Ducati narrowly missed the podium at the Suzuka 8 Hours held yesterday on the Japanese track, finishing in fourth place with the Panigale V4 R managed by Yukio Kagayama’s team.
No European manufacturer has ever managed to take home victory in the Suzuka endurance race, but Ducati has a plan in mind to achieve this great goal, which would add to the extraordinary successes achieved in MotoGP and World Superbike over the last few years.
“The Suzuka 8 Hours is a special race,” Paolo Ciabatti, who attended the Suzuka 8 Hours, told Motorsport.com. “It is part of the EWC, but the race itself is different from the others. In the past, Valentino Rossi and other top MotoGP riders have come to Suzuka with the dream of winning. In recent years, that trend has faded a bit, but the Suzuka 8 Hours is still a special race for the motorcycle manufacturers.”
“No manufacturer, apart from the Japanese ones, has managed to win here. Our dream is to do so one day. We hope to be the first manufacturer outside of Japan to win at Suzuka in the future.”
Ciabatti explained in broad terms how the Ducati project could proceed to attack the Suzuka 8 Hours. The Borgo Panigale company should rely on Yukio Kagayama’s structure to facilitate logistics, but also to gain confidence with Bridgestone tires, essential to be competitive in the Japanese race.
“We are working with Yukio Kagayama’s team to gain experience in the 8 Hours and to build a relationship with Bridgestone again. Their support is very important for the 8 Hours. Our future plan is to bring production bikes and MotoGP riders to compete with Yukio’s team.”
“Logistics from Italy are difficult, so even if we have the same team as now, we will take advantage of the logistics that Yukio has with his team and make it even bigger.”
One of the big pieces that should make up Ducati’s puzzle for the Suzuka 8 Hours will be the riders. It’s no secret that Francesco Bagnaia wants to try to participate. The same goes for Fabio Di Giannantonio. At that point, Ducati should find a third rider to complete the lineup and Ciabatti admitted that he will look at those under contract with the Bologna brand who race in MotoGP and Superbike.
“I don’t know if Marc Marquez and Alvaro Bautista will want to go, but I would like to participate with the Ducati MotoGP riders,” Ciabatti continued.
“Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio have said they want to participate in the Suzuka 8 Hours, so I would like to find a motivated MotoGP or Superbike rider as a third rider.”
“It’s too early to say whether it will be next year or in 2026, but I would like to bring various data and information to Bologna to then carefully evaluate future plans.”
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