2021 FIM Endurance World Championship 12 Hours of Estoril Final Qualifying
Yamaha’s Official EWC squad, Yamaha Austria Racing Team completely dominated the second and final qualifying session at Estoril overnight with all three riders topping their respective sessions to make for a combined team time that was almost a full-second ahead of Team BMW Motorrad World Endurance.
Karel Hanika was outright fastest
YART’s Karel Hanika set the outright individual benchmark and beat the record set in qualifying by Markus Reiterberger in 2020. The factory Yamaha’s Czech rider completed an impressive 1m37.674 fastest lap just ahead of his team-mate Marvin Fritz with a 1m37.857. They were the only two riders to come in under the 1m38 mark in the qualifying sessions.
Marvin Fritz was second fastest individual
The Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki team will start the 12 Hours of Estoril Endurance World Championship second round from third position on the starting grid tomorrow. Gregg Black was the first to set off in the morning session on the Portuguese track, under scorching sun and already high temperatures. Increasingly at ease with this new Bridgestone shod GSX-R1000R, Black improved his times from yesterday and finished third in his session with a time of 1m39.295. Xavier Simeon made his effort at the end of the session and recorded a 1m38.738. When the third team rider Sylvain Guintoli entered the track, the outside temperature had risen again but the Suzuki MotoGP test and development rider showed his talent in the very last lap with an exceptional time of 1m38.434. On the average of the three best times of the team (1.38.822), the Yoshimura SERT Motul squad ranked third on the timesheet.
YART lead Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki
F.C.C. TSR Honda France will start from fourth ahead of Tati Team Beringer Racing, who are among the leaders despite the absence of Alan Techer, with Tati followed by fellow independents VRD Igol Experiences, both privateer teams finished ahead of two factory teams, ERC Endurance-Ducati and Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar. The F.C.C. TSR squad had made big progress in their set-up to put them in a much stronger position for the gruielling 12-hour race ahead.
Mike Di Meglio – F.C.C. TSR Honda
In Superstock, a Kawasaki led the field. The first in class on the starting grid, BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers, will start from ninth ahead of Moto Ain, who held back by crashes. Other rivals for the Superstock win who are well placed on the grid are Team 33 Louit April Moto, Wójcik Racing Team and National Motos.
Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar
2021 FIM Endurance World Championship 12 Hours of Estoril Final Qualifying Results
2021 FIM Endurance World Championship 12 Hours of Estoril
The second round of the 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship gets underway on Saturday with the 12 Hours of Estoril in Portugal.
Conditions are expected to be warm over the weekend with ambient temperatures over 30-degrees and in the opening qualifying sessions overnight teams were tested by 55-degree track temperatures.
YART topped the opening qualifying sessions on the combined times of their three riders, Niccolo Canepa, Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika.
BMW Motorrad Endurance Team were second quickest as a team
It was BMW’s Javier Fores that set the outright individual fastest time (1m38.707s) though and along with team-mates Markus Reiterberger and Kenny Foray that made the team effort good enough for provisional second.
Sylvain Guintoli was the quickest of the Suzuki riders
Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki took third place with GSX-R1000R-mounted Sylvain Guintoli, Xavier Simeon and Gregg Black finishing just 0.388 seconds from leaders YART Yamaha and BMW Motorrad with a combined average time of 1m39.575s on the 4.182km Circuit do Estoril as they head into tomorrow’s final qualifying sessions. Guintoli was the fastest of the Suzuki riders with a lap of 1m39.054s.
Webike SRC Kawasaki
Next best was the VRD Igol Yamaha ahead of the Webike SRC and fellow Kawasaki outfit Tati Team Beringer.
Josh Hook had a few moments during qualifying due to some technical problems
It proved to be a difficult opening day for the F.C.C. TSR squad with set-up problems causing Australian Josh Hook many moments as he was the first of the team to hit the track to iron out the bugs. Along with team-mates Yuki Takahashi and Mike Di Meglio their combined times were good enough for seventh overnight ahead of Yamaha teams Moto Ain and Wojcik Racing while the ERC Ducati entry rounded out the provisional top ten.
F.C.C. TSR Honda – Yuki Takahashi., Josh Hook and Mike Di Meglio
2021 FIM Endurance World Championship 12 Hours of Estoril
Round 2 of the 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship will kick off on Saturday as the 12 Hours of Estoril kicks into action. With the Le Mans opener proving an edge of seat affair, the 12 Hours of Estoril is expected to take things up a notch.
Located near Lisbon, Estoril is one of the most technical tracks on the EWC calendar. Inaugurated in 1972, it has hosted world motorsport championships such as Formula 1 and, since 2000, MotoGP. In endurance racing, after hosting the Estoril 1000km in 1987 and the Estoril 8 Hours in 2000, the Portuguese circuit marked its return to the EWC last year by concluding the season.
This 4,182-metre-long, winding and hilly track is unanimously appreciated by the riders but it also puts a lot of strain on the mechanics, especially as temperatures are often high.
Yoshimura SERT Motul arrive in Portugal in the lead after their 24 Heures Motos win, but will face keen competition.
Xavier Siméon
“After our victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, we are starting from scratch again We have to keep our feet on the ground because the competition will be very strong once again. We have a lot of work ahead of us as this is the first time we will be riding here on Bridgestone tyres. But we are all confident. The technical team, the bike and the riders form a package that works very well. We will have to stay focused all the way to the end though, as we are of course aiming for a podium finish once again.”
Yoshimura SERT Motul
The 2020 winners at Estoril, YART–Yamaha Official EWC Team, will provide the toughest competition for the new Suzuki factory alliance. At Le Mans last month, a mechanical problem put an end to the duel for the lead between the Suzuki and the Yamaha. The fight will take up where it left off at Estoril but YART are not the only ones seeking revenge. F.C.C. TSR Honda France, who finished 9th at the 24 Heures Motos following electrical problems and a crash, will also have to make up lost ground in the championship.
Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar
Well placed behind Yoshimura SERT Motul after their podium finish at Le Mans were Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar.
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team arrive after third place on the podium at the season opener, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) in June, Werner Daemen’s team is confident ahead of the second endurance race with the new BMW M 1000 RR ridden by Markus Reiterberger (GER), Xavi Forés (ESP) and Kenny Foray (FRA), the fourth rider of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, at Estoril. Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) will be in action in the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) at the Nürburgring (GER) at the same time. Forés was recently forced to sit out races after injuring his wrist in the British Superbike Championship (BSB) but was able to take part in the Estoril test rides without any restrictions on Tuesday, and was given the go-ahead to race at the weekend by the official FIM race doctors on late Tuesday afternoon. Eugene Laverty (IRL) was on hand just in case Forés was unable to ride, which is why he also completed test laps on Tuesday.
Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director
“Our goal at Estoril is to carry on where we left off with the strong performance at Le Mans. We proved the potential of our new BMW M 1000 RR in endurance racing. We were initially pushed back down the field due to a technical issue, but the team resolved it quickly. The test on Tuesday was promising once again, so we are optimistic going into the race weekend. All three of our riders, Markus, Xavi and Kenny, were riding at the same very high level once again so we are well-prepared and hope to be as strong as we were at Le Mans. Thanks also go to Eugene for coming to Estoril at short notice to jump in as reserve rider if necessary.”
ERC Endurance-Ducati, who completed a 24-hour race for the first time at Le Mans, finishing 8th, will attempt to continue on their road to the podium. During private tests at the beginning of race week at Estoril, ERC Endurance-Ducati will be shored up by Lorenzo Zanetti, a Ducati test rider in the Italian CIV Superbike championship, and World Superbike Ducati rider Scott Redding’s chief mechanic.
Yoshimura SERT Motul get to Portugal with a 16-point lead over the competition, but everything could change at the 12 Hours of Estoril. 30 points are available for the winner, plus bonus points for the top 5 teams on the starting grid and points awarded 8 hours into the race.
YART–Yamaha Official EWC Team
High-performance challengers who got unlucky at Le Mans but will be worth watching are VRD Igol Experiences, Tati Team Beringer Racing, Moto Ain, Wójcik Racing Team and 3ART Best of Bike.
A hard-fought battle is also expected in the Superstock class too. The winners at Le Mans, National Motos, will have to defend their position against some highly motivated rivals, namely Team 18 Sapeurs-Pompiers CMS Motostore, who were forced to withdraw at Le Mans, BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers, No Limits Motor Team, Wójcik Racing Team 2, RAC41 ChromeBurner and Team 33 Louit April Moto.
The first official free practice for the 12 Hours of Estoril will start at 11am local time on Thursday 15 July. The race will be flagged off at 9am on Saturday 17 July.
2021 FIM Endurance World Championship 24 Heures Motos
The FIM Endurance World Championship returns to action with the opening round or 2021, the 24 Heures Motos at the legendary Bugatti, Le Mans.
The Bugatti Circuit, located in Le Mans, France, was constructed in 1965 and featured on the World Endurance calendar for the first time in 1978. At 4.185km in length, Le Mans is the third-longest circuit on the 2021 calendar but by far one of the toughest.
Unpredictable weather conditions, as well as a mixture of low, medium and high speed corners, heavy braking zones, elevation changes and fast changes of direction, makes the 24-hour race one of the most demanding races on the calendar.
Defending World Endurance Champions Yoshimura SERT Suzuki field a four-rider team of Gregg Black, Xavier Simeon, Kazuki Watanabe and Sylvain Guintoli – Suzuki’s MotoGP test rider. SERT were fourth quickest overnight in the opening Free Practice sessions ahead of the season opener.
Yoshimura SERT Suzuki
Damien Saulnier – Team Manager
“We are all really happy to start this season. It’s good to get together, hear the bike and see it ride. Our riders needed some time to get back in shape but by the end of the day everyone has found their bearings. We are in the top five with a bike fitted with racing tyres, which is very positive. We have an excellent package with the Yoshimura technicians who know this GSX-R1000R perfectly well, a SERT team specialised in Endurance, good tyres and a trio of fast riders who are discovering and progressing together. So everything looks good for us.”
Yoshimura SERT Suzuki field a four-rider team of Gregg Black, Xavier Simeon, Kazuki Watanabe and Sylvain Guintoli
Honda’s endurance specialists F.C.C. TSR Honda France will feature riders Josh Hook, Mike Di Meglio and new recruit Yuki Takahashi, targeting the top step of the podium aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, where they claimed victory last year. With two victories at the 24 Heures Motos for Di Meglio and Hook, the F.C.C. TSR Honda France squad are quietly confident of holding the trophy again at the prestigious 24-hour race but have some pace to find as they were only seventh quickest overnight.
Josh Hook
“It has been a long wait, which is not good for us because it has been a long time since we’ve been to the track racing, but finally, we are underway, so we are really looking forward to that. From the test, it was very positive in all conditions the bike is working very well and from what I’ve heard from the team, in that little bit extra time that we had, they made some improvements with the electronics which is the part we were struggling, so it is a step in the right direction. This time of the year, the weather is going to be warmer, so definitely it is going to be more physically on the bike, so we’ll see.”
F.C.C. TSR Honda France
Other Honda powered teams competing in the event are National Motos and RAC 41 Chromeburner, both in the Superstock category. National Motos have moved into the Superstock class this season, with their aim to win the FIM World Cup aboard the Fireblade SP with a new ride line-up of Guillaume Antiga and Kévin Trueb who join Frenchman Stéphane Egea, who has been with the team since 2017.
YART Yamaha EWC Team are also set to start their 2021 campaign this weekend, eight months after victory in the final round of the 2019/2020 season in Estoril, Niccolò Canepa, Karel Hanika, and Marvin Fritz are raring to get their 2021 season underway as the series returns to the iconic Bugatti Circuit in north-western France this weekend. They were second quickest overnight.
Mandy Kainz – YART Yamaha Team Manager
“We feel ready for the first round but 24-hour races almost make their own rules! To win you need to be clever but also lucky, so we will try to be clever and we know both our bike and riders are very good. But a 24-hour race is a 24-hour race and anything can happen so we need to hope for that bit of luck too! If we are clever and the luck is on our side, we are confident we can fight for the victory.”
For Werner Daemen’s BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team it is their second year in the endurance world championship after a strong maiden season. The new #37 bike in action is the BMW M 1000 RR. The regular riders Markus Reiterberger (GER), Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) and Xavi Forés (ESP), as well as Kenny Foray (FRA) as the fourth rider make for an experienced, strong rider line-up.
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team
At the official Pré-Mans Test at the end of March, the team set the best time with new record laps with the BMW M 1000 RR on both days, and backed that up overnight by topping the opening Free Practice sessions held overnight and is now eager to build on that performance at the first race weekend of the season.
Markus Reiterberger
Werner Daemen – BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team Manager
“I think that we are better prepared for Le Mans than last year, so I’m expecting a good result. We are very happy with the new BMW M 1000 RR and the pre-test at Le Mans was superb for us. All our riders are in top form. We are ideally positioned with Ilya, Markus and Xavi as our regular trio, and I can honestly say that with Kenny we have the fastest reserve rider in the world. He proved that once again last weekend, when he finished second in the French championship. Now the team is working on fine-tuning every detail. I’m looking forward to the race, and if everything goes according to plan, we should be up there at the front.”
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team
The Wójcik Racing Team are also in high spirits ahead of the upcoming season. Two podiums in 2020 rewarded them with a fourth-place finish in the overall standings. Adam Stepien’s team will field the experienced Gino Rea, 36-year-old Sheridan Morais and the 2019 World Supersport Champion, Randy Krummenacher, giving the team an ultra-strong and crucially an experienced rider line-up for 2021 on the Yamaha YZF-R1.
The Moto Ain team will compete in the Formula EWC class after taking back-to-back championships in the FIM Endurance World Cup. Team principal Pierre Chapuis has chosen former 250cc and Moto2 Grand Prix race winner Roberto Rolfo, Swiss rider Robin Mulhauser and French veteran and MotoGP podium finisher Randy de Puniet on another YZF-R1.
A new independent team joined in the fray at the front end amid the factory teams overnight. Tati Team Beringer Racing posted the 3rd-fastest time in FP1 with a 1:36.514 lap on their ZX-10R. The team are heading into their third season in the EWC with big ambitions.
Patrick Enjolras – Tati Team Beringer Manager
“We’ve just worked on the new Kawasaki electronics with dedicated engineers. Now we know we have a very good machine.”
Tati Team Beringer
Among privateer teams capable of giving the factory outfits a run for their money are VRD Igol Experiences, Moto Ain who are debuting in EWC after two back-to-back FIM Superstock World Cup wins, Maco Racing and 3ART Best of Bike, all four Yamaha-mounted.
Despite the 24 Hours Motos being held behind closed doors due to the global pandemic situation, the 44th edition will see 50 teams battling on track.
Ducati have an iron in the fire with ERC Endurance and were tenth quickest overnight
The 24 Heures Motos officially gets underway on Thursday 10th June with free practice, qualifying and night practice. The final positions on the starting grid will be determined after the last qualifying sessions, which takes place on Friday 11th June.
Kawasaki Bolliger Switzerland
The FIM EWC 2021 consists of four events in France, Portugal and Japan. After the opener at Le Mans, the season continues on 17th July with the 12 Hours of Estoril in Portugal. The 24-hour classic ‘Bol d’Or’ will be held at Le Castellet (FRA) on 18th/19th September, before the season draws to a close with the 8-hour race at Suzuka, Japan on 7th November.
WeBike SRC Kawasaki France TrickStar were fifth quickest overnight
The 8 Hours of Oschersleben has been cancelled, after the initial postponement due to COVID restrictions in Germany, from original the May 23 date.
Since then, the FIM, Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, Eurosport Events, the promoter of the FIM EWC, and the organisers of the race in Germany have been working together to reschedule the 8 Hours of Oschersleben on the 2021 calendar.
8 Hours of Oschersleben dropped from 2021 FIM EWC calendar
Their priority was to offer teams a new calendar compatible with their logistical organisation, which would take into account the other date changes, of the 24 Heures Motos (12 and 13 June) and the 12 Hours of Estoril (17 July), as well as the organization of the Bol d’Or on 18 and 19 September and the Suzuka 8 Hours on 7 November.
The other priority was to find a date that would give the event the most international visibility after the end of the Tokyo Olympic Games. In light of these requirements, the only suitable date was mid-August.
24 Hours of Le Mans
Despite these joint efforts, unfortunately the Oschersleben circuit was unable to cancel its previously undertaken commitments for that date. As a result, the 8 Hours of Oschersleben will not take place during the 2021 FIM EWC season.
François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events
“We genuinely regret being unable to include the 8 Hours of Oschersleben on the 2021 calendar. Oschersleben has been part of the FIM EWC races since 1999. It is also an important race for German and East European teams, of which an ever-increasing number are entering the championship.”
12 Hours of Estoril
Jorge Viegas, FIM President
“Despite the fact we could not find an alternative date for the traditional 8 Hours of Oschersleben, we look forward to welcoming back this race next year. In the meantime, the remainder of the 2021 FIM EWC calendar will be run as is planned, but keeping in mind that we must maintain flexibility until we are over with the pandemic. We sincerely thanks everyone involve for the continuous efforts. Please stay strong!”
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