Two Japanese BMW teams have made a good showing at Suzuka over the past few years. One team in particular to look out for is BMW Financial Services 135, a regular Top 20 finisher. Shinya Takeishi will partner with British Superbike riders Michael Laverty and Christian Iddon to ride the BMW 135. But BMW Motorrad 39, another S1000RR-mounted Japanese team, will no doubt make its presence felt thanks to a strong trio of riders. Daisaku Sakai, winner of the 2009 Suzuka 8 Hours and FIM endurance world champion with Suzuki Endurance Racing Team in 2011, will be riding the BMW #39 alongside Australian racing brothers Damian and Alex Cudlin.

A championship duel
Mercury Racing’s face-off with NRT48 will also make for an interesting duel. Just two points separate the two teams in the 2017-2018 FIM EWC provisional standings. Czech squad Mercury Racing, which mustered a 47th-place finish at last year’s Suzuka 8 Hours, has Frenchman Sylvain Barrier riding alongside two Czech riders, Karel Hanika and Ondřej Ježek. German team NRT48 is making its Suzuka debut with a trio comprising French riders Kenny Foray and Julien Da Costa and British racer Peter Hickman. The two Frenchmen have already reaped rewards at Suzuka in recent years, notably a 3rd-place finish for Kenny Foray in the 2012 race and a 4th place for Julien Da Costa in 2013.