Honda HRC works through changing conditions on final Suzuka test day
Honda HRC continued its preparations for the 47th FIM Endurance World Championship “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race during Wednesday’s second and final test day at Suzuka Circuit. After two morning sessions run in dry conditions and relatively cool temperatures of around 25°C, rain arrived around the lunch break, resulting in wet track conditions for the afternoon sessions. The day’s running was also interrupted several times by red flags. Team Honda HRC, led by team manager Teruaki Matsubara, continued to work through its planned programme with Takumi Takahashi, Jonathan Rea and Somkiat Chantra.
All three riders took part in the first session, with Chantra first on track before handing over to Takahashi and Rea. Takahashi set Honda HRC’s fastest time, and the fourth fastest of the session, with a lap of 2’05.600 in the dry conditions.
Chantra then completed the entire second session as Honda HRC continued to maximise his track time ahead of Sunday’s race. He continued to improve his pace while gaining further experience with the machine, setting his personal best lap so far with a time of 2’05.598, the third fastest of the session.
Rain started during the lunch break, resulting in fully wet conditions for the third session. Takahashi and Rea took over riding duties, with Rea setting the fastest time of the session in 2’18.898 as the team gathered valuable information with the bike in wet conditions.
The track remained wet for the fourth session, although the rain gradually eased. Chantra headed out first before handing over to Takahashi, who ultimately topped the session in 2’18.678.
Conditions remained wet for the fifth and final session, despite the rain having stopped. Only Chantra returned to the track for the Honda HRC team, setting the fifth fastest time of the final session in 2’19.377, as the team completed its planned programme and concluded the two-day test.
TOP FIVE — SESSION 1
BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM – 2’04.680
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team – 2’05.213
F.C.C. TSR Honda France – 2’05.444
Honda HRC – 2’05.600
SDG Team HARC-PRO. Honda – 2’05.620
TOP FIVE — SESSION 2
F.C.C. TSR Honda France – 2’05.130
BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM – 2’05.401
Honda HRC – 2’05.598
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team – 2’05.702
Yoshimura SERT Motul – 2’05.856
TOP FIVE — SESSION 3
Honda HRC – 2’18.898
YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM – 2’21.539
AutoRace Ube Racing Team – 2’21.621
Yoshimura SERT Motul – 2’22.023
Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing – 2’23.901
TOP FIVE — SESSION 4
Honda HRC – 2’18.678
Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99 – 2’19.168
YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM – 2’19.742
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team – 2’20.849
Team SUZUKI CN CHALLENGE – 2’20.933
TOP FIVE — SESSION 5
AutoRace Ube Racing Team – 2’17.502
Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing – 2’18.901
YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM – 2’18.906
KWT Kaedear – 2’19.326
Honda HRC – 2’19.377
Takumi Takahashi 30
"Both the team and the riders thought it would be important for Chantra to have as much riding time as possible. The most important thing was for him to become familiar with the bike and the circuit. Over these two days of testing, his lap times improved quite smoothly and all three riders have been running at a good pace, so I think it has worked out well. As for the conditions, this year they are completely different from last year. To be honest, I would prefer hotter weather because I think higher temperatures can be one of Honda's strengths. Personally, I would like temperatures to be at least ten degrees higher. Last year the conditions were very difficult because we only had two riders. This year it is different with three riders. Johnny has a lot of experience in endurance racing and Chantra comes from a hot country, so in that respect I would have liked it to be hotter. But the race is one month earlier this year and the rainy season has not finished yet, so it is what it is. Even in the wet conditions everybody has been fast, and I think we can feel positive. To be honest, I was probably the most worried about the rain. I have not ridden properly in wet conditions for several years, although the same can be said for many riders. But once I got on the bike, the lap times came quite smoothly and I felt better than I expected."
Jonathan Rea 30
"I’m satisfied with our work during these two days. It is the first Suzuka 8 Hours for Chantra, but we have been sharing the bike and all three riders have shown good pace. The weather conditions were different today, but I was happy because I was able to understand the tyres and the bike in the wet conditions. No matter what weather we have on Sunday, we will at least be prepared for both conditions. On the team side, I’m very happy to share the garage with Somkiat and Takumi. Chantra is doing a really good job. Step by step he has been getting faster and he was very impressive this morning. Of course, whenever I can, I try to help him because I have good experience and this is his first time at Suzuka 8 Hours. He has all the talent to be fast, but sometimes I can give some input about the bike, the conditions or the circuit. Takumi is the most successful Suzuka rider in history. He is a great guy and very fast in both wet and dry conditions. Day by day I am trying to bring him out of his shell a little bit because he is very quiet, so maybe by Sunday we can have a little more excitement in the garage. Here we are one team. We work as a family because everybody has the same goal. As for the rest of the field, I am not thinking too much about the other teams because we have enough to focus on inside our own garage. Of course there are many strong teams in both conditions, but during testing it is difficult to understand exactly who is the fastest because everybody has different strategies. I feel satisfied with our work and if we keep working like this, we can do a good job."
Somkiat Chantra 30
"I was happy with today. My personal best lap time improved in the dry this morning by around half a second. We also tried a long run and my pace was quite good. I still have more track time on Friday and Saturday to keep pushing and improving. In the afternoon the rain came and it was my first time riding in wet conditions at Suzuka. At the beginning it was difficult for me, so I did many laps and tried to learn and understand the feeling with the bike and the tyres. Honestly, when I arrived here for the first time, I felt some pressure. But Jonathan and Takumi helped me a lot to stay calm and take things step by step. Takumi has a lot of experience here and Jonathan also knows Suzuka very well, so I am very happy to share the garage with them. The team has also been very good. The bike was already well prepared and I immediately felt comfortable with it. I did not need to change many things, I could just jump on the bike and ride, and this made my work easier. The Suzuka 8 Hours is a very important race and in the past I watched it every year. I always thought that one day I would like to race here, and now I have the opportunity to do it. My target for this weekend is to do my best and continue building my pace. I want to enjoy the weekend because when you enjoy riding and work together with the team, everything becomes easier."
Location Information
SUZUKA 8HOURS ESSENTIAL* Name: SUZUKA CIRCUIT Location: 7992 Ino-Cho, Suzuka-shi, Mie-ken 510-0295, Japan Track length: 5.821 kilometres Race distance: 8 hours Official website Suzuka Circuit Suzuka Circuit Operated by Honda-owned Mobilityland, Suzuka features a unique figure-of-eight layout and presents a considerable challenge for riders thanks to its wide variety of corners.… read more.
7992 Inoucho, Suzuka, Mie, Japan - View in Google Maps
Records
| Suzuka 8 Hours POLE POSITION RECORD | 2'04.290s Honda HRC - Johann Zarco - Honda CBR1000RR-R SP (2025) |
| Suzuka 8 Hours RACE RECORD | 2'06.604s YAMAHA RACING TEAM - Andrea Locatelli - Yamaha YZF-R1 (2025) |
