While the MotoGP retreats into its well-deserved summer break after the German Grand Prix (July 5th – 7th) at the Sachsenring, LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco is staying on the ball in mid-July. The Frenchman is using his free time to fulfill a lifelong dream: he is taking part in the infamous 8 Hours of Suzuka together with his employer HRC.
The third event of the ‘FIM Endurance World Championship’ – the long-distance world championship for motorcycles – will take place this year during the MotoGP summer break from July 19th to 21st, allowing Zarco to take part without missing a race weekend in the premier class. In ‘Team HRC’, the 33-year-old will compete alongside defending champion Takumi Takahashi and newcomer Teppei Nagoe, riding a factory bike based on the ‘CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP’ – the motorcycle that Honda also uses in the Superbike World Championship.
Johann Zarco fulfills his lifelong dream: He really wanted to drive in Suzuka
“I didn’t expect to take part in the 8 Hours this year,” said Johann Zarco on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello, initially somewhat surprised by his employer’s nomination after it was made public on May 31st. But then he explained: “Before Honda asked me, I was already being asked about it by the media because the event is taking place on the same day as the Superbike World Championship this year. So it would have been logical if Honda had asked me and when they asked me one day, I said ‘yes’. It’s a race that I want to do anyway. So why not this year?”
The Frenchman had already revealed in 2023, when he moved from Pramac Ducati to LCR Honda, that he would like to take part in the infamous endurance event in Suzuka. Now this dream is coming true. This is also made possible by the overlap of the 8 hours with the sixth round of the WorldSBK season, which Zarco mentioned, which will stop in Most, Czech Republic, from July 19 to 21. As a result, the Honda Racing Corporation cannot rely on the WSBK regular drivers Xavi Vierge (2023) and Iker Lecuona (2022), as in the past two years, and needed other replacements.
Despite difficulties in MotoGP & WSBK: Next Honda victory in Suzuka?
Zarco is happy to be able to forget the difficulties of this year’s MotoGP season for a while at the back of the field at the 8 Hours of Suzuka. “We have big problems in MotoGP this year, which takes some of the pressure off,” he says, addressing another reason why HRC nominated him. “My energy and commitment to Honda will remain during a [MotoGP-]I’m obviously at my limit on race weekends, but I’m also going to enjoy wearing a different leather suit for once. I want to have this experience and see it as a kind of holiday, riding a good superbike in Japan.”
In fact, Zarco’s chances of achieving a top result, which has become rare in 2024, are not bad. With 29 victories, Honda is not only the record winner, but also the reigning race winner. The Japanese won the 8 Hours of Suzuka twice in a row in 2022 and 2023. At the same time, however, it must also be mentioned that the Superbike riders on the overhauled Fireblade, which will be used as the base form in the 8 Hours of Suzuka, have had a very difficult time so far this season. Xierge and Lecuona are still waiting for a top 9 result in 2024, and Honda is far behind in last place in the Constructors’ World Championship. But the truth is also that the situation in WorldSBK has not been much better in the past two years, and it was still enough for two HRC victories in Suzuka. So perhaps Zarco and his teammates can once again fight for the prestigious triumph.
Johann Zarco as a role model: Will there be more MotoGP stars in Suzuka in the future?
In the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, numerous MotoGP legends such as Valentino Rossi, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and Mick Doohan were on the winners’ list of the ‘Suzuka 8 Hours’. Over the last 20 years, however, the stars of the premier class have increasingly disappeared from the starting grid of the legendary endurance event. The last winner, who was also a regular MotoGP rider, was Pol Espargaro in 2016. Scheduling conflicts have prevented other riders from taking part in recent years, but the old-school race track is also considered extremely dangerous in the two-wheel world due to the sparse run-off areas. The motorcycle world championship has not been held in Suzuka since the tragic death of Daijiro Kato in 2003.
For this reason, interest from the MotoGP paddock in the 8 Hours of Suzuka has been decreasing in recent years, but with a successful participation by Zarco, interest could be revived in the future. At the beginning of 2023, world champion Francesco Bagnaia already expressed his desire to take part in the prestigious EWC event with Ducati. You can find all the information here: