Luca Marini does not expect to be part of the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours, despite fellow Honda MotoGP rider Johann Zarco confirming his return.<\/p>\n
Marini was set to join Zarco and Takumi Takahashi in last year\u2019s factory HRC line-up before a serious testing crash ruled him out of the famous endurance event, as well as three MotoGP<\/a> rounds.<\/p>\n However, Marini\u2019s limited Suzuka experience had already exposed the difficulty in finding a common bike setup to be shared by riders of different heights.<\/p>\n While Zarco is among the shortest on the MotoGP grid at 1.71m, Marini stands at 1.84m, just one centimetre below Toprak Razgatlioglu<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cApart from my incident, it was a nice experience [last year], but I understood that for endurance races I need team-mates with my same height,\u201d Marini<\/a> said.<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n \u201cBecause if not, the bike is too uncomfortable for me, and it’s better to have the same body [sizes] so that you can adjust the bike in a decent way for everybody.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have to stay one hour on the bike doing your run, it’s important to be confident.\u201d<\/p>\n With Marini absent and replacement Xavi Vierge also withdrawing from the 2025 event, Zarco and Takahashi secured Honda\u2019s 31st Suzuka 8 Hours victory as a two-rider team.<\/p>\n The pair are expected to be joined by six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea<\/a> for this year\u2019s race, held between the Assen and Sachsenring MotoGP rounds, rather than the summer break.<\/p>\n