Honda MotoGP star explains unique reason he'll likely miss Suzuka 8 Hours

Luca Marini does not expect to be part of the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours, despite fellow Honda MotoGP rider Johann Zarco confirming his return.

Marini was set to join Zarco and Takumi Takahashi in last year’s factory HRC line-up before a serious testing crash ruled him out of the famous endurance event, as well as three MotoGP rounds.

However, Marini’s limited Suzuka experience had already exposed the difficulty in finding a common bike setup to be shared by riders of different heights.

While Zarco is among the shortest on the MotoGP grid at 1.71m, Marini stands at 1.84m, just one centimetre below Toprak Razgatlioglu.

“Apart from my incident, it was a nice experience [last year], but I understood that for endurance races I need team-mates with my same height,” Marini said.

“Because if not, the bike is too uncomfortable for me, and it's better to have the same body [sizes] so that you can adjust the bike in a decent way for everybody.

“If you have to stay one hour on the bike doing your run, it's important to be confident.”

With Marini absent and replacement Xavi Vierge also withdrawing from the 2025 event, Zarco and Takahashi secured Honda’s 31st Suzuka 8 Hours victory as a two-rider team.

The pair are expected to be joined by six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea for this year’s race, held between the Assen and Sachsenring MotoGP rounds, rather than the summer break.

Jack Miller, runner-up with Yamaha last year, is yet to confirm if he will compete in the 2026 event. The Australian is 1.73m tall.