Jonathan Rea “satisfied” with Honda Suzuka 8 Hours preparation after final test
Jonathan Rea says he is “satisfied” with the work he and the Honda factory team have done to prepare the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours.
This week has seen the final tests ahead of the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours, with Honda’s Jonathan Rea ending the two days “satisfied”.
Rea has teamed up with seven-time Suzuka 8 Hours winner Takumi Takahashi and Honda factory WorldSBK rider Somkiat Chantra for this year’s edition of the famous Japanese endurance race, one he himself has won twice in the past, including once with Honda.
The weather conditions brought some rain during the second day of the test, leaving Rea feeling prepared for any condition ahead of Friday’s qualifying session.
“I’m satisfied with our work during these two days,” said Jonathan Rea after the Wednesday test.
“It is the first Suzuka 8 Hours for Chantra, but we have been sharing the bike and all three riders have shown good pace.
“The weather conditions were different today, but I was happy because I was able to understand the tyres and the bike in the wet conditions. No matter what weather we have on Sunday, we will at least be prepared for both conditions.
“On the team side, I’m very happy to share the garage with Somkiat and Takumi [Takahashi].
“Chantra is doing a really good job. Step-by-step he has been getting faster and he was very impressive this morning.
“Of course, whenever I can, I try to help him because I have good experience and this is his first time at Suzuka 8 Hours. He has all the talent to be fast, but sometimes I can give some input about the bike, the conditions or the circuit.
“Takumi is the most successful Suzuka rider in history. He is a great guy and very fast in both wet and dry conditions. Day-by-day I am trying to bring him out of his shell a little bit because he is very quiet, so maybe by Sunday we can have a little more excitement in the garage.
“Here we are one team. We work as a family because everybody has the same goal. As for the rest of the field, I am not thinking too much about the other teams because we have enough to focus on inside our own garage.
“Of course there are many strong teams in both conditions, but during testing it is difficult to understand exactly who is the fastest because everybody has different strategies. I feel satisfied with our work and if we keep working like this, we can do a good job.”
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Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
