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12 Hours of Estoril this weekend

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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.

FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) Standings

Pos Team Machine Nat Points
1 Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki FRA 64
2 Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar Kawasaki FRA 48
3 BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team BMW BEL 44
4 F.C.C. Tsr Honda France Honda JPN 36
5 VRD Igol Experiences Yamaha FRA 32
6 ERC Endurance Ducat Ducati GER 29
7 Maco Racing Team Yamaha SVK 24
8 Motabox Kremer Racing #65 Yamaha GER 23
9 GT Endurance Yamaha ERA 18
10 YART – Yamaha Official Team EWC Yamaha AUT 14
11 Wojcik Racing Team Yamaha POL 12
12 Tati Team Beringer Racing Kawasaki FRA 2

FIM Endurance World Cup SST Standings

Pos Team Machine Nat Points
1 National Motos Honda FRA 60
2 3MRT 3D Maxxess Nevers Kawasaki FRA  48
3 No Limits Motor Team Suzuki ITA 40
4 Pitlane Endurance – JP3 Yamaha FRA 28
5 Team 33 Louit April Moto Kawasaki FRA 25
6 Players Kawasaki FRA  23
7 Energie Endurance 91 Kawasaki FRA  20
8 Team Space Moto Suzuki FRA  19
9 Team LH Raging Yamaha FRA  19
10 Junior Team Lms Suzuki Suzuki FRA  18
11 Og Motorsport By Sarazin Yamaha FRA  17
12 Team Le Mans 2 Roues Aprilia FRA  14
13 Falcon Racing Yamaha FRA  11
14 Slider Endurance Yamaha FRA  11
15 JMA Moms Action Bike Suzuki FRA  8
16 Maio sport endurance H2O Yamaha FRA  7
17 Motostanu Endurance Kawasaki FRA 6
18 Wojcik Racing Team 2 Yamaha POL 6
19 Team 202 Yamaha FRA  5
20 Team 18 Safe Urs Pompiers CMS Motostor Yamaha FRA  5
21 Knigryre Fullgas Racing Team Kawasaki FRA 4
22 Maria-au Comperirion Suzuki FRA  3
23 RAC41-Chromeburner Honda FRA  3
24 TRT21 Bazar 2 La Becane Suzuki FRA  1

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, News

Suzuki dominate Le Mans 24 Hour | Blow by blow report

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2021 FIM Endurance World Championship
24 Heures Motos

The YART trio of Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccolo Canepa all set brilliant laps during qualifying to take pole position ahead of the Yoshimura Suzuki and the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Teams.

44th running of the FIM Endurance World Championship season opening 24 Heures Motos gets underway

YART bagged an important five World Championship points for that pole position and increased that tally to a total of 14 after a running duel for the lead of the race with the Yoshimura Suzuki team consisting of Gregg Black, Xavier Simeon and Sylvain Guintoli.   That duel ended though in the tenth hour of the race when an engine failure put YART out to pasture. 

Yoshimura Suzuki and YART looked evenly matched and set for a titanic battle to the end but the R1 cried enough at the ten-hour mark

YART had set the pace in every session leading up to the race start and looked to have the speed and consistency to win with Karel Hanika particularly impressive. The team actually rebuilt the engine within an hour and an attempt was made to return to the track before they confirmed their retirement. 

Marvin Fritz – YART Yamaha Official EWC Team

“I don’t know what to say, it’s like a never-ending story. Last year we finished fourth and this year we were so strong in practice, and we had pole. We knew our strongest point would be in the night because our tyres and bike was working well in night practice, so we knew this would be our strongest point. We struggled in the day a bit more than we expected but even before the technical issue we was catching SERT by half a second to a second a lap and was in a good place for the night running. Karel, Niccoló and I have done a good job this week, the team has done an amazing job and we deserve so much more. The championship will be hard because we lose a lot of points in the 24-hour races but we’re already focussed to do as best as we can in Estoril and recover some points.” 

The Tati Team Beringer Kawasaki of Alan Techer, Sebastien Suchet and Julien Enjolras had performed better than pundits had expected with a strong fourth in qualifying but their pace was also ultimately unrewarded after crashes ruined their run. They were ultimately forced to retire after 339 laps and over ten hours of racing. 

The Halfway Mark

After taking the hole-shot at the race start BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team crashed and then had several mechanical issues before regrouping and setting a great pace to fight their way back up to tenth by the eighth hour of the race, and were then up to fifth by the halfway point.

The pit stops for Yoshimura Suzuki were pretty much faultless throughout

It was much the same story for the ERC Ducati entry who had been beset by some problems and had also suffered a crash before battling hard back up eighth place by the 12-hour mark. 

ERC Ducati

At that halfway 12-hour mark Yoshimura Suzuki were a stunning five laps clear of the field.

Josh Hook – F.C.C. TSR Honda France

Holding down second place halfway through was the F.C.C. TSR Honda France trio of Josh Hook Mike DiMeglio and Yuki Takahashi. The Australian had proved the fastest of the Honda triumvirate in qualifying and put in solid stints for the team to keep them ahead of the Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar entry of Jeremy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa, who had been slowed earlier in the race by braking problems.

Six Hours Left

With six hours left in the race the dawn broke with Yoshimura Suzuki leading F.C.C. TSR Honda France by four laps. Gregg Black was in the hot seat for Suzuki while the Fireblade was being piloted by Josh Hook.  Honda in turn were three laps clear of Erwan Nigon on the Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar entry. 

BMW Motorrad

With three-quarters of the race down the BMW Motorrad entry had improved to fourth place ahead of Team Bolliger Switzerland’s ZX-10R.

Problems for F.C.C. TSR Honda France

With five-and-a-half hours left Josh Hook’s tyres were toasted and he entered the pits for fuel, Nissin brakes and Bridgestone rubber while handing over the controls of the Fireblade to Mike DiMeglio. It was certainly at a very critical juncture as he actually seemed to run out of fuel at the start of pit-lane and had to push the bike the last couple of hundred metres to his pit garage! 

Josh Hook – F.C.C. TSR Honda France

The fuel issue also affected their re-start as the bike refused to fire and the crew attempted to push-start the bike up pit-lane but it still stubbornly refused to start. Team members then pushed the bike back down the pit-lane and back to their pit garage to try and investigate the matter further and breathe some life back into the bike. The clock was still ticking of course, and by the time they got the bike back into the garage five-minutes had already passed.  

As technicians removed the bodywork and fuel tank to investigate the issue further on the F.C.C. TSR bike the Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar was clicking over laps and relegated the Honda entry to third place. A few minutes later Markus Reiterberger then promoted the BMW Motorrad entry to that third place as F.C.C. TSR Honda drifted further down the leader-board. Technicians continued to try and sort whatever issue was preventing the Fireblade from firing.

A nightmare for the F.C.C. TSR Honda France technicians as they chased some sort of gremlin

Switch-blocks and various parts were being changed to try and fault-find their way to the source of the problem. A senior Japanese engineer was leading the effort but with the problem not being obvious it was slow and painful going.  Parts of the wiring loom were being extricated next along with injector feed lines. The F.C.C. TSR Honda had been running in a safe looking second place after completing 659 laps, but it was now looking uncertain if they were going to add any more laps to that tally… Was it even a lack of fuel that caused the fire to go out on Hook as he entered pit-lane after all..? 

After more than half-an-hour in the pits the F.C.C. TSR Honda got back on track in sixth position. Now a lap behind the National Motos Superstock Honda in fifth place, three-laps behind Team Bolliger Switzerland Kawasaki. 

The ERC Ducati squad also experienced a few more problems and after working their way back up to eighth from 15th, had drifted back to 11th with four-hours left in the race. 

Just when it looked as though F.C.C. TSR would likely move back up to fifth place and perhaps even fourth place before race end, Josh Hook went down with two-hours and 45-minutes to go and had to slow limp back to the pits via access roads with no brakes. He rolled straight back into the pit garage where technicians quickly got down to work, replacing the master cylinder and clip-on along with various other components.  By the time Hook was back on track they had lost another four positions, slipping to tenth with just over two-and-a-half hours to run.  

The Fireblade refused to fire up after the pit stop for the second time

The challenges were still not over for the F.C.C. TSR squad. They had been back on track and running well for the full duration of Hook’s stint but once he pitted to hand over to Mike DiMeglio the Fireblade once again refused to fire when he tried to leave the pits. The Fireblade was rolled into the pit garage once again for investigation and this time 17-minutes were lost in the pits before the bike fired up and rejoined the race. While in the pits they were relegated further down the order with ERC Ducati pushing them down to 12th place. 

The pit stops for Yoshimura Suzuki were pretty much faultless throughout

With half an hour left in the race Yoshimura Suzuki had an eight-lap lead and were running like clockwork.   Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar were in second place and had five-laps on the third placed BMW Motorrad squad. Team Bolliger Switzerland were fourth, another 11-laps behind the BMW outfit and on the same lap as fifth placed National Motos Honda Fireblade, which was the leading Superstock machine. F.C.C. TSR Honda France had clawed their way back to tenth but were three-laps behind the ninth placed Ducati.

Nothing of significance happened in the final half-hour to upset that apple cart and Yoshimura Suzuki sailed home to a brilliant eight-lap victory over the Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar squad. BMW Motorrad kicked off their 2021 campaign with a podium that was achieved against the odds after they suffered a few issues earlier in the race. 

Sylvain Guintoli won his first ever 24-hour race with the Yoshimura Suzuki squad alongside Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon. A faultless run for the Damien Saulnier run squad. 

Yoshimura Suzuki team consisted of Gregg Black, Xavier Simeon and Sylvain Guintoli
Yohei Kato – Yoshimura Team Director

“It’s a victory for Yoshimura, for the SERT but also for Suzuki. It’s an honour to represent this brand and a great responsibility. We had a lot of pressure on our shoulders but the success at the 24 Heures Motos is a reward for our work. We had worked a lot beforehand to prepare for the race and the whole team was looking forward to the result. So this nice victory is very important. The SERT gave us the number 1, the aim is clearly to keep it in 2021 in this very competitive and rewarding championship. Our four riders and team crews did a perfect job through the weekend and we got a valuable victory because of everyone’s efforts. The Suzuki GSX-R1000 has been strong and reliable and it made the whole race really smooth. We had no issues today and we really had a perfect race.”

The Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar entry of Jeremy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa crossed the line eight-laps behind the 855-lap tally of the victors to claim second place for Kawasaki 

Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar entry of Jeremy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa took second

BMW Motorrad Team were a further five-laps behind to round out the podium after an event that significantly tested the whole squad and sets them up for a strong challenge for the title. 

Markus Reiterberger – BMW Motorrad

“I felt very honoured to ride at the start. Even walking to the bike was good, and when I pulled away it was really good. I really tried not to let the tyres cool and to save fuel but the tyres were still not right up to temperature, which really surprised me, as it was really hot. The front wheel ultimately folded in on me in the penultimate corner and I skidded into the gravel. I then did two more laps on the damaged bike, but then had to come into the pits. I feel sorry for the whole team that I made this mistake. In the end, the crash was not that bad. The main problem was the technical issues. Once those had been resolved, we were basically flawless for the rest of the 24 hours. I would like to thank the whole team for their hard work, and my team-mates for persevering so valiantly.”

The podium at the 44th running of the FIM Endurance World Championship season opening 24 Heures Motos

Yoshimura Suzuki spent the least time in the pits of any team, just under 33-minutes spent in the pits over the 24-hour duration compared to the 42-minutes of the second place getters and 47-minutes for BMW Motorrad in third. The starting problems for F.C.C. TSR Honda France saw them spend a total of 1hr-25-minutes in the pits.

Bridgestone took first blood in the tyre war and Honda took opening honours in the Superstock battle with the National Motos squad of Stéphane Egéa, Guillaume Antiga and Kevin Trueb finishing fifth outright. 

In the hours after the race though fourth placed Bolliger Team Switzerland was removed from the results after technical checks revealed a non-conforming fuel capacity. The declassification promoted National Motos Honda to 4th place and also improves the standing of those finishing lower than fourth all up by one position. 

The 44th edition of the 24 Heures Motos – the first race of the 2021 FIM EWC – lived up to its promise to be an exciting, action-packed race. The drama started almost immediately on the Dunlop turn with a crash involving three teams, Wójcik Racing Team, Team 18 Sapeurs-Pompiers CMS Motostore and RAC41 ChromeBurner.

44th running of the FIM Endurance World Championship season opening 24 Heures Motos

The action taken by Hugo Clère, a rider of the Yamaha 18, to help Sylvain Barrier, stuck underneath the Wojcik bike which had caught fire, won him the Anthony Delhalle EWC Spirit Trophy. Wójcik Racing Team continued the race with two riders, Balint Kovacs and Artur Wielebski, and finished 30th.

The 24 Heures Motos was the opening round of what is scheduled to be a four-round 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship. The second round is the 12 Hours of Estoril on July 17, then the famous Bol d”or back in France on the weekend of September 19.  The finale is also the cherry on top of the FIM EWC calendar, the fabled Suzuka 8 Hour, is slated to tale place on the first weekend of November. 

2021 FIM Endurance World Championship
24 Heures Motos Results

Pos Team……………………………………………………………………….. Bike Class Laps Time Gap/First/Lap Gap/Prev/Lap Fastest/Lap Pit/Time
1 YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL Suzuki EWC 855 00:26.8 – – 01:36.8 32:59.9
2 WEBIKE SRC KAWASAKI/FRANCE TRICKSTAR Kawasaki EWC 847 00:54.5 8 8 01:37.4 41:57.4
3 BMW/MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE/TEAM BMW EWC 842 00:27.3 13 5 01:36.9 46:52.7
4 TEAM BOLLIGER SWITZERLAND Kawasaki EWC 831 00:59.3 24 11 01:39.7 34:15.8
4 NATIONAL MOTOS Honda SST 830 00:39.3 25 1 01:39.2 41:17.9
5 BMRT 3D MAXXESS NEVERS Kawasaki SST 828 00:39.8 27 2 01:38.4 50:07.4
6 NO LIMITS MOTOR TEAM Suzuki SST 827 00:33.4 28 1 01:39.2 1hr1min
7 VRD IGOL EXPÉRIENCES Yamaha EWC 826 01:31.6 29 1 01:38.0 1hr2min
8 ERC ENDURANCE DUCATI Ducati EWC 819 01:56.6 36 7 01:37.4 1hr11min
9 F.C.C. TSR HONDA FRANCE Honda EWC 816 01:27.2 39 3 01:37.4 1hr25min
10 PITLANE ENDURANCE – JP3 Yamaha SST 812 00:54.6 43 4 01:40.3 45:00.5
11 MACO RACING TEAM Yamaha EWC 812 01:03.8 43 9.242 01:38.5 1hr10min
12 MOTOBOX KREMER RACING #65 Yamaha EWC 810 00:59.8 45 2 01:40.5 41:45.4
13 PLAYERS Kawasaki SST 810 01:35.2 45 35.375 01:41.1 45:38.7
14 TEAM SPACE MOTO Suzuki SST 808 01:33.8 47 2 01:41.5 45:42.3
15 TEAM LH RACING Yamaha SST 806 01:42.7 49 2 01:40.6 1hr1min
16 JUNIOR TEAM LMS SUZUKI Suzuki SST 805 00:45.2 50 1 01:40.0 1hr12min
17 TEAM LE MANS 2 ROUES Aprilia SST 803 00:27.1 52 2 01:40.8 56:01.9
18 FALCON RACING Yamaha SST 797 01:23.1 58 6 01:40.2 1hr15min
19 ENERGIE ENDURANCE 91 Kawasaki SST 795 02:29.5 60 2 01:40.7 57:15.1
20 TEAM 33 LOUIT APRIL MOTO Kawasaki SST 789 02:34.0 66 6 01:38.9 1hr46min
21 GT ENDURANCE Yamaha EWC 786 01:38.9 69 3 01:41.6 1hr8min
22 JMA MOTOS ACTION BIKE Suzuki SST 783 01:13.8 72 3 01:40.3 1hr52min
23 MOTO SPORT ENDURANCE #20 Yamaha SST 776 02:06.7 79 7 01:42.0 1hr12min
24 METISS JBB Metiss EXP 774 00:51.5 81 2 01:39.4 1hr50min
25 MOTOSTAND ENDURANCE Kawasaki SST 774 01:01.6 81 10.016 01:42.8 1hr16min
26 TEAM 202 Yamaha SST 756 01:56.3 99  18 01:42.2 1hr36min
27 KINGTYRE FULLGAS RACING TEAM Kawasaki SST 755 00:46.2 100  1 01:45.6 1hr17min
28 MANA-AU COMPETITION Suzuki SST 743 59:56.0 112 12 01:42.2 2hr38min
29 WÓJCIK RACING TEAM Yamaha EWC 657 01:15.4 198 86 01:39.1 4hr49min
30 WÓJCIK RACING TEAM 2 Yamaha SST 637 00:56.9 218 20 01:40.0 5hr53min
31 TRT27 BAZAR 2 LA BECANE Suzuki SST 631 01:16.8 224 6 01:42.1 5hr4min
Not Classified
32 TMC 35 Yamaha SST 446 00:56.0 409 185 01:40.5 11hr57min
33 TEAM RACING 85 Kawasaki SST 446 01:13.6 409 17.58 01:40.8 11h50min
Retired
34 OG MOTORSPORT BY SARAZIN Yamaha SST 706 58:49.4 149 – 01:39.4 1hr50min
35 SLIDER ENDURANCE Yamaha SST 624 43:46.4 231 82 01:39.5 41:35.9
36 YART – YAMAHA OFFICIAL TEAM EWC Yamaha EWC 356 55:30.6 499 268 01:37.0 12:56.0
37 TATI TEAM BERINGER RACING Kawasaki EWC 339 27:52.9 51 17 01:36.7 56:16.9
38 TEAM UNIVERS RACING/ACRACING BMW SST 323 04:15.1 532 16 01:39.5 2hr42min
39 TEAM AVIOBIKE Yamaha SST 212 43:34.7 643 111 01:40.2 53:07.7
40 3ART BEST OF BIKE Yamaha EWC 196 10:38.7 659 16 01:39.0 1hr26min
41 MOTO AIN Yamaha EWC 190 23:45.7 665 6 01:38.1 06:32.9
42 TEAM 18 SAPEURS POMPIERS CMS MOTOST… Yamaha SST 174 47:05.9 681 16 01:39.2 52:44.7
43 TEAM LRP POLAND BMW EWC 97 45:15.6 758 77 01:38.9 52:31.4
44 FAST TEAM RACING Kawasaki SST 94 32:58.7 761 3 01:41.7 1h24min
45 RAC41-CHROMEBURNER Honda SST 14 42:37.7 841 80 01:40.2 58:00.2

Source: MCNews.com.au

News

Le Mans 24 Heures Motos practice underway

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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

Wednesday LeMans Test Combined Times

Pos Team Bike Cat Time/Gap
1 BMW MOTORRAD  BMW EWC 1:36.260
2 YART – Yamaha Official  Yamaha EWC +0.206
3 TATI TEAM BERINGER Kawasaki EWC +0.254
4 YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL Suzuki EWC +0.518
5 WEBIKE SRC KAWASAKI TRICKSTAR Kawasaki EWC +0.775
6 VRD IGOL EXPÉRIENCES Yamaha EWC +0.903
7 F.C.C. TSR Honda France Honda EWC +0.922
8 MOTO AIN Yamaha EWC +1.175
9 MACO RACING Team Yamaha EWC +1.330
10 ERC Endurance Ducati Ducati EWC +1.498
11 3ART BEST OF BIKE Yamaha EWC +1.557
12 BMRT 3D MAXXESS NEVERS Kawasaki SST +1.845
13 Team LRP Poland BMW EWC +2.292
14 TEAM 18 SAPEURS Yamaha SST +2.462
15 National Motos Honda SST +2.675
16 Team Bolliger Switzerland #8 Kawasaki EWC +2.708
17 Wójcik Racing Team 2 Yamaha SST +2.796
18 Wójcik Racing Team Yamaha EWC +2.879
19 JMA MOTOS ACTION BIKE Suzuki SST +2.937
20 TEAM 33 LOUIT APRIL MOTO Kawasaki SST +2.956
21 RAC41-CHROMEBURNER Honda SST +3.162
22 METISS Metiss EXP +3.178
23 Motobox Kremer Racing #65 Yamaha EWC +3.184
24 OG MOTORSPORT BY SARAZIN Yamaha SST +3.423
25 Team Aviobike Yamaha SST +3.462
26 Aprilia Le Mans 2 Roues Aprilia SST +3.805
27 FAST TEAM RACING Kawasaki SST +3.824
28 JUNIOR TEAM LMS SUZUKI Suzuki SST +3.881
29 PITLANE ENDURANCE Yamaha SST +3.900
30 No Limits Motor Team Suzuki SST +3.978
31 FALCON RACING Yamaha SST +4.239
32 TEAM Univers racing/ACRacing BMW SST +4.257
33 TEAM LH RACING Yamaha SST +4.680
34 TEAM GT ENDURANCE Yamaha EWC +4.784
35 Slider Endurance Yamaha SST +4.810
36 Space Moto Suzuki SST +5.204
37 TEAM RACING 85 Kawasaki SST +5.234
38 Mana-au compétition Suzuki SST +5.261
39 ENERGIE ENDURANCE 91 Kawasaki SST +5.281
40 TRT27 BAZAR 2 LA BECANE Suzuki SST +5.451
41 Moto sport endurance #20 Yamaha SST +5.487
42 MOTOSTAND ENDURANCE Kawasaki SST +5.523
43 TMC 35 Yamaha SST +5.763
44 PLAYERS Kawasaki SST +5.831
45 Z RACING Suzuki SST +6.200
46 TEAM 202 Yamaha SST +6.408
47 Fullgas Racing Team Kawasaki SST +7.815

Entry List

N° Team Rider Bike Cat
l1 YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL BLACK Gregg Suzuki EWC
4 TATI TEAM BERINGER  TECHER Alan Kawasaki EWC
5 F.C.C. TSR HOOK Joshua Honda EWC
6 ERC ENDURANCE GINES Mathieu Ducati EWC
7 YART HANIKA Karel Yamaha EWC
8 TEAM BOLLIGER  WALRAVEN Nigel Kawasaki EWC
11 WEBIKE SRC TRICKSTAR GUARNONI Jérémy Kawasaki EWC
14 MACO RACING LEBLANC Grégory Yamaha EWC
15 LE MANS 2 ROUES BOUÉ Marco Aprilia STK
18 TEAM 18 SAPEURS  CLERE Hugo Yamaha STK
20 MOTO SPORT ENDURANCE SIMON Anthony Yamaha STK
22 TEAM 202 PARRET Florent Yamaha STK
23 UNIVERS RACING / AC RACING MEUNIER Léo BMW STK
24 BMRT 3D MAXXESS NEVERS LOISEAU Anthony Kawasaki STK
27 TRT27 BAZAR 2 LA BECANE ERUAM Cyril Suzuki STK
30 TEAM GT ENDURANCE LAGEON Camille Yamaha EWC
33 TEAM 33 LOUIT APRIL MOTO GAMARINO Christian Kawasaki STK
34 JMA RACING – ACTION BIKE CARRILLO Cyril Suzuki STK
35 TMC 35 – PMO BILLEGA John Ross Yamaha STK
36 3ART BEST OF BIKE ESCUDIER Nicolas Yamaha EWC
37 BMW WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM REITERBERGER Markus BMW EWC
40 FAST TEAM RACING BOUVIER DAVID Kawasaki STK
41 RAC 41 CHROMEBURNER FASTRÉ Grégory Honda STK
44 NO LIMITS MOTOR TEAM SCASSA Luca Suzuki STK
45 METISS JBB PONS Gabriel Metiss EXP
51 TEAM MOTOSTAND ENDURANCE REGOUBY Baptiste Kawasaki STK
53 MANA-AU COMPETITION RICHARD Jérôme Suzuki STK
55 NATIONAL MOTOS EGEA Stéphane Honda STK
65 MOTOBOX KREMER RACING DEHAYE Geoffroy Yamaha EWC
66 OG MOTORSPORT BY SARAZIN HEDELIN Camille Yamaha STK
71 Z RACING SCAGLIARINI Nicola Suzuki STK
72 JUNIOR TEAM LMS SUZUKI RENAUDIN Martin Suzuki STK
73 TEAM SPACE MOTO ROCHE Charles Suzuki STK
77 WOJCIK RACING TEAM REA Gino Yamaha EWC
85 TEAM RACING 85 JACOB Kévin Kawasaki STK
86 PITLANE ENDURANCE – JP3 PELLIZOTTI Maxim Yamaha STK
90 TEAM LRP POLAND VINCON Dominik BMW EWC
91 ENERGIE ENDURANCE 91 NAPOLI Christian Kawasaki STK
94 TEAM LH RACING FONTANELLE Benjamin Yamaha STK
96 MOTO AIN ROLFO Roberto Yamaha EWC
101 AVIOBIKE BOSCOSCURO Andrea Yamaha STK
116 KINGTYRE FULLGAS RACING TEAM DEJEAN Arnaud Kawasaki STK
119 SLIDER ENDURANCE CORTOT Charles Yamaha STK
121 FALCON RACING CHEVALIER David Yamaha STK
156 PLAYERS DE KIMPE Arnaud Kawasaki STK
333 VRD IGOL EXPERIENCES ALT Florian Yamaha EWC
777 WOJCIK RACING TEAM 2 SZKOPEK Marek Yamaha STK
N° Team Rider Bike Cat
1 YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL SIMÉON Xavier Suzuki EWC
4 TATI TEAM BERINGER  SUCHET Sébastien Kawasaki EWC
5 F.C.C. TSR YUKI Takahashi Honda EWC
6 ERC ENDURANCE ROSSI Louis Ducati EWC
7 YART FRITZ Marvin Yamaha EWC
8 TEAM BOLLIGER  BÜHN Jan Kawasaki EWC
11 WEBIKE SRC TRICKSTAR NIGON Erwan Kawasaki EWC
14 MACO RACING BOULOM Enzo Yamaha EWC
15 LE MANS 2 ROUES PARISSE Emmanuel Aprilia STK
18 TEAM 18 SAPEURS NIGON Johan Yamaha STK
20 MOTO SPORT ENDURANCE LE BRAS Youenn Yamaha STK
22 TEAM 202 CREUSOT Amandine Yamaha STK
23 UNIVERS RACING / AC RACING MEUNIER Lucas BMW STK
24 BMRT 3D MAXXESS NEVERS HARDT Jonathan Kawasaki STK
27 TRT27 BAZAR 2 LA BECANE BRUNET LUGARDON Cyril Suzuki STK
30 TEAM GT ENDURANCE CROIX Karl Yamaha EWC
33 TEAM 33 LOUIT APRIL MOTO SANCHIS MARTINEZ David Kawasaki STK
34 JMA RACING – ACTION BIKE BONNET Julien Suzuki STK
35 TMC 35 – PMO DIARD Maxime Yamaha STK
36 3ART BEST OF BIKE LAGRIVE Mathieu Yamaha EWC
37 BMW WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM MYKHALCHYK Illya BMW EWC
40 FAST TEAM RACING CHERON Hervé Kawasaki STK
41 RAC 41 CHROMEBURNER TESSELS Wayne Honda STK
44 NO LIMITS MOTOR TEAM MASBOU Alexis Suzuki STK
45 METISS JBB GOETSCHY Jonathan Metiss EXP
51 TEAM MOTOSTAND ENDURANCE NOEL François Kawasaki STK
53 MANA-AU COMPETITION JOUIS Bruno Suzuki STK
55 NATIONAL MOTOS ANTIGA Guillaume Honda STK
65 MOTOBOX KREMER RACING STRÖHLEIN Stefan Yamaha EWC
66 OG MOTORSPORT BY SARAZIN PERRET David Yamaha STK
71 Z RACING SCAGLIARINI Mattia Suzuki STK
72 JUNIOR TEAM LMS SUZUKI RAYMOND Guillaume Suzuki STK
73 TEAM SPACE MOTO BRARD Christophe Suzuki STK
77 WOJCIK RACING TEAM SHERIDAN Morais Yamaha EWC
85 TEAM RACING 85 HERAULT Jérémy Kawasaki STK
86 PITLANE ENDURANCE – JP3 SARRABAYROUSE Alex Yamaha STK
90 TEAM LRP POLAND KRZEMIEN Kamil BMW EWC
91 ENERGIE ENDURANCE 91 NAPOLI Federico Kawasaki STK
94 TEAM LH RACING CRONIER Nicolas Yamaha STK
96 MOTO AIN MULHAUSER Robin Yamaha EWC
101 AVIOBIKE AUBRY Jean-Edouard Yamaha STK
116 KINGTYRE FULLGAS RACING TEAM HENRIQUES David Kawasaki STK
119 SLIDER ENDURANCE MARMONT Clément Yamaha STK
121 FALCON RACING EISEN Théo Yamaha STK
156 PLAYERS THIBAULT Matthieu Kawasaki STK
333 VRD IGOL EXPERIENCES MARINO Florian Yamaha EWC
777 WOJCIK RACING TEAM 2 BERGMAN Christoffer Yamaha STK
N° Team Rider Bike Cat
1 YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL GUINTOLI Sylvain Suzuki EWC
4 TATI TEAM BERINGER  ENJOLRAS Julien Kawasaki EWC
5 F.C.C. TSR DI MEGLIO Mike Honda EWC
6 ERC ENDURANCE MASSON Etienne Ducati EWC
7 YART CANEPA Niccolò Yamaha EWC
8 TEAM BOLLIGER  PELLIJEFF Jesper Kawasaki EWC
11 WEBIKE SRC TRICKSTAR CHECA David Kawasaki EWC
14 MACO RACING LAMBRECHTS Bram Yamaha EWC
15 LE MANS 2 ROUES DUPUY Eddy Aprilia STK
18 TEAM 18 SAPEURS LUSSIANA Matthieu Yamaha STK
20 MOTO SPORT ENDURANCE OLLIVIER Jimmy Yamaha STK
22 TEAM 202 MEJANE Bastien Yamaha STK
23 UNIVERS RACING / AC RACING QUETEL Jimmy BMW STK
24 BMRT 3D MAXXESS NEVERS PILOT Julien Kawasaki STK
27 TRT27 BAZAR 2 LA BECANE GIRARDET Hugo Suzuki STK
30 TEAM GT ENDURANCE DUFOUR Paul Yamaha EWC
33 TEAM 33 LOUIT APRIL MOTO PEROLARI Corentin Kawasaki STK
34 JMA RACING – ACTION BIKE CUDEVILLE Maxime Suzuki STK
35 TMC 35 – PMO LE BAIL David Yamaha STK
36 3ART BEST OF BIKE BERCHET Morgan Yamaha EWC
37 BMW WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM FORÉS Javier BMW EWC
40 FAST TEAM RACING DAGAULT Manu Kawasaki STK
41 RAC 41 CHROMEBURNER LEESCH Chris Honda STK
44 NO LIMITS MOTOR TEAM CALIA Kevin Suzuki STK
45 METISS JBB RIZZA Ludovic Metiss EXP
51 TEAM MOTOSTAND ENDURANCE HUGUEVILLE Alexis Kawasaki STK
53 MANA-AU COMPETITION TRUEB Samuel Suzuki STK
55 NATIONAL MOTOS TRUEB Kévin Honda STK
65 MOTOBOX KREMER RACING COLLIAUX Benjamin Yamaha EWC
66 OG MOTORSPORT BY SARAZIN PLANCASSAGNE Alex Yamaha STK
71 Z RACING ECCHELI Davide Suzuki STK
72 JUNIOR TEAM LMS SUZUKI SUCHET Valentin Suzuki STK
73 TEAM SPACE MOTO LOUAUT Olivier Suzuki STK
77 WOJCIK RACING TEAM KRUMMENACHER Randy Yamaha EWC
85 TEAM RACING 85 BACHELIER Marc Kawasaki STK
86 PITLANE ENDURANCE – JP3 PARASSOL Adrian Yamaha STK
90 TEAM LRP POLAND LEWANDOWSKI Bartlomiej BMW EWC
91 ENERGIE ENDURANCE 91 CHOY Martin Kawasaki STK
94 TEAM LH RACING HEMMER Lothaire Yamaha STK
96 MOTO AIN DE PUNIET Randy Yamaha EWC
101 AVIOBIKE KEMMER Christopher Yamaha STK
116 KINGTYRE FULLGAS RACING TEAM HAUSER Ludovic Kawasaki STK
119 SLIDER ENDURANCE BUISSON Dylan Yamaha STK
121 FALCON RACING MILLET Loïc Yamaha STK
156 PLAYERS Kawasaki STK
333 VRD IGOL EXPERIENCES TEROL Nicolás Yamaha EWC
777 WOJCIK RACING TEAM 2 FILLA Michal Yamaha STK
N° Team Rider Bike Cat
1 YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL WATANABE Kazuki Suzuki EWC
4 TATI TEAM BERINGER  Kawasaki EWC
5 F.C.C. TSR Honda EWC
6 ERC ENDURANCE BARRIER Sylvain Ducati EWC
7 YART LAVERTY Michael Yamaha EWC
8 TEAM BOLLIGER  BRENNER Marcel Kawasaki EWC
11 WEBIKE SRC TRICKSTAR Kawasaki EWC
14 MACO RACING SVITOK Tomas Yamaha EWC
15 LE MANS 2 ROUES Aprilia STK
18 TEAM 18 SAPEURS Yamaha STK
20 MOTO SPORT ENDURANCE DUBOURG Freddy Yamaha STK
22 TEAM 202 Yamaha STK
23 UNIVERS RACING / AC RACING MULHMEYER Philippe BMW STK
24 BMRT 3D MAXXESS NEVERS MANGE Romain Kawasaki STK
27 TRT27 BAZAR 2 LA BECANE STOLTZ Régis Suzuki STK
30 TEAM GT ENDURANCE GUILBOT Thomas Yamaha EWC
33 TEAM 33 LOUIT APRIL MOTO STOLL Clément Kawasaki STK
34 JMA RACING – ACTION BIKE Suzuki STK
35 TMC 35 – PMO Yamaha STK
36 3ART BEST OF BIKE Yamaha EWC
37 BMW WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM FORAY Kenny BMW EWC
40 FAST TEAM RACING PICOT Sébastien Kawasaki STK
41 RAC 41 CHROMEBURNER Honda STK
44 NO LIMITS MOTOR TEAM Suzuki STK
45 METISS JBB Metiss Experimental
51 TEAM MOTOSTAND ENDURANCE VIELLARD Antoine Kawasaki STK
53 MANA-AU COMPETITION POTILLON Simon Suzuki STK
55 NATIONAL MOTOS Honda STK
65 MOTOBOX KREMER RACING Yamaha EWC
66 OG MOTORSPORT BY SARAZIN Yamaha STK
71 Z RACING BONIFACIO Nico Suzuki STK
72 JUNIOR TEAM LMS SUZUKI LAMIRE Alexis Suzuki STK
73 TEAM SPACE MOTO Suzuki STK
77 WOJCIK RACING TEAM Yamaha EWC
85 TEAM RACING 85 Kawasaki STK
86 PITLANE ENDURANCE – JP3 FORAY Joseph Yamaha STK
90 TEAM LRP POLAND BMW EWC
91 ENERGIE ENDURANCE 91 Kawasaki STK
94 TEAM LH RACING NACIMIENTO Erik Yamaha STK
96 MOTO AIN Yamaha EWC
101 AVIOBIKE GESSLBAUER Geri Yamaha STK
116 KINGTYRE FULLGAS RACING TEAM BERGERON Lionel Kawasaki STK
119 SLIDER ENDURANCE DILLER Charles Yamaha STK
121 FALCON RACING ROBERT Hugo Yamaha STK
156 PLAYERS Kawasaki STK
333 VRD IGOL EXPERIENCES WESTMORELAND James Yamaha EWC
777 WOJCIK RACING TEAM 2 WIELEBSKI Artur Yamaha STK

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Sydney 5 Hour shaping up to be a ripper with full grid

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Sydney 5 Hour

July 2018 saw St George MCC run the inaugural Sydney 5 Hour at Sydney Motorsport Park. It’s a race meeting that’s captured the imagination of the local and interstate racing community and now, in its fourth year of running, the club is still looking to develop it into one of the must-be-there events of the season. The popularity of the event with riders was clearly demonstrated on June 1st when the entry list was filled out within 65 seconds of registration opening online. 

For 2021, the Pirelli Sydney 5 Hour meeting will run on the weekend of 24th/25th July and will host not only the iconic 5 Hour race itself but a packed schedule of races including the inaugural Sydney 200. 

Whilst the 5 Hour is structured around a relay format with multiple riders and bikes, the 200 brings back a more classic one bike, one rider format. 

“The countries best riders have been asking for endurance racing, and to race at The Creek in 2021, we’ve managed to achieve both,” says St George MCC’s Publicity Officer Michael O’Brien. “This is going to be an epic 52 lap battle where everything comes into play; machine preparation, rider nutrition and strategy on track and in the pits. The club is so excited to be hosting this race as part of the Pirelli Sydney 5 Hour weekend.” 

The Sydney 200 is attracting the attention of a number of the top ASBK teams and we can expect the grid to include some of the best riders in Australia. 

2013 and 2020 ASBK Champion, and 2021 series leader, Wayne Maxwell is already committed to the Sydney 200 and he’ll be heading to the meeting having set a new Superbike lap record of 1m29.7270 at the St George MCC Pirelli Motul Series / NSW Road Race Championships held at SMP over the weekend of 22nd/23rd May.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Australia’s best racers to go head-to-head away from the regular format of ASBK. To race an endurance race at one of Australia’s best circuits is a fantastic concept and I’m excited to be a part of the inaugural Sydney 200 race.”  – Wayne Maxwell, BOOST Mobile McMartin Ducati Racing. 

Pole Position for the Sydney 200, and for the Sydney 5 Hour, will be decided by quick-fire, Top 5, shoot-out sessions which are always a hit with the fans and puts the pressure on the riders to make the most of the one lap opportunity they get. The shoot outs, which will have grid position and cash prizes up for grabs, will run on Saturday before the IPONE St George 2 Hour race. 

The full calendar for the weekend includes
  • IPONE Formula St George 2 Hour, relay format for Supersports 300 class machines which will feature a Le Mans style start and will run late on Saturday 24th with a finish under lights. 
  • The Sydney 200, single rider, single bike endurance for Superbikes and Supersport 600’s which will run on the Sunday morning, with a Le Mans style start, ahead of the Pirelli Sydney 5 Hour. 
  • Pirelli Sydney 5 Hour, relay format endurance for Superbikes and Supersports 600’s. This headline event is scheduled to kick off, also with a Le Mans start, just before noon on Sunday 25th. 
  • AGV Retro Superbikes sprint races across the weekend featuring Period 5, 6 and Pre-Modern bikes from the 70’s through to the 90’s.
  • Pit stop challenge, an opportunity for fans to see the crews in action in a head-to-head knock out competition involving the whole team, with the final being under lights after the finish of the IPONE 2 Hour Saturday evening.
Image by Half Light

Events of this scale can’t a happen without sponsors and whilst there are still some sponsorship deals still in the works, St George MCC have already sealed partnerships with Pirelli, IPONE, AGV, Edge Creative Printing, On Print T Shirts and are aligned with The Man Walk to help raise awareness of mental fitness. A mystery benefactor has also put up some prize money for the Sydney 200 to make it one of the richest local events of the year. 

With SMSP missing out on a round of ASBK again in 2021, the Sydney 5 Hour weekend will be a great opportunity to see some of the ASBK riders in action as part of what should be a fantastic weekend of racing. 

Spectator entry to the event is free and you can grab tickets from Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/156628296451 

Donations will be accepted gratefully received at the entry gate to support The Man Walk.

St George MCC’s 2020 plan to extend the event into a two-round series, with a second 5 Hour event at Phillip Island, had to be set aside because of the uncertainty that covid-19 caused but it’s back on the cards for 2021 with the PI Round occupying the 29th/31st October weekend, one week after the date currently locked in for the Australian round of MotoGP. 

The schedule for Phillip Island round of the St George meeting currently includes the Pirelli Phillip Island 5 hour, the second round of the IPONE Formula St George 2 Hour and more AGV Retro Superbikes sprint races. 

Peter Doyle, Chief Executive Officer, Motorcycling Australia

“A great initiative from the St George club. Endurance racing was a huge part of the racing scene in Australia back in the 70’s and 80’s and was extremely popular at the time.  Whether it’s a single rider over a medium distance or different riders sharing the same machine over a longer time frame, this along with teamwork and tactics add different dimensions when trying to win a long-distance race.   Checking the racing community’s appetite for long distance events is certainly something that should be explored and, if well supported, may pave the way for future international endurance events which there has been a number of discussions around in the last few years”.

2008, 2011 and 2014 ASBK Champion Glenn Allerton, Next Gen Motorsports, Maxima Oil BMW

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge of a 200km race; it will be a challenge for both the rider and the team to stay strong all the way to the end. It’s something I’ve been wanting for a long time and cannot wait for this race. With the team playing a major role in the race on track, this will add to the pressure on all team members. Cannot wait.”

NextGen BMW have entered
Shane Kinderis, Team Manager Next Gen Motorsports

“Once again, St George MCC is leading the way and Next Gen Motorsports are more than happy to be involved. We are excited at hopefully bringing the rand new BMW M1000RR ro Sydney and showing the fans its capabilities. SMSP being Glenn and Lachlan’s home track, we are really looking forward to the endurance race and are also looking forward to having a 5 Hour team make up of our own crew.”

Oli Bayliss, DesmoSport Ducati

“We finished second in the last endurance event we raced in Sydney, but that was a team event on the 600, so I’m looking forward to testing myself on the Panigale V R. It’s a lot of laps, especially on a superbike, but that’s just another part of the challenge I’m looking forward to.”

DesmoSport Ducati – Oli Bayliss, Mike Jones
2015 and 2019 ASBK Champion, Mike Jones, DesmoSport Ducati

“I’m really looking forward to the Sydney 200! I wrapped up the 2019 ASBK Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park, so I have some incredible memories there on top of it being such a great track to ride, so I cannot wait to get back to the circuit. Our usual races are 16 to 20 laps, depending on the track, so to switch it up for an endurance event is going to be a lot of fun.”

2010 ASBK Champion, Bryan Staring Kawasaki , BC Performance

“Endurance racing will be a new challenge for myself. The Sydney 200 will be that difficult distance where it is not an ultra-endurance race but probably can’t be ridden as a sprint race. The new format excites me as the manufacturers, teams and tyre suppliers will be working from a blank canvas. Seeing a high-quality entry list will increase the anticipation. Cannot wait to get on the line.”

Bryan Staring
Paul Byrne, Suspension Chemistry, Purgetec Pty Ltd

“I’m excited about the Sydney 200 this year; it’s a great addition to the Sydney 5 Hour endurance race by St. George Motorcycle Club. Endurance racing tests a rider, the team and the bike in different ways, that is part of the reason I love it. The format of the 200km race, one rider, one bike offers a completely different challenge that will test the endurance of the rider as well as the durability of the machine. The fitness of the rider, consistent lap times and a well-prepared motorbike is key to a good result. If you want to be the fastest you have to race against the fastest, and I’m pretty sure a lot of the top riders around Australia will come and give it a crack.”

Source: MCNews.com.au

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8 Hours of Oschersleben cancelled | EWC now four rounds

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2021 FIM Endurance World Championship

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.

H Oschersleben FCC TSR Honda France
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 2020
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!”

2021 FIM EWC Calendar (Updated May 1)

2021 FIM EWC Calendar
Round Event Date
Round 1 24 Heures Motos, France 12-13 June
Round 2 12H of Estoril, Portugal 17 July
Round 3 Bol d’Or, France 18-19 September
Round 4 Suzuka 8 Hours, Japan 7 November

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Five-race 2021 Endurance World Championship announced

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The 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship schedule will feature five races spanning five nations, with the season kicking off at Le Mans in France with the 24 Heures Motos in mid-April. 2021 will also see three major races return to the calendar after being postponed in 2020.

Jorge Viegas – President of the FIM

“Once again we will do everything possible to ensure that the FIM Endurance World Championship has a worthy calendar, one that can offer all the protagonists a balanced and exciting competition. Even if the pandemic is not over, the FIM and Eurosport Events are continuing to work tirelessly to deliver an unforgettable show thanks to the ongoing support of the organisers and National Federations in each country.”

Following the last race of the 2019-2020 season in Portugal last September, the 2021 season of the FIM Endurance World Championship will open in France on 17 and 18 April with the 24 Heures Motos at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans.

24 Hours of Le Mans 2020

The 8 Hours of Oschersleben is scheduled for Sunday 23 May in Germany. Then the FIM EWC will once again stage the Suzuka 8 Hours, to be held in Japan on Sunday 18 July just before the start of the Tokyo Olympics.

The Bol d’Or will take place on the Paul Ricard Circuit at Le Castellet in France on 18 and 19 September. As in 2020, the 12 Hours of Estoril wraps up the 2021 season in Portugal. The race will be held on Saturday 16 October at the circuit near Lisbon.

François Ribeiro – Head of Eurosport Events

“We have not put the pandemic behind us as yet, but ensuring the sport’s continuity remains a priority for 2021. Every single race will take place as scheduled whatever the conditions of spectator attendance at the circuits, and the 2021 calendar will help teams keep their costs in check. All of the championship’s big classic races are back to offer fans an exciting show ahead of the first-ever 24H de Spa Motos in June 2022.”

Bol dOr Start
2019 Bol d’Or

2021 FIM EWC Provisional Calendar

Round Location Date
24 Heures Motos/Le Mans France 17-18 April
8 Hours of Oschersleben Germany 23 May
Suzuka 8 Hours Japan 18 July
Bol d’Or (24h)/Le Castellet France 18-19 September
12 Hours of Estoril Portugal 16 October

2021 FIM EWC Provisional Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle Racing, News

Yuki Takahashi joins Josh Hook at F.C.C. TSR Honda

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2021 FIM Endurance World Championship

F.C.C. TSR Honda France announce 2021 team

The F.C.C. TSR Honda France team, of the FIM Endurance World Championship will go into the 2021 season with a new three rider line-up, with Yuki Takahashi joining Australian Josh Hooks and Frenchman Mike di Meglio, with the line-up announced at Suzuka.

Josh Hook on the F.C.C. TSR Honda in France this year

Yuki Takahashi, who caught the eye in the GP250 (5th in 2008) and subsequently in Moto2, has also made his mark in the JSB 1000 Superbike championship (fifth in 2018), and recently won the first All Japan Superstock 1000 title in the new category the Japanese championship introduced in 2020.

Most importantly, Yuki Takahashi has a strong track record in the Suzuka 8 Hours. He climbed the third step of the 2010 Suzuka 8 Hours podium with F.C.C. TSR Honda, and finished second in 2012 in the saddle of Toho Racing with Moriwaki’s Honda. He then continued racing with Moriwaki, regularly finishing in the top 10 at Suzuka.

Yuki Takahashi

“I’m thrilled to join the F.C.C. TSR Honda France team. As a child, my dream was to become world champion. I have MotoGP and World Superbike experience. I’ll do my utmost to become the world champion in the FIM EWC with this team.”

Yuki Takahashi & Masakazu Fujii

Yuki Takahashi has now signed up to be a full-season FIM Endurance World Championship rider alongside another two of the sport’s great champions.

27-year-old Josh Hook, who won the 2017-2018 FIM EWC title with F.C.C. TSR Honda France, stepped onto the Suzuka 8 Hours podium for the Japanese team in both 2015 and 2017.

Josh Hook F.C.C. TSR Honda France

Mike di Meglio is the team’s final rider, and was the GP125 world champion in 2008, not to mention a Moto2 and then MotoGP rider, and has been proven a force to be reckoned with in EWC since 2017.

Josh Hook and Mike di Meglio campaigned the F.C.C. TSR Honda France Fireblade to third in this year’s championship, taking victory at 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as second at the 12 Hours of Estoril, ending the season just six-points off second placed YART, while trailing SERT by 24-points.

The 24 Heures Motos victory in August on the 2020 CBR1000RR-R’s was its maiden outing, with F.C.C. TSR Honda France aiming to reclaim the world title with their new line-up in 2021, on the new machine.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France with new CBR1000RR-R at the 2020 24 Heures Motos
Masakazu Fujii – Team Manager of F.C.C. TSR Honda France

“Yuki Takahashi took part in our tests in Japan before the 24 Heures Motos. This project was not on the cards back then. But you have to make constant progress and try to improve the entire team – the riders, the machine and the technical crew – to win. Yuki Takahashi is an excellent rider, with a personality I relate to and appreciate. This project will further strengthen our East-West collaboration.”

Source: MCNews.com.au

News

YART win 12 Hours of Estoril but SERT clinch FIM Endurance World Championship

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12 Hours of Estoril

2019/2020 FIM Endurance World Championship

The Yamalube YART Yamaha Team have taken victory in the first-ever Estoril 12-Hour after a sublime performance from Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccoló Canepa. The Wojcik Racing Team and Moto AIN team made it a triple celebration for Yamaha on the Estoril podium, with Wojcik finishing third overall and Moto AIN taking the FIM Superstock World Cup race win and 2019/2020 title.

The premier FIM Endurance World Championship crown though went to the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team. SERT won the 2019-2020 Endurance World Championship and are now 16-time title victors with riders Etienne Masson, Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon recorded 416 laps of the Estoril Circuit aboard their GSX-R1000 to cross the finish line in fourth position and claim the season victory by 18 points over runners-up YART.

SERT’s Etienne Masson

At the Estporil 12-Hour YART Yamaha and F.C.C. TSR Honda France battled it out until the last minute of an action-packed race. After a 12-hour thriller, YART Yamaha won the day thanks to riders Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccolò Canepa, with a less-than-25-second lead over F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike di Meglio. Their win is equally a victory for Bridgestone, supplier to these two highly competitive teams.

Josh Hook F.C.C. TSR Honda France

The YART Yamaha squad got their championship-deciding race underway in the hands of Marvin Fritz. The German had a tough start, suffering from a small technical issue, dropping to the back of the field as the pack battled their way into turn one.

The former IDM Superbike champion kept a calm head, quickly making his way through the field, he found himself lying in seventh at the end of the first five minutes. Fritz continued to work his way towards the front, setting an early fastest lap as the track temperature began to rise.

SERT pit stop

As he found his rhythm, Fritz was just out of podium reach after making his way up to fourth. He wasted no time getting past the F.C.C TSR Honda, swooping around the outside at the final corner, finishing the move into turn one, he began to chase after the race leader.

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team

After an impressive first stint, Fritz handed the YART R1 over to Karel Hanika, who instantly began to pile the pressure on the BMW team. However, his opening stint was made a little easier, taking the lead of the race after the BMW Motorrad team crashed out of contention.

Controlling the pace, YART continued to dominate proceedings. Hanika was deep into his second stint when he suffered a small technical issue with his right footrest. Unalarmed, he kept a calm head, alerting the team before pulling in to make the quick repair. With just over four hours on the clock, Niccoló Canepa took over from the Czech rider.

YART ahead of BMW Endurance

As the race approached its half-way mark, YART held a lead of just one second over the F.C.C TSR Honda, with a battle that was set to go down to the wire.

Josh Hook F.C.C. TSR Honda France

As the track temperature continued to rise to 43 degrees, Hanika had a steady start to his next stint, building temperature into his Bridgestone tyres. With just under six hours remaining, there was no room for error in the second-longest race of the season. The Czech rider was quick to settle into his next stint, shadowing the F.C.C TSR Honda team and eventually took the lead back at turn six after losing it briefly on his out lap.

Josh Hook

“We had a good bike throughout the race and we had the pace to win the race. It was definitely hard during the back-to-back stints towards the end. There are definitely some things we have to improve on in the pit lane, because I think this cost us a good chance of winning this race. But we have to be happy with the result, we finished second, our lap times were good and even if it’s not a win it’s a good result. When your bike is amazing, it doesn’t matter where you are. The team has made an amazing job in here and I want to say a big thank you to the team and everybody who was involved. I am already looking forward to next year.”

Josh Hook F.C.C. TSR Honda France

With two-thirds race distance approaching, the pressure was back on YART after their lead was closed down once again. With Fritz back on board, the German held on to the lead at the eight-hour mark, collecting ten further championship points, adding to the five they took for pole position.

YART and FCC TSR Honda

There were more celebrations at the eight-hour mark as the Moto AIN DAFY squad confirmed their FIM Endurance World Cup title thanks to the efforts of Roby Rolfo, Robin Mulhauser and Hugo Clere.

SERT’s Xavier Simeon

Back at the front, Hanika ran into further issues, experiencing another problem with his right footrest. Both YART and Hanika were quick to fix the problem and continued to lap comfortably in the low 1:40’s as the sun began to set on the Estoril track.

With two hours remaining, YART Yamaha found themselves in a battle for the lead once again, with two different strategies for the leading two teams. However, YART used their experience to time their final pit stop to perfection, with Fritz pitting for a splash and dash nine minutes before the end of the race, securing the victory by 24.5 seconds.

SERT’s Gregg Black

Unfortunately for the team, despite a clean sweep, it wasn’t enough to take the world championship, finishing the ultra-competitive 2019/2020 EWC season in second overall, 18 points adrift of eventual winners, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.

The Wojcik Yamaha Team had a strong race, running inside the top five throughout the 12-hours to take an overall third place, joining YART on the podium. Meanwhile, Moto AIN rode to an impressive eighth place, taking the World Cup race win and the 2019/2020 crown.

12 Hours of Estoril

Another strong result saw Yamaha crowned manufacturers champions, picking up 237 points across the 2019/2020 FIM Endurance World Championship season.

Mandy Kainz: Team Manager, Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Team

“On paper, it looked clear; I don’t think we’ve ever dominated like this before. From free practice to night practice, qualifying and warm-up, we were dominating the field, but it wasn’t an easy race. It was a mixed race, with some bad luck and some luck on our side, it shows once again how unpredictable Endurance is. But in the end, we did what we wanted to do, we took maximum points, and came close to winning the championship. We once again showed the potential of the team, the new R1 and the Bridgestone tyres. The team did an amazing job; we were on top in every session; everything was perfect. It was a hard battle with Honda, but in the end, we came out on top!”

YART won the 12 Hours of Estoril

VRD Igol Pierret Experiences were 5th at the finish after a 12-hour battle with the factory teams. In the saddle of the Yamaha 333, Florian Alt, Florian Marino and Nico Terol finished ahead of Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar and BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. The Kawasaki team lost out on a podium due to a broken chain. After leading at the start of the race, the factory BMW team powered back up through the field to 7th place overall following a crash.

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team

The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team had spent over an hour at the head of the field, before things took a turn for the worse. Hickman skidded and crashed in a left-hander. He was able to continue, but the relatively minor crash caused such severe damage to the bike that it required a long stop for repairs. That saw the #37 bike drop back to 19th place, eight laps behind the leaders. As the race progressed, the trio of Reiterberger, Foray and Hickman set about gradually working their way back through the field. After 12 hours, the #37 crossed the finish line in seventh place.

World Champions – SERT

The 2019/20 season, which started one year ago at Le Castellet, had been reduced to four races as a result of the coronavirus. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team claimed its first podium against the top-class world championship field with third place at the opening round. The next podium came in the second race in mid-December at Sepang (MAS), courtesy of another third place. After a break, the season resumed at Le Mans (FRA) at the end of August. Shortly before the finish, the team crashed out whilst running fifth. Seventh place at the finale in Estoril means the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team ends its debut season in sixth place overall.

Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director

“It is obviously disappointing at first, when you suffer such a set-back whilst leading the race. We had our sights set on a top finish and saw that we had the potential to achieve that. However, these things happen in racing. Neither the team nor the riders buried their heads in the sand after that incident. Instead, they battled and gave it their all right through to the finish. Although we did not get the result we were after at the finale, you have to look at the big picture. It was our first season in FIM EWC, with its very strong field, and we had little preparation time before our first outing at the Bol d’Or one year ago. We have twice finished on the podium in this season’s four races, and were extremely competitive at the other two events. In addition, we were able to prove the reliability of our RR at the Le Mans 24-hour race as well as at the 12-hour race at Estoril, even if we lost strong positions there due to riding mistakes. That is overall not a bad record for us as ‘rookies’. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and the BMW S 1000 RR have established themselves among the best in the world at the first attempt. I would like to say a big thank you to Werner Daemen, Steven Casaer and the entire team for the hard and highly-professional work they have put in this season. We achieved a very high standard in our first year, which gives us an outstanding basis for our second season in FIM EWC. Congratulations to our tyre partner Dunlop who won the title with SERT. We will start a new attempt to fight for the title in the coming season.”

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team

Two high profile-teams were forced to retire due to crashes: ERC Endurance (Ducati) dropped out in the very first hour while Bolliger Team Switzerland (Kawasaki) retired in the fourth hour. National Motos dropped out of the rankings a little over 6 hours into the race following an engine issue. The privateer Honda fielded by the eponymous Paris dealership had been running a fine race in the Top 15 with only two riders, Stéphane Egea and Guillaume Antiga.

Hanspeter Bolliger was awarded the Anthony Delhalle EWC Spirit Trophy to honour his 38-year passion for endurance racing and the final race of his career at Estoril.

12 Hours of Estoril Results

Pos Team Bike Class Time
1 YART – YAMAHA Yamaha EWC 12:01m03.931
2 F.C.C. TSR Honda France Honda EWC 12:01m28.455
3 Wójcik Racing Team Yamaha EWC 12:01m23.070
4 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Suzuki EWC 12:01m47.759
5 VRD IGOL PIERRET EXPERIENCES Yamaha EWC 12:01m40.622
6 WEBIKE SRC KAWASAKI FRANCE TRICKSTAR Kawasaki EWC 12:01m40.503
7 BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM BMW EWC 12:02m46.581
8 TEAM MOTO AIN Yamaha SST 12:01m40.161
9 Team LRP Poland BMW EWC 12:02m25.680
10 3ART BEST OF BIKE Yamaha EWC 12:02m39.305
11 Team Aviobike Yamaha SST 12:01m59.377
12 Wójcik Racing Team 2 Yamaha SST 12:02m29.395
13 JMA MOTOS ACTION BIKE Suzuki SST 12:01m42.197
14 No Limits Motor Team Suzuki SST 12:01m44.575
15 ARTEC Kawasaki SST 12:02m12.295
16 MACO RACING Team Yamaha EWC 12:01m45.442
17 LCR ENDURANCE Yamaha SST 12:01m08.862
18 British Endurance Racing Team Suzuki EWC 12:01m48.473
19 Motobox Kremer Racing #65 Yamaha EWC 12:02m33.422
20 National Motos Honda EWC 06:27m22.716
21 Team Bolliger Switzerland Kawasaki EWC 03:06m53.849
22 PITLANE ENDURANCE Yamaha SST 00:58m49.110
23 ERC-Endurance Ducati EWC 00:10m50.937

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle Racing, News

Josh Hook wins 24 Hours of Le Mans with F.C.C. TSR Honda

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24 Hours of Le Mans 2020

Endurance World Championship

The Japanese-backed F.C.C. TSR Honda France team have clinched victory at Le Mans, ahead of Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar and Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, with SERT continuing to lead the championship standings with a 40-point lead.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France top the 24 Hours of Le Mans from SRC KAWASAKI France and SERT
F.C.C. TSR Honda France top the 24 Hours of Le Mans from SRC KAWASAKI France and SERT

Three different constructors and three different tyre manufacturers stood on the 2020 24 Heures Motos podium. Bridgestone-shod F.C.C. TSR Honda France notched up their second win at Le Mans with riders Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike di Meglio.

The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans kicks off
The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans kicks off

At the end of the first eight hours of the 43rd edition of the 24 Heures Motos, F.C.C. TSR Honda France were still holding on to first place and scored the 10 bonus points awarded after the first third of the race. The team spent the whole night at the front of the pack, maintaining the lead over their rivals, to collect a further 10-point bonus at the end of the 16th hour. During the night, Di Meglio even set the race lap record with 1’36.985. The trio of riders did not make any mistakes during this picture-perfect race and eventually crossed the line taking the chequered flag to win the 24-hour race.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France
F.C.C. TSR Honda France

Making their first outing on the track using Michelin tyres, Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar defended their second place to the last thanks to Jérémy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa. They finished one lap ahead of Dunlop-shod Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Etienne Masson, Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon), who held second on hour four, before settling into third overnight.

Unfortunately, two hours from the finish, Black was involved in a collision with a lapped rider and needed to come into the pits for a quick repair and after five minutes, the team – headed by Damien Saulnier – was back on track in third position; a position they held until the flag.

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team
Suzuki Endurance Racing Team

Following a crash early on in the race, YART Yamaha pushed hard to get back into the leading pack. Throughout the night, YART were the quickest team on track, taking advantage of the grip provided by the Bridgestone slicks in the cooler, dry conditions. Chasing down fourth position, Hanika powered through a wet Sunday morning before Canpea took over as the track dried out, closing the gap to BMW in fourth, catching and passing them with just over three hours to go.

YART’s podium chances were reignited with two hours remaining after a crash for the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, who were running second at the time. Despite the best efforts of the Czech rider, he couldn’t match the pace of the repaired Suzuki, who strapped on the dry tyres while Hanika was still on wets. YART Yamaha turned their attention to bringing the bike home in fourth, which they were able to successfully do. YART’s Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccolò Canepa finished in fourth place, five laps behind the winners.

YART Yamaha
YART Yamaha

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, solidly anchored in fifth place, lost their position after Ilya Mykhalchyk crashed at the tail end of the race. The factory BMW team were unable to cross the finish line and therefore not classified. The late-stage drama enabled F.C.C. TSR Honda France to shoot up to second place in the provisional championship standings.

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team

It also benefited VRD Igol Pierret Experiences, who inherited fifth place, ahead of 3ART Best of Bike and Polish team Wójcik Racing Team, which included Australian Broc Parkes alongside Gino Rea and Axel Maurin – who became winners of the EWC Dunlop Independent Trophy.

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team now leads the standings from F.C.C. TSR Honda France, with Yamalube Yamaha EWC Official Team by YART third overall.

As a result of the fickle weather and constantly changing track conditions, the teams were under pressure for the entire 24 hours of this year’s race. Stray showers in the final stages of the race forced the teams into some chancy tyre strategy.

24 Hours of Le Mans 2020
24 Hours of Le Mans 2020

The race also threw the FIM Endurance Championship open. Five of the six factory teams are grouped together at the top of the provisional standings with less than a month to go for the final, which will play out on Saturday 26 September at the 12 Hours of Estoril in Portugal.

Ducati is missing from that group, despite some great performances by Team ERC Endurance all weekend long. The German team did their utmost to stay within striking reach of the leading pack at Le Mans. But they ran into a number of problems, running out of fuel, crashing more than once and experiencing technical issues, ultimately withdrawing at the end of the night with an electrical problem.

A BMW team won for the first time this season by dint of running a flawless race in the Superstock class with riders Stefan Kerschbaumer, Lucy Glöckner and Toni Finsterbusch. GERT56 by GS Yuasa’s win ahead of No Limits Motor Team and Moto Ain also throws open the FIM Superstock World Cup. Moto Ain, who finished on the podium despite multiple crashes, still top the provisional standings, but the points gaps are narrower on the eve of the final at Estoril.

GERT56 by GS Yuasa’s win ahead of No Limits Motor Team and Moto Ain in the Superstock
GERT56 by GS Yuasa’s win ahead of No Limits Motor Team and Moto Ain in the Superstock

Two other teams in this category lost their chance at the overall win. BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers and Wójcik Racing Team withdrew after several crashes.

The only Aprilia-mounted team, local squad and 24 Heures Motos regular Aprilia Le Mans 2 Roues, were given the Anthony Delhalle EWC Spirit Trophy. After Nelson Major crashed, Eddy Dupuy and Marco Boué pushed on throughout the night as a two-man team to keep Aprilia in the race. The Aprilia #15 crossed the finish line in 27th place with Nelson Major making a comeback to take the pressure off his teammates. Their combative spirit won them the trophy launched in memory of Anthony Delhalle.

Josh Hook – F.C.C. TSR Honda France – P1

“It was an unbelievable race! We headed in this weekend with the new bike, the team had only few months to prepare it and we arrived here and got the job done. The new Honda Fireblade SP is amazing, straight out of the box it’s already competitive and surprised us all, riders and team, because we went faster on that bike than on any other bike directly. We kept on improving the bike and we arrived in Le Mans with a bike that was able to win the race, and we knew that from the start. A massive thank you to the team and our partners that worked so hard to get this new bike up and running. They deserve this victory and I’m happy that Freddy, Mike and myself were able to do it!”

F.C.C. TSR Honda France
F.C.C. TSR Honda France
Freddy Foray – F.C.C. TSR Honda France

“When you look back, you realise that the Fireblade made its first steps and won the race today. I just want to say a big thank you to this team for achieving an incredible performance because at the start of the week we didn’t know what to expect from a bike that started from scratch. Sharing this with the team and my teammates is fantastic too. I would like to congratulate Mike for riding really well and also Josh who was injured and made it through to the end. This is the second win we’ve shared here with the team and it’s great. A few weeks ago we didn’t even know if it would be possible to race because of the sanitary situation and today we are in Le Mans and we won the race, it’s just magic!”

Mike Di Meglio – F.C.C. TSR Honda France

“It was a crazy race! Right from the start I thought that the race pace would be much faster, and as we were starting from a new machine I was ready to accept to let my rivals go. I made a good start and I was second behind Gregg Black, who I quickly overtook at the end of the first lap, and then I started to ride with my own pace. I was quite surprised to see that I was able to build up a gap so I calmed things down a bit during the first stint. When a few competitors started to make mistakes with the tricky conditions, we chose to stay focused on our pace. Then during the night, I started to understand how the bike worked and to have fun with it, and I set quite good lap times. The team did a really fantastic job on the new Fireblade SP, we trained as much as we could during the whole Covid period and we won in the end, that’s great.”

Damien Saulnier (Team Manager) – Suzuki Endurance Racing Team – P3

“For sure, we are always aiming for victory but after this very complicated race, with changing weather conditions and many twists and turns, I’m really satisfied with this third place, especially since it’s a great deal for us in the championship. We are still leading the championship but it’s not over yet. There is still one race left and in Endurance you never know what can happen until you cross the finish line! Once again, I would like to thank all the technical staff and the riders for the great work they did. I am very proud of them. I would also like to thank the ACO and Eurosport Events for the organisation of this event in a complex sanitary context. And last but not least, a big thank you to our sponsors for their strong support despite the difficult year that we have all experienced.”

Karel Hanika – YART Yamaha EWC Official Team – P4

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow. We were, of course, aiming to be higher in the standings. I’m very sorry for the crash in my first stint. I felt good on the bike, and when the rain came, I didn’t feel like I was pushing, but when I arrived at the corner, there was more water than I expected and slipped off breaking the handlebar. We lost a lot of time, but from there we did our best, each rider was strong and the team did a great job. We were the fastest on the track, we could do 1:37s, but in the end, we did well to come back to P4 – not the podium we were hoping four but got good points. We are still able to fight for the championship in Estoril, but it’s tough to go to Portugal with no trophy here in Le Mans. I want to thank the team for standing by me, it’s my first crash in an Endurance race, but we all stuck together and did our best to recover. Bridgestone supported us a lot, Yamaha has made a great bike, so I thank everyone in our team, and we can bounce back stronger in Estoril.”

Broc Parkes – Wójcik Racing Team – P7

“We got it! Team 77 after 793 laps finish the legendary 24 Heures Motos race in a great seventh place! We also won the Dunlop Trophy. Unfortunately, after 14 hours of the competition due to the failure, the Polish National Team fell off 🇵🇱 777, but the boys also showed an amazing class. Thank you! See you in four weeks in Estoril at the FIM EWC final.”

24 Heures Motos – 24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Pos Team Man. Total Time Gap
1 F.C.C. TSR Honda France Honda 24:00:57.502 –
2 WEBIKE SRC KAWASAKI France TRICKSTAR Kawasaki 24:02:33.761 +2 Lp.
3 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Suzuki 24:02:16.192 +3 Lp.
4 YART – YAMAHA Yamaha 24:00:57.952 +5 Lp.
5 VRD IGOL PIERRET EXPERIENCES Yamaha 24:01:22.949 +17 Lp.
6 3ART BEST OF BIKE Yamaha 24:01:31.651 +22 Lp.
7 Wójcik Racing Team Yamaha 24:01:56.358 +23 Lp.
8 GERT56 by GS YUASA BMW 24:01:25.036 +30 Lp.
9 No Limits Motor Team Suzuki 24:02:38.348 +33 Lp.
10 TEAM MOTO AIN Yamaha 24:01:35.646 +35 Lp.
11 MACO RACING Team Yamaha 24:02:31.068 +35 Lp.
12 Team 33 Coyote Louit Moto Kawasaki 24:00:57.532 +37 Lp.
13 Motobox Kremer Racing #65 Yamaha 24:01:16.290 +42 Lp. 
14 Team LRP Poland BMW 24:01:15.464 +46 Lp.
15 JMA MOTOS ACTION BIKE Suzuki 24:01:28.446 +47 Lp.
16 OG MOTORSPORT BY SARAZIN Yamaha 24:00:58.400 +50 Lp.
17 AM Moto Racing Competition Kawasaki 24:00:57.755 +51 Lp.
18 Slider Endurance Yamaha 24:00:59.403 +51 Lp.
19 Junior Team Suzuki LMS Suzuki 24:01:02.702 +60 Lp.
20 Tati Team Beaujolais Racing Kawasaki 24:01:19.602 +61 Lp.
21 Team Bolliger Switzerland Kawasaki 24:02:32.660 +61 Lp.
22 Falcon Racing Rennes Motos Yamaha 24:02:50.441 +62 Lp.
23 Dunlop Motors Events Suzuki 24:02:05.843 +70 Lp.
24 ENERGIE ENDURANCE 91 Kawasaki 24:01:03.985 +75 Lp.
25 British Endurance Racing Team Suzuki 24:03:15.523 +75 Lp.
26 Aprilia Le Mans 2 Roues Aprilia 24:01:03.067 +85 Lp.
27 Moto Sport Endurance Yamaha 24:02:38.731 +88 Lp.
28 TEAM 202 Yamaha 24:01:03.683 +96 Lp.
29 ATLANTIC RACING TEAM Honda 24:01:04.140 +128 Lp.
30 TEAM RACING 85 Kawasaki 24:01:46.649 +140 Lp.

2020 Endurance World Championship Standings

Pos Team Man. Nat. Points.
1 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Suzuki FRA 127
2 F.C.C. TSR Honda France Honda JPN 87
3 Yamalube Yamaha EWC Official Team by YART Yamaha AUT 82
4 BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM BMW BEL 82
5 TEAM SRC KAWASAKI FRANCE Kawasaki FRA 80
6 Wójcik Racing Team Yamaha POL 70
7 VRD IGOL PIERRET EXPERIENCES Yamaha FRA 62
8 3ART BEST OF BIKE Yamaha FRA 62
9 MACO RACING Team Yamaha SVK 46
10 Tati Team Beaujolais Racing Kawasaki FRA 35
11 Team Bolliger Switzerland Kawasaki SUI 30
12 Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA Honda JPN 28
13 Team LRP Poland BMW POL 27
14 TECMAS BMW GMC BMW FRA 26
15 National Motos Honda FRA 22
16 Yamaha Sepang Racing Yamaha MAS 20
17 BMW Sepang Racing BMW MAS 14
18 ERC-Endurance Ducati GER 14
19 Motobox Kremer Racing #65 Yamaha GER 13
20 SUZUKI JEG – KAGAYAMA Suzuki ESP 12
21 TEAM PLUSONE BMW JPN 11
22 MOTOTECH EWC TEAM Yamaha BEL 11
23 British Endurance Racing Team Suzuki GBR 11
24 Team R2CL Suzuki FRA 10
25 Zuff Racing Honda Swiss Team Honda SUI 8
26 Bertl K. Racing Team BMW AUT 8
27 FSB MATT RACING Yamaha POR 6
28 Team Kodama Yamaha JPN 5
29 KRP SANYOKOUGYOU & will raise RS-ITOH Kawasaki JPN 4
30 EMRT Yamaha FRA 4

Source: MCNews.com.au

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YART Yamaha take pole for Le Mans 24 Hours

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Le Mans 24 Hours Qualifying

YART Yamaha picked up pole position ahead of BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and Suzuki Endurance Racing Team. In Superstock, Team 33 Coyote Louit Moto beat Moto Ain by a whisker to the best starting position.

YART will start from pole

YART Yamaha claimed pole position thanks to a very consistent team. All three riders – Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccolò Canepa – came in under the 1:37 mark on a lap of the Bugatti circuit. The Austrian factory Yamaha has dominated the proceedings at Le Mans since yesterday, and will start the 24 Heures Motos from pole at midday on Saturday.

Team BMW

That said, the day’s best performance can be chalked up, not to YART Yamaha, but to BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. Markus Reiterberger posted the fastest qualifying lap, a 1:36.164. The BMW factory team (Kenny Foray, Ilya Mikhalchik and Markus Reiterberger) will take second position on the grid.

Markus Reiterberger set the fastest individual time across the whole entry list

The leader of the provisional standings, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Etienne Masson, Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon), will start from 3rd just ahead of F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike di Meglio.

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team – Gregg Black

It could be a tricky race for the Japanese Honda team, as Josh Hook was injured during practice but is expected to be allowed to race. The Honda #5 is ahead of ERC Endurance’s factory Ducati in the hands of Randy de Puniet, Julien da Costa and Louis Rossi.

Josh Hook

VRD Igol Pierret Experiences once again managed to slip in among the favourites. In the saddle of the Yamaha #333, Florian Alt, Florian Marino and Mathieu Gines will start from 6th place on the grid ahead of reigning champions Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar.  The Kawasaki squad are without their team manager Gilles Stafler, currently recovering after a heart attack, and still getting to grips with their new Michelin tyres.

Three ambitious teams make up the rest of the Top 10 after qualifying: Tati Team Beaujolais Racing, Wójcik Racing Team and National Motos.  Australian Broc Parkes is part of the Wójcik Racing Team and reported that he was caught up in traffic while looking to set a time on soft tyres and will start from ninth on the grid.

Team 33 Coyote Louit Moto (Kawasaki), the fastest Superstock team, will start from 11th place ahead of Moto Ain (Yamaha), the provisional leader in class, and GERT56 by GS Yuasa (BMW).

YART will start from pole

Source: MCNews.com.au