Honda’s Suzuka 8 Hours Challenge ⑤ 2022-25
The 47th of the '2026 FIM Endurance World Championship Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race' will be held from July 3 to 5, 2026. As the opening approaches, anticipation is high for this year's thrilling 'Suzuka 8 Hours.' We will look back at how Honda has continued to challenge itself on this stage, reflecting on its history by era.
2022–25
Following cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Suzuka 8 Hours made its long-awaited return in 2022. That year, Team HRC reclaimed the throne with a dominant performance, marking the beginning of a new winning streak for Honda. In 2024, the team executed a flawless race to set a new event record for the most laps completed, securing their third consecutive victory and achieving the monumental milestone of Honda's 30th overall win. In the following 2025 edition, overcoming the adversity of competing with a two-rider lineup, they claimed a spectacular victory to extend the consecutive winning streak to four, while Takumi Takahashi rewrote the history books by extending his personal record to an unprecedented seven overall wins.
2022 CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP
WINNER
Tetsuta Nagashima / Takumi Takahashi / Iker Lecuona
2022 marked the first Suzuka 8 Hours in three years, as 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Team HRC was represented by Tetsuta Nagashima, Takumi Takahashi, and Superbike World Championship rider Iker Lecuona. In qualifying, Nagashima set a 2 min 4.934s lap to give Honda its first pole position since 2009. In the race where the track temperature reached 53 degrees Celsius, Nagashima took the lead on Lap 10 to dominate the race, lapping every other rider to give Honda its first Suzuka 8 Hours victory in eight years (since 2014), its 28th in total.
2023
WINNER
Takumi Takahashi / Tetsuta Nagashima / Xavi Vierge
Reflecting the new partnership with Japan Post Co., Ltd., the team’s name was changed to Team HRC with Japan Post. Takumi Takahashi and Tetsuta Nagashima once again represented the team, joined by Xavi Vierge for the first time. In Qualifying, Nagashima set the fastest lap of 2 min 5.329 s, giving the team pole position for the second year in a row. In the race, Team HRC with Japan Post led from the start and continued to increase its lead to the end, completing 216 laps to win the event for the second consecutive year. This was also Takahashi’s fifth victory, equalling Tohru Ukawa’s record number of Suzuka 8 Hours wins.
2024
WINNER
Takumi Takahashi / Johann Zarco / Teppei Nagoe
Team HRC with Japan Post, in addition to Takumi Takahashi who continues to participate from the previous year, has a team structure consisting of current MotoGP rider Johann Zarco and Teppei Nagoe, who races in the JSB1000 class of JRR. They ran a record-breaking 220 laps and won. This marked Team HRC's third consecutive victory, Honda's 30th overall win, and Takahashi's sixth win, setting a new record for the most wins by a single rider.
Exclusive Interview: Hiroyuki Seki on the Suzuka 8 Hours
2025
WINNER
Takumi Takahashi / Johann Zarco
Honda HRC competed with a two-rider lineup consisting of Takumi Takahashi and Johann Zarco in 2025. The race was chaotic, with safety car deployed twice, but the team managed to execute seven pit stops at appropriate intervals. They won a head-to-head battle against the Yamaha factory team, which was competing for the first time in six years, and the Honda HRC achieved their fourth consecutive Suzuka 8 Hours victory. Takumi Takahashi, who led the race, extended his record for most Suzuka 8 Hours wins to seven.