Last weekend will go down in history. For the first time, a European motorcycle brand has secured a podium finish at the prestigious “Suzuka 8 Hours.” For BMW, third place at the Japanese endurance classic is just as good as a victory in the FIM Endurance World Championship. EURO MOTO star Markus Reiterberger was there in person, riding the M 1000 RR with start number 37.
“We finally made it onto the podium at Suzuka,” said a delighted Reiterberger, hugging just about everyone standing around the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team after eight grueling hours. “I’ve been here with this bike and this team for many years—and now we’ve finally done it. It was a long and hard road. We’d been hoping for dry conditions, because I think we could have achieved even more then. In the rain, it wasn’t quite as easy for us.”
The Japanese endurance classic has been held since 1978, and until the 2026 edition, no European brand had ever managed to finish on the podium. Under extremely treacherous conditions, Michael van der Mark (NED), Markus Reiterberger (GER), and Steven Odendaal (RSA) secured third place. The final half-hour was run behind the safety car because there was too much water on the track.
The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team was also the highest-placed team officially registered in the FIM EWC. That’s because first and second place went to star-studded teams from Honda and Yamaha that were put together specifically for this race. Among the riders were Jonathan Rea, Takumi Takahashi, Jack Miller, and Andrea Locatelli. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team has thus continued to close the gap in the world championship standings.
