FIM EWC Suzuka: BMW works team takes second place in the world championship

After fifth place at the Suzuka 8 Hours, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is now just one point behind in the world championship standings.

Suzuka. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team has taken an important step forward in the title fight in the FIM Endurance World Championship 2025 (FIM EWC). At the third of four events this season, the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours (JPN), Markus Reiterberger (GER), Steven Odendaal (RSA) and Michael van der Mark (NED) took fifth place with the #37 BMW M 1000 RR. As a result, the BMW works team not only took second place in the FIM EWC world championship standings, but also goes into the season finale at Le Castellet (FRA) in September just one point behind leader YART.

After a difficult qualifying session, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team managed to secure fifth place on the grid for the Suzuka 8H race with fifth place in the Top Ten Trial.

In the turmoil at the start, the #37 initially dropped back a few positions, but Reiterberger, Odendaal and van der Mark worked their way forwards again. In the third hour of the race, van der Mark had reached third place. Then, however, a rare technical defect occurred: the right footpeg came loose and caused the Dutchman to crash as he headed for the pits to have the problem fixed. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team was able to get the bike back on track quickly after a repair, but initially only finished 21st in the standings. From there, the works trio showed a great recovery that ended with fifth place in the race classification and second place in the World Championship standings.

The all-important season finale, the 24-hour classic Bol d’Or, takes place from 18th to 21st September at Le Castellet.

Markus Reiterberger: “To finish fifth at Suzuka again is, on one hand, disappointing because we had a real chance at the podium. We were already running in third, but then had a technical issue we’ve never encountered before. Still, we fought back incredibly well. The team reacted brilliantly and got the bike repaired super quickly. With fifth place, we gained a lot of points on YART, the championship leader. We’re now just one point behind – I don’t think we’ve ever been this close. Now we want to bring it home at Le Castellet. That’s a track we really like. So we’re satisfied with Suzuka. We worked well with the new tyre supplier, the whole team is pulling together, and everything just fits from A to Z.”