MotoGP stars who shone - and struggled - at the Suzuka 8 Hours
Jack Miller and Johann Zarco are the latest MotoGP riders to take on the Suzuka 8 Hours, Japan’s toughest and most prestigious motorcycle endurance race.
This weekend’s 46th edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race will feature two current MotoGP riders: Jack Miller and Johann Zarco.
Zarco returns to defend last year’s victory with Honda, while Miller is back for the first time since 2017, joining an all-star factory Yamaha line-up to celebrate the manufacturer’s 70th anniversary.
Such is the prestige of the 8 Hours that it has long attracted international names, often drafted in by Japanese manufacturers from their Grand Prix or Superbike projects.
Of the 45 winning line-ups to date, only 12 have been entirely Japanese, underlining the event’s international flavour.
Indeed, Zarco’s 2024 triumph - alongside Takumi Takahashi and Teppei Nagoe - made him the fourth Frenchman to win at Suzuka, following in the footsteps of Herve Moineau (1983), Dominique Sarron (1986, '89), and Alex Vieira (1989).
Here’s a look at some other MotoGP stars who’ve taken on the Suzuka challenge…
MotoGP world champions at Suzuka
Valentino Rossi
The last premier-class world champion to win the Suzuka 8 Hours was Valentino Rossi, back in 2001, the same year he claimed the final 500cc title.
It was Rossi’s second attempt at the race for Honda, both times alongside Honda's WorldSBK champion and future Yamaha MotoGP team-mate Colin Edwards.
After a crash ended their 2000 race early, the duo returned stronger in 2001 to take victory on the Honda VTR1000SPW.
Casey Stoner
After retiring from MotoGP at the end of 2012, Casey Stoner made headlines with a racing comeback at the 2015 Suzuka 8 Hours for Honda.
But disaster struck when a stuck throttle caused the Australian to crash while leading, leaving him with a broken shoulder and tibia. HRC later issued a public apology for the technical failure.
Nicky Hayden
During his rookie MotoGP campaign in 2003, future world champion Nicky Hayden partnered Ryuichi Kiyonari at Suzuka. However, their race ended in disappointment after a fall on oil.
MotoGP race winners conquer Suzuka
Johann Zarco
Johann Zarco, a MotoGP race winner for Ducati (and now Honda), took victory at Suzuka in his first attempt last season, helping Honda celebrate its 30th victory in the event and third in a row. HRC's longest Suzuka win streak ran from 1997-2007.
Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith
In 2015, Tech3 Yamaha duo Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith helped end Yamaha’s 19-year Suzuka drought by winning alongside Katsuyuki Nakasuga.
Espargaro returned to defend the title in 2016 with Nakasuga and Alex Lowes, before moving (with Smith) to KTM in MotoGP the following season.
Carlos Checa
Having finished second in the 2007 edition with Tady Okada, Carlos Checa went one better in 2008, partnering Ryuichi Kiyonari for victory.
Home GP winners shine at Suzuka
While the Suzuka 8 Hours has often been a stage for local heroes, Tadayuki Okada was also a star at Grand Prix level, taking four 500cc victories and finishing third in the 1999 world championship.
Okada won Suzuka twice during his grand prix career, in 1995 and 1999, then again over a decade later, in 2012, alongside Kousuke Akiyoshi and WorldSBK star Jonathan Rea.
Okada's final win came a year after Ryuichi Kiyonari took his fourth 8 Hours victory.
Kiyonari - who briefly stepped into MotoGP after Daijiro Kato's fatal accident in 2003 - claimed his first 8 Hours win in 2005 with 250GP and MotoGP race winner Tohru Ukawa as his team-mate.
Kato was twice a Suzuka winner, taking over from Rossi as team-mate to Edwards for a second victory in 2002, cementing his future star status.
Other Japanese riders to win both a Grand Prix and the 8 Hours include Nobuatsu Aoki, who was part of Suzuki’s most recent winning team in 2009, and Tadahiko Taira, back in 1990.
500cc stars victorious at Suzuka
During the 1980s and ‘90s, many foreign 500cc riders took part in the mid-summer Japanese classic, and many returned with silverware.
Among them were:
- Alex Barros (1999)
- Wayne Gardner (1986, ’87, ’91, ’92)
- Daryl Beattie (1992)
- Mick Doohan (1991)
- Eddie Lawson (1990)
- Dominique Sarron (1986, ’89)
- Kevin Magee (1987, ’88)
- Wayne Rainey (1988)
- Martin Wimmer (1987)
- Mike Baldwin (1978, ’84)
- Graeme Crosby (1980)
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
