this, next year we can go for the victory as well. I’m very, very happy.!”

Michael van der Mark, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “I think we can be really proud of third place. All week we’ve been so strong and to be on the podium here at Suzuka is amazing. I enjoyed it so much, even if my last stint was a bit boring because we stayed a long time behind the safety car. I was having fun with the bike; the track conditions weren’t changing much, and even when they did, we were really fast. It was nice to be quick and fight for the podium. At the end, the race direction made the right call to bring out the safety car as it had already been quite tricky for a few laps with too much rain. It’s just nice to finish on the podium with my team and with BMW. We’ve been working really hard all winter, and since the day we arrived here all three of us have been very fast. It’s a nice present for the whole team and for BMW to be on the podium at Suzuka.”

Markus Reiterberger, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “Finally we reached the podium in Suzuka. I’ve been here for many years on this bike with this team – finally we did it. Congratulations to the whole team; they deserve it. It’s been a really long and hard road. We hoped for dry conditions because I think we could have done even more, but in the wet it was not so easy for us. The team did an outstanding job, and we’re back in the game for the world championship which is the most important thing”

Steven Odendaal, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “I just want to say a massive thanks to the team. Everyone worked as hard as they could. We’re here to fight for the victory, and third place is a great job. Credit to my teammates – they did an outstanding job. We’re looking forward to coming back next year.”

Gallery #37

Check out all the photos from 2026 Suzuka 8 hours on our photos page.

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#38 Champion HERT powered by MRP

The third round of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) took place in Suzuka, Japan. The Suzuka 8 Hours race is a legend in the championship, with plenty of competitive Japanese teams joining the grid.

After qualifying in 8th place in the Superstock class, the team bounced back with excellent race pace in difficult conditions that constantly shifted between heavy rain and a drying track. They climbed as high as second before capturing a solid fourth-place finish. Missing out on the podium was disappointing, but the team achieved their ultimate goal of scoring valuable points at a track they had never visited before.

The team now holds a 19-point lead heading into the final round, the Bol d’Or at Le Castellet. As a 24-hour race, plenty of points are still up for grabs.

Overall standings after round 3:
Superstock class

1. Champion HERT Powered by MRP 84 pts
2. Wójcik Racing Team 65 pts
3. Dafy-Kaedear-RAC41 64 pts
4. Team Étoile 62 pts
5. Revo-M2 59 pts

Next stop:

the Bol d’Or! The finale at Le Castellet runs from September 17–20, and it’s going to be a demanding full 24-hour battle to the finish line.

 

Rider and team manager reactions:

Erico Casa (Champion HERT powered by MRP – team manager):

The team learned a lot in Suzuka. Even if qualifying goes poorly, it is still possible to fight for the race win; until the checkered flag drops, anything can happen. We had a goal coming here – to score championship points – and mission accomplished, but we had the race pace to contend for a strong podium finish, so it leaves a bitter taste.

I want to thank the team for their exceptional work this week; despite three crashes, they remained positive and motivated, delivering outstanding quality. The riders too, racing in such tricky conditions without making a single mistake on a circuit they didn’t know is incredible.

See you at the Bol d’Or, where we’ll give it our all to win the championship.

 

Bálint Kovács (Champion HERT powered by MRP – rider):

I think we got more than we would’ve wanted before we started but at the end we feel a bit disappointed because we could’ve achieved more. We came here to score the points we missed in Spa and we just did that. 1 hour to go we were P2 but things didn’t go in our favor.

The most important is that we go to the season final with a great advantage, we do our best to win this championship!

 

Loris Cresson (Champion HERT powered by MRP – rider):

Finishing fourth when we were so close to the podium is tough to take in right now, but our race pace was very strong. It was great to prove we can be competitive in Suzuka, even if it’s a bit frustrating to have missed the podium by such a small margin. Qualifying was a struggle, likely due to some issues after two heavy crashes for Jan and me. We need to process everything and focus on the positives now. We can’t wait for the Bol d’Or, and some testing beforehand, to become even stronger.

We now hold a 19-point lead. Every time we get on the bike, we give our absolute maximum, achieve something great, and leave even hungrier for results. I can’t wait for the season finale. Huge thanks to the whole crew, BMW, and the team; we destroyed two bikes, and they rebuilt them as fast as possible. That was no easy task because we didn’t have a lot of parts because of the long travel to Japan.

Thanks to everyone, to Champion Lubricants, to HERT, and to all the people around us making this possible. We can’t wait to give back to them with a win and the world title!

 

Jan Bühn (Champion HERT powered by MRP – rider):

Coming so close to a podium at the 8 Hours of Suzuka and just missing out is tough to take. The disappointment is still huge right now. We had really strong pace in the tough conditions and fought our way up to P2. Unfortunately, 2–3 unlucky moments in the final hour dropped us back to P4.

Still, it was an incredible experience to be part of Suzuka for the first time, and we were able to extend our championship lead.

 

Gallery #38

Check out all the photos from 2026 Suzuka 8h on our gallery page.