The third round of the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship takes place in Japan with the 46th edition of the Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours from 1–3 August. Known as one of the most physically demanding races on the calendar, the Suzuka Circuit challenges riders with its technical 5.821 km layout, high temperatures, and intense humidity.
This year, 21 Honda-powered teams will compete out of a total of 55 entries, including the permanent Formula EWC teams F.C.C. TSR Honda France and Tati Team AVA6 Racing, as well as the permanent EWC Superstock teams National Motos Honda FMA, Wójcik Racing Team #777 SST, Kaedear-Dafy-Rac41-Honda, and Honda No Limits.
Free practice kicked off on Friday from 08:30 to 10:30, followed by the first set of 20-minute qualifying sessions for the blue, yellow, and red rider groups starting at 12:00 (local time).
Based on today’s qualifying results, the two fastest riders from the top 10 teams will take part to the Top 10 Trial, a shootout held on Saturday from 15:30 to 17:00. This session will determine the top 10 grid positions for Sunday’s race.
Honda HRC with Takumi Takahashi and Johann Zarco emerged as the fastest team in qualifying sessions.
Takahashi quickly set a strong lap time in the 2’06 range. He continued to improve his pace throughout his qualifying session, lowering his time with each lap. His personal best, a 2’06.038 set on lap 6 of 9, earned him secured him second place in this first run.
Before Zarco could even complete his first flying lap, the session was interrupted by a red flag. The French rider waited for the restart, and on his first attempt after the out lap, he set the fastest time of the yellow session with a time of 2’05.023.
In the second qualifying session, Takahashi set a personal best of 2’05.554, concluding today’s qualifying as the second‑fastest of the session.
In the yellow session for Zarco, in the final minutes of the run, the Frenchman set a very strong lap in 2’04.820, not only the fastest of the session.
F.C.C. TSR Honda France returns to home ground aiming for a strong result. Riding the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, the team’s rider lineup Alan Techer, Corentin Perolari, and Taiga Haga are looking to score valuable points at Suzuka.
F.C.C. TSR Honda France team made a strategic decision to focus on race setup during the first qualifying session. This approach allowed them to conserve new tyres for the second session, which was expected to offer more favorable track conditions.
Techer was the first rider to take to the track for F.C.C. TSR Honda France in the blue group recording a best lap of 2:07.348 with used tyres. The French rider was followed by his compatriot Perolari who posted a 2:08.134 while Hada completed his session with a 2:09.057.
During the second round of qualifying, Techer was unable to improve his time but Perolari made progress with a best lap of 2:07.713 in a session interrupted twice by red flags. Hada showed the strongest improvement of the trio, clocking a 2:06.591.
By averaging the two fastest lap times from the qualifying sessions, F.C.C. TSR Honda France secured 14th place on the starting grid aboard the Honda #5, with an average time of 2:06.970.
Tati Team AVA6 Racing completed the combined qualifying sessions with an average lap time of 02:08.005, securing 23rd place on the grid aboard their Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
For this edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours, the team participates with a revised rider lineup featuring Isaac Viñales and Sho Nishimura, who join long-term rider Hugo Clère after confirming that Randy Krummenacher and Martin Renaudin were not fully fit for this round.
A key technical update this season is the switch to Bridgestone tires, resulting in significant improvements in the bike’s performance and posting faster lap times compared to last year’s.
The trio of riders has demonstrated remarkable consistency and cohesion throughout qualifying and practice sessions. They aim to secure a finish within the top 12 or 13 positions, a realistic and achievable goal for the race ahead.
In the Superstock class, Kaedear-Dafy-Rac41-Honda delivered a strong performance in qualifying for the Suzuka 8 Hours, securing second place in their category with the #41 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Riders Takeshi Ishizuka, Chris Leesh and Kevin Manfredi showed consistent front-running pace throughout the sessions.
Narrowly missing out the first place by just 0.006 seconds, the team demonstrated its capability to race on top in the Superstock class. With a well-balanced rider lineup and strong race pace, together with a very competitive Honda#41, the team is aiming to fight for a top result at Suzuka 8 Hours race.
The Honda No Limits team, riding the Fireblade #44, made an impressive debut at Suzuka. With only four free practice sessions and no prior testing at the track, the team secured a strong third qualifying result in the competitive Superstock category.
Riders Kaito Toba, Gabriele Giannini and Akito Haga demonstrated an excellent pace and teamwork, highlighting their consistency and looking forward to a competitive race.
Wójcik Racing Team #777 SST and National Motos Honda FMA qualified 7th and 9th respectively in the Superstock category.
A second free practice takes place tomorrow Saturday followed by the Top 10 Trial that will determine the starting grid positions.
The riders will take to the track for the 46th edition of the Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours on Sunday, 3 August 2025 at 11:30 a.m. (local time).