2025 Suzuka 8 Hours - as it happened

Recap the 46th running of the Suzuka 8 Hours.

Rachit Thukral

03 Aug 2025

09:42

It was Johan Nigon who crashed at the hairpin aboard the National Motors Honda. Safety car is still out.

09:35

Safety car

A crash at the hairpin has trigerred the first safety car of the race. Honda's 23s advantage will be wiped out.

09:33

Zarco pits from the lead

At the end of the hour, Zarco brings the No. 30 Honda back into the pits. Takahashi will take over for what will likely be his last stint.

09:08

Zarco sets the fastest time

Just as Miller heads to the pits, Zarco sets the fastest time of the race - a 2m06.895s. That suggests Zarco had deliberately lowered his pace early in the stint.

09:06

Miller pits

Following a charging stint, Jack Miller brings the Yamaha into the pits to hand over the bike to Katsuyuki Nakasuga. The gap to the lead Honda stood at around 21s when he pitted.

09:04

YART Yamaha out

The points-leading YART Yamaha team has officially retired from the race

In a statmeent, Yart said "Karel Hanika suffered a minor leg injury, but is otherwise fine and has returned to the pits."

09:01

Order with 2h30m to go

Zarco (No. 30 Honda)
Miller (No. 21 Yamaha)
Atsumi (No. 1 Suzuki)
Suzuki (No. 40 Honda)
Kunii (No. 73 Honda)
Baz (No. 76 BMW)
Reiterberger (No. 37 BMW)
Checa (No. 6 BMW)
Leblanc (No. 11 Kawasaski)
De Puniet (No. 99 Yamaha)

08:53

Miller continues to hound Zarco

With a series of laps in the 2m07s bracket, Miller has brought the gap down to 21st. However, Zarco's pace at the front has now stabalised. It's still unclear why Zarco lost so much time at the start of his stint.

08:46

Zarco struggling

Something is amiss with the No. 30 Honda. Zarco has lost a heap of time and he is now just 23s ahead of Miller.

08:40

Gap reduced

After the recent round of pitstops, the gap between the lead Honda and the factory Yamaha has dropped to 28s. It was over 40s previously.

08:34

Zarco vs Miller

At the end of lap 139, Takahashi finally heads into the pits to hand back the bike to Zarco. Zarco's last stint was absolutely mega, so it would be interesting to see if Miller can keep up with him.

08:31

Takahashi yet to pit

The factory Honda is so efficient on fuel that Takumi Takahashi is yet to make a pitstop.

08:25

Miller returns

Jack Miller is back onboard the No. 21 Yamaha and currently sitting in second place

08:04

Pitstops

We are only halfway through hour five but the pitstops have begun. The Harc-Pro Honda team is among the first to stop.

07:50

Locatelli closing the gap

The factory Honda is still comfortably leading out front, but Yamaha's Andrea Locatelli is slowly chipping away at Takumi Takahashi's advantage. The gap is now down to 44s.

07:45

Another crash for YART Yamaha

This race has already been tough for the points-leading YART Yamaha. But Karel Hanika has now crashed at the chicane - the same spot his teammate went down earlier.

Marshals are assisting him, but he is still trying to restart the bike.

07:33

Full report

Check out our full report for the first half of the race.

07:11

Zarco pulling away

Johann Zarco has been on it in the fourth hour of the race. Having inherited a lead of half a minute, he has now extended Honda's advantage to 43.8s

07:06

Pitstops

The first bikes are heading into the pits for the fourth round of pitstops. BMW's Ube Racing Team is among the first to stop.

06:48

Schrotter dejected

A dejected Schrotter explained a backmarker came around the outside at the hairpin as he tried to navigate through the traffic.

He also apologised to the team, which is still repairing the No. 3 Ducati.

06:40

Order

Here is how the top 10 looks like after Schrotter's crash.

Johann Zarco (No. 30 Honda)
Katsuyuki Nakasuga (No. 21 Yamaha)
Yuki Kunii (No. 73 Honda)
Takuya Tsuda (No. 0 Suzuki)
Satoru Iwata (No. 40 Honda)
Naomichi Uramoto (No. 76 BMW)
Kazuki Ito (No. 71 Honda)
Gregg Black (No. 1 Suzuki)
Randy de Puniet (No. 999 Yamaha)
Mickael de Meglio (No. 11 Kawasaki)

06:38

Ducati on the ground

Marcel Schrotter hits the deck on the No. 3 Ducati exiting the hairpin after a crash with a backmarker. He had been running in a strong fourth place.

Schrotter remounts on the bike but he has tumbled down the order.

06:29

Honda's fuel efficiency shows

Takumi Takahashi finally pits from the lead aboard the No. 30 Honda. The fuel efficiency of the CBR could be decisive in the race.

06:25

Jack Miller after his first stint

"I tried my best, obviously. Within margin this is the first stint, you get this first stint jitters. Just don't want to make any silly mistakes. Had a couple of closed calls with lap riders because you are used to passing every lap. I tried to keep a constant pace. The bike felt okay. The condition is extremely hot."

06:20

Jack Miller pits

Jack Miller's first stint ends as he hands over the No. 21 Yamaha to Nakasuga. He had been running in second place, some 12s down on Honda's Takumi Takahashi.