Ducati has revealed its intention to take part in the Suzuka 8 Hours with a factory team in the coming years.
The squad’s former MotoGP sporting director Paolo Ciabatti, who now heads up the marque’s off-road and regional superbike activities, has expressed a desire to take on Japanese marques in the blue riband round of the FIM Endurance World Championship as early as 2025.
Ciabatti made those comments after attending the 45th running of the Japanese endurance classic last weekend, where the Kagayama squad finished fourth on a Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Although Kagayama had entered the bike on an independent basis for Ryo Mizuno, Joshua Waters and Hafizh Syahrin, the outfit did receive technical support from Ducati in the form of factory engineers.
Asked if Ducati wants to take part in the Suzuka 8 Hours or the wider EWC series in the future, Ciabatti told Motorsport.com Japan that he was impressed with what he saw last weekend and wants to turn Kagayama’s privateer entry into a full-fledged factory effort:
“Yes, for the 8 Hours,” he said.
“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 in factory bikes and MotoGP riders from Bologna to compete with Yukio's team.
“The logistics from Italy are difficult, so even if we have the same team as now, we will take advantage of the logistics that Yukio and his team have and make it even bigger.”
With a history dating back to 1978, the Suzuka event remains one the most prestigious races on the motorcycling calendar and continues to attract some of the best teams and riders from Japan.
Although Suzuka 8 Hours has lost some of its appeal in the last two decades, Ciabatti emphasised the importance of the race and laid out a plan for Ducati to become the first non-Japanese manufacturer to take an outright win in the EWC enduro.
Only Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki have been victorious at Suzuka in its 45-year history.
“The Suzuka 8 Hours is a special race. It's part of the EWC, but the race itself stands out.
“In the past, Valentino Rossi and other top MotoGP riders have come to Suzuka, dreaming of winning. In recent years, that trend may have faded a little, but the Suzuka 8 Hours is still a special race for motorcycle manufacturers.
“No manufacturer outside of Japan has ever won here. So it's our dream to achieve that one day. Hopefully, in the near future, we'd like to be the first manufacturer outside of Japan to win at Suzuka.”
In previous years, multiple MotoGP stars used to take part in the Suzuka 8 Hours on an annual basis, something that was written in their contracts with Japanese bike manufacturers.
However, amid an expanding MotoGP calendar and the risk of injury, it is becoming increasingly rare for active grand prix riders to take part in the Suzuka race. Instead, the World Superbike Championship has now become the primary source for international participation in the event.
However, Ducati said it wants to reverse that trend and include at least one rider from its MotoGP roster alongside two endurance racing specialists in its Suzuka line-up. Typically, each bike is crewed by three riders in the eight-hour enduro.
“I don't know about Marc [Marquez] and [Alvaro] Bautista, but I would like to participate with Ducati MotoGP riders,” Ciabatti said.
“Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia] and Fabio Di Gianantonio have said that they want to participate in the Suzuka 8 Hours, so I would like to find a motivated rider from MotoGP or SBK as a third rider.
“It's too early to say whether that will be next year or 2026, but I would like to bring back data and various information to Bologna, and then carefully consider future plans.”
