Ducati riders "pushing" for Suzuka 8 Hours "bucket list" race

MotoGP stars Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio di Giannantonio are ‘pushing’ Ducati to enter the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race.

Ducati are the reigning champions in both MotoGP and WorldSBK, with Suzuka one of the few prestigious events left where the Japanese factories still dominate.

Johann Zarco is the latest MotoGP rider to add his name to the 8 Hours winners' list, as part of the Honda Team HRC with Japan Post squad in last month’s 2024 edition.

But Ducati also dipped its toe into this year’s event by backing ‘Team Kagayama’, which finished in fourth place with Ryo Mizuno, Josh Waters and Hafizh Syahrin.

Speaking at the event, Ducati Corse’s Paolo Ciabatti confirmed the factory has its sights set on making Suzuka history in the near future:

“The Suzuka 8-Hours is... still a very important race for a manufacturer,” Ciabatti told Motomatters.com. “It’s never been won by a non-Japanese manufacturer. So the dream will be one day, hopefully soon, to be the first non-Japanese manufacturer to win Suzuka.”

“The plan will be in the future to come probably with a factory bike from Bologna and with MotoGP riders alongside Yukio [Kagayama’s team]," Ciabatti added. "Because obviously doing it from Italy is complicated.

“I don't know about Marc [Marquez] or Bautista, but for sure among the GP riders of Ducati for the future, Pecco and Fabio Di Giannantonio, they would like to do the Suzuka 8 Hours.

“Then we just need to look for a third rider, between [our] other GP riders and Superbike riders there will be someone happy to do it. Whether it will be next year or in 2026, it’s too early to say.”

At Silverstone, reigning double MotoGP champion Bagnaia made his Suzuka intensions clear.

“I am pushing a lot to Ducati to give to me the possibility to go to Suzuka and do the 8 Hours,” Bagnaia said.

“For sure I know how stressful it can be, because it’s in the [MotoGP] summer break, but I love this kind of race. I always think for a world championship rider it’s a target for your career.

“But what I said is that before I arrive, they have to be prepared to have a chance to win. Because I would love to go there and win.”

VR46’s di Giannantonio, signed as an official Ducati Corse rider for 2025 and 2026, was equally enthusiastic:

“I'm pushing a lot honestly. I would love to do the 8 hours of Suzuka, so I'm pushing a lot with my staff at home to try to organise it.

“It is one of my races on my bucket list, so in case we will be together with Ducati it would be amazing to ride for them in the 8 Hours.”

di Giannantonio’s new two-year contract, which includes a factory GP25 in MotoGP next season, was duly announced after Silverstone.