The third round of the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship takes place in Japan with the 47th edition of the ‘Coca-Cola’ Suzuka 8 Hours from 3–5 July. Known as one of the most physically demanding races on the calendar, the Suzuka Circuit challenges riders with its technical 5.821 km layout, and this year the event takes place one month earlier than usual.
This year, 20 Honda-powered teams will compete out of a total of 50 entries, including the permanent Formula EWC teams F.C.C. TSR Honda France and Tati Team AVA6 Racing as well as the permanent Superstock teams Wójcik Racing Team #77 SST and Dafy-Kaedear-RAC41-Honda.
During the two qualifying sessions, Honda HRC with Takumi Takahashi, Jonathan Rea and Somkiat Chantra emerged as the fastest team.
In the first qualifying session, Takahashi in the blue rider group set his best lap of 2:05.055 on his third lap, securing second place in his session. In the following session, Rea topped the timesheets with a lap of 2:04.583. Chantra completed Honda HRC’s first qualifying run in the red group, placing sixth with a best time of 2:05.763.
The second qualifying session began at 15:30, with Takahashi returning to the track and maintaining a consistent rhythm throughout the run. He set the fastest time of his session with a 2:05.088 on his second of nine laps. Rea improved his performance, lowering his morning lap time to 2:04.422, while Chantra improved his personal best to 2:05.465.
With Rea’s and Takahashi’s best laps combined, Honda HRC topped the overall qualifying classification with an average time of 2:04.738, while Rea’s lap remained the fastest recorded across all qualifying sessions.
F.C.C. TSR Honda France returns to home ground aiming for a strong result, with riders Alan Techer, Corentin Perolari and John McPhee targeting valuable championship points aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP.
Techer was the first rider to take to the track for F.C.C. TSR Honda France in the blue group with a best lap of 2:06.059, placing 10th in his session. He was followed by Perolari, who posted a 2:05.785 to finish sixth, while McPhee set the benchmark for the team in the red group with a 2:05.332.
During the second qualifying session, Techer improved to 2:05.985, while Perolari also improved with a 2:05.310. McPhee, running on a different tyre strategy, recorded a 2:05.828 and was unable to improve his earlier laptime, focusing instead on gathering data for race conditions.
By averaging the two fastest laps from both sessions, F.C.C. TSR Honda France secured sixth place overall with a 2:05.321 average, earning a place in tomorrow’s Top 10 Trial.
The other EWC team Tati Team AVA6 Racing completed qualifying in 28th place overall with a combined average lap time of 2:08.094 aboard the Honda #4 with Hugo Clère, Mike Di Meglio and Isaac Viñales steadily improving in changing conditions.
In the Superstock category, Dafy-Kaedear-RAC41-Honda qualified fifth in class with a 2:07.772 lap with Takeshi Ishizuka, Diego Poncet and Kevin Manfredi, while Wójcik Racing Team #77 SST placed seventh in Superstock with a best time of 2:08.356.
A second free practice session takes place on Saturday, followed by the decisive Top 10 Trial, which will determine the front rows of the grid.
The 47th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours will start on Sunday, 5 July 2026 at 11:30 am local time.
F.C.C. TSR Honda France
“It was a positive day overall because our main objective was to get into the Top 10, and we’ve achieved that. The team has done a great job, so we’re in a good position heading into tomorrow.Personally, I still struggle a little with the qualifying tyre. I don’t feel as comfortable because I can’t stop the bike the way I want to, so it’s difficult for me to get the maximum out of it over one lap. With the race tyre, though, my feeling is much better. I can ride more naturally, keep a strong pace and I’m much more confident over a long run.Looking ahead to Sunday, there could be some rain, and I’m feeling confident in those conditions as well. The bike has been working well in both the wet and the dry, and we only need to make a few small adjustments. Overall, we’re in a good place and ready to fight for a strong result.”
F.C.C. TSR Honda France
“Overall, it was a good day for us. The conditions kept changing between damp and dry during all the week, so it wasn’t easy, but all three of us felt comfortable on the bike.Personally, my first qualifying session was a bit frustrating because I couldn’t put together the lap I knew I had in me. In the second session, though, everything came together much better, and we managed to secure a place in the Top 10 Trial. That’s where we wanted to be.Starting near the front is going to be important, especially with rain expected on Sunday. At Suzuka, track position can make a big difference when the conditions are changing, so it’s good to be in a strong position.The bike has been working well in both the dry and the damp, and the team has done a great job all weekend. Now the focus is on the Top 10 Trial and then preparing for the race.”
F.C.C. TSR Honda France
“It was a really positive day for us. I was happy with my first qualifying session and to finish P1 overall. I managed to put together a strong lap, although the track was extremely hot so we probably didn’t get everything out of the package that we felt was possible.We weren’t sure how the conditions would evolve for second qualifying , so we decided to use our new tyre in first qualifying. That meant going out on a used tyre for the second session, so I knew it would be difficult to improve my lap time. Even so, it wasn’t wasted because we were able to work on the bike and gather some valuable information for Sunday’s race.The important thing is that we’ve secured our place in tomorrow’s Top 10 Trial, which was our objective for today. I’m feeling comfortable on the bike, the team has done an excellent job, and everything is coming together well. Hopefully we can take another step tomorrow and put ourselves in the best possible position for the race.”
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