Three Honda CBs gather for a special run at the Suzuka 8 Hours pre-race festival!

A dream competition realized at the Suzuka 8 Hours Eve Festival

Honda will hold the “Honda CB Special Run” on the Suzuka Circuit East Course from 6:10 to 6:30 PM on Saturday, August 2, 2025. This event, which will be held as part of the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race Eve Festival, will feature special demonstration runs of three motorcycles: the RCB1000, CB1000F Concept, and CB1000F Concept Moriwaki Engineering.

The riders in charge of the race will be a distinguished lineup including Honda Racing School Suzuka Moto Class Principal Tadayuki Okada, motor journalist Hiroshi Maruyama, and five-time Suzuka 8 Hours winner Toru Ukawa.

The legendary RCB1000 returns to Suzuka

The RCB1000 was developed in 1976 for Honda to enter endurance racing in earnest. It is a historic machine that won the opening round of the European Endurance Championship, its first attempt, and went on to win the championship that year.

Rider Tadayuki Okada has achieved four wins in the GP500 class of the Road Racing World Championship, the most wins by a Japanese rider, and is a talented rider who has also won the Suzuka 8 Hours three times. He is currently the principal of the Honda Racing School Suzuka Moto class, where he trains the next generation of riders.

Next-generation CB concept model also released

The CB1000F Concept is a next-generation CB concept model that embodies the “evolving standard of sports bikes” as the product brand “CB,” which represents Honda’s road sports bikes. The CB1000F Concept Moriwaki Engineering is a racing concept model customized to evoke the racing scene.

The CB1000F Concept will be ridden by Hiroshi Maruyama. He has extensive racing experience, having competed in the All Japan Road Race Championship as an International Class A rider and in the 2004 Suzuka 8 Hours on a CB1300SF. He is currently active as a motor journalist.

The CB1000F Concept Moriwaki Engineering will be ridden by Tohru Ukawa, a legendary rider who became the first Japanese rider to win the MotoGP class at the South African Grand Prix, the second round of the 2002 Road Racing World Championship. He is also a Suzuka specialist, having won the Suzuka 8 Hours a total of five times.

Vehicle exhibitions will also be held at GP Square during the event.

These three cars will be on display at the Honda booth in Suzuka Circuit’s GP Square during the Suzuka 8 Hours, providing fans with a great opportunity to get a close look at these rare vehicles.

In particular, the RCB1000 will be on special display in the Honda HRC pit during the pit walk from 1:50pm to 2:40pm on Friday, August 1st. It will be on display alongside Honda HRC’s CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP, which will be competing in the Suzuka 8 Hours, allowing visitors to enjoy a competition between old and new Honda machines.

The Honda CB Special Run can be viewed with a Suzuka 8 Hours spectator ticket or special passport. Depending on the weather and the progress of the race, the demonstration run may not be possible, but it will be a valuable event where you can experience the history and future of the CB brand.

The sight of the three new and old CBs racing around Suzuka Circuit will surely be a special memory that will stay in the hearts of many motorcycle fans.

RCB1000

The RCB1000 was developed to allow Honda to enter endurance racing in earnest, and in its first attempt at the European Endurance Championship in 1976, it won the opening round and went on to win the championship that year.

The rider was Tadayuki Okada, who competed in the GP500 class of the Road Racing World Championship (1996-2000), winning four races in that class, the most of any Japanese rider, and also winning the Suzuka 8 Hours three times, and is currently the principal of the Honda Racing School Suzuka Moto class.