The 2019-2020 FIM EWC season will get underway with the Bol d’Or on 21 September on France’s Le Castellet circuit.
The second round of the championship is a new winter race in South-east Asia, initiated as part of a calendar reform by championship promoter Eurosport Events.
The inaugural edition of the 8 Hours of Sepang, which results from a strong collaboration between FIM, Eurosport Events, Sepang International Circuit and Mobilityland, will be a qualifying round for the 2020 Suzuka 8 Hours. Its innovative format lays the foundation for the first-ever double-header event in Asian motorsport, with two major car and motorcycle races taking place over a single weekend: the 8 Hours of Sepang on Saturday 14 December 2019 and the season finale of the FIA WTCR/OSCARO on Sunday 15 December.
The 43rd edition of the 24 Heures Motos, traditionally held at Le Mans in mid-April, and the 8 Hours of Oschersleben on the first weekend of June will take place mid-way through the FIM EWC calendar.
The Suzuka 8 Hours round, the grand finale of the FIM Endurance World Championship, will be brought forward to mid-July, on a one-off basis, for the first time in its history.
“The Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race has a long 42-year history,” explains Kaoru Tanaka, the new President of Mobilityland. “It has recently been established as the final round of the FIM Endurance World Championship, and is traditionally held on the last Sunday of July. For 2020, we decided to bring the event forward so it precedes the fanfare of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Now scheduled for July 19th, the Suzuka 8 Hours race will have the eyes of the world on Japan ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Come join us for a sizzling season final in July 2020.”
Provisional 2019-2020 FIM EWC calendar
21/22 September 2019 – Bol d’Or (24h-race) / Le Castellet – France
14 December 2019 * – 8 Hours of Sepang / Malaysia
18/19 April 2020 – 24 Heures Motos / Le Mans – France
Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike Di Meglio have claimed the 8 Hours of Oschersleben win in the Endurance World Championship for F.C.C. TSR Honda France, from Team SRC Kawasaki France (who now lead the FIM Endurance World Championship) and VRD Igol Pierret Expériences. With a 4th-place finish, Moto Ain claimed both the Superstock win and the FIM Endurance World Cup.
The podium was starting to look like a done deal, with four of the favourites battling it out in the lead from the race start, when big drama shook things up an hour and a half before the finish at Oschersleben. YART Yamaha’s engine failure while they were locked in battle with F.C.C. TSR Honda France for the win caused Honda Endurance Racing, then in 4th place, to crash, throwing the end of the race wide open.
Broc Parkes – YART
“The Oschersleben 8 Hour ended for us about 1.5hrs from the end, Marvin was on the bike when it caught fire on track and they had to bring it back on the trailer. We were leading the race and had a good chance of the win. There’s nothing else we could have done today, we all rode great, no mistakes and consistent pace so its a shame it had to end early.”
F.C.C. TSR Honda France, the 2018 race winner, triumphed ahead of Team SRC Kawasaki France. The Kawasaki riders Jérémy Guarnoni, David Checa and Erwan Nigon made it to the second step of the podium. Most importantly, they lifted the factory Kawasaki to the top of the provisional standings in the run-up to the grand finale at Suzuka.
For VRD Igol Pierret Expériences (Florian Alt, Florian Marino and Xavier Siméon), their third-place podium finish was as good as a win. The Yamaha-supported team secured their first podium in their first Formula EWC season.
Fourth-place finishers Moto Ain also savoured victory. Roberto Rolfo, Robin Mulhauser and Stefan Hill led the Superstock class for 204 of the total 303 laps run. They secured the Superstock win at Oschersleben ahead of Wójcik Racing Team 2 and BMRT 3D Maccio Racing. Above all, they won Moto Ain’s first-ever FIM Endurance World Cup.
Their battle with GERT56 by GS Yuasa for the Cup was closely fought. The BMW-mounted German team, who were leading the world standings before Oschersleben, finished the race in 13th place after running out of fuel and experiencing electrical issues.
The Superstock teams were particularly competitive in Germany. Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers ran a solid race in 9th place to win the Anthony Delhalle EWC Spirit Trophy singling out the fighting spirit of an entire team. No Limits Motor Team and Team 33 Coyote Louit Moto, 11th and 12th at the finish, also delivered a noteworthy performance. Junior Team LMS Suzuki were a contender for the FIM World Cup early on in the race, but a crash relegated them to 17th at the finish line.
Like Junior Team LMS Suzuki, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team had a tough race with two crashes and finished 10th. The standings leader before the race in Germany, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team will get to Suzuka with a five-point lag behind Team SRC Kawasaki France.
Another of the favourites who got unlucky were ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance. They got off to a good start, but finished 19th after colliding with another bike.
These upsets should not overshadow two excellent performances at Oschersleben. Fany Gastro BMW Motorrad by Mercury Racing (Karel Hanika, Ondrej Jezek and Ladislav Chmelik) secured their finest result this season with a 5th-place finish. Likewise, Webike Tati Team Trick Star were 7th at the finish. Julien Enjolras and Kevin Denis had clearly got the measure of their new EWC Kawasaki with the help of Bastien Mackels at Oschersleben.
Bringing you the Best Motorcycle News from Around the Web!
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok