Honda Racing heads to Le Mans for the opening round of the Endurance World Championship

Honda’s Endurance specialists Freddy Foray, Julien Da Costa and Sébastien Gimbert are in Le Mans and ready for the opening round of the Endurance World Championship.

On Monday and Tuesday, the riders were allowed to go out on track in Le Mans for the private practice sessions. Honda Racing’s test went even better than the pre-Le Mans test earlier in April – the team’s performances were stronger. Julien Da Costa had a crash at the end of Tuesday but luckily walked away uninjured.

The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP passed scrutineering successfully in the morning, but the team’s mechanics keep working hard on the bike to get everything prepared before the first official free practice session on Thursday.

Then, the team will take part into the first qualifying sessions for all the riders and finally the night practice session in the evening. This will enable the team to focus on its strategy for the race.

The second qualifying session will be on Friday morning and the combination of all the qualifying sessions will define the starting grid.

With very good fuel consumption and good performance from the Dunlop tires on the Bugatti circuit, Honda Racing is confident ahead of the start of the 38th edition of the 24h Motos in Le Mans on Saturday 18 April at 15:00.

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Neil Tuxworth

Our aim is to win the race, that’s why we are here – or at the worst we want to be on the podium, but of course the important thing for the whole team is to first finish the race. We were really disappointed last year in this race; at the first race of the year we led for 21 hours and then broke down, so we don’t want this to happen again. We are better prepared than last year, there are some areas in which we still have some concerns as all teams, but we are certainly one of the strongest teams in the race.

Sebastien Gimbert

The first positive point for now is the warm and sunny weather; we have to make the most of it because it is quite rare in Le Mans. The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP is really performing since the pre-Le Mans test; this bike is easy to ride, agile and good at all levels, it has no negative part. There’s a lot of harmony between the three riders regarding the bike’s set-up as well as in our day-to-day relationships.

Tomorrow we’ll keep on working on the race set-up more than on the qualifying because our main goal is the championship – we have to provide ourselves with the means to make a good race if we want to win the championship.

Freddy Foray

There are lots of positive points after these first two days in Le Mans, we improved many things on the bike since the last test in Le Mans and the Honda is now really easy to ride. I hope that the next two days will confirm in a positive way what has already been tested since the beginning of the week. We still have work to do, but if we keep on working in the same direction, I think that we’ll be perfectly able to end up with a good result on Sunday afternoon.

Julien Da Costa

The team continues to work in line with the pre-Le Mans test, the bike’s set-up is better and better, it suits well all riders and even though I had a little crash yesterday, I think that we are all in a good rhythm for the race. We have a very good feeling on the bike as compared to last year. Tomorrow, we won’t work to get the pole position; we prefer to focus on our race configuration for the 24 hours. 

More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com:

Gareth Jones (AUS) to replace injured Bastien Mackels at Le Mans 24 hours

Le Mans, France. Australian Gareth Jones will replace the injured Bastien Mackels in the BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com’s FIM World Endurance Championship at the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans this weekend.

Mackels crashed during a test session for his German Championship efforts at Zolder, Belgium, last week and came away with a broken elbow and hand. Mackels had to undergo a surgery on his injuries but intends to be at Le Mans and support his BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com beside the track.

Jones is a multiple podium finisher in the German Superbike Championship and already has got quite some Endurance success under his belt. The 28 year old Australian from Canungra, Queensland, was the first rider in the world to have a race track glimpse of the then brand new BMW HP4 in 2012. Jones is know as a fast and reliable rider with great technical and development skills and will join the BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com squad for the 24 hours of Le Mans.

The team also has named its fourth rider for the season opener of the 2015 FIM Endurance World Championship at Le Mans the upcoming weekend (18./19. Apr.): It will be 22 year old Karel Pesek from Czech Republic.

Bastien Mackels

Rider

“What can I say, I am gutted. I crashed at a test with my IDM team at Zolder, Belgium, and broke my elbow and hand. The surgery has gone well, the doctors are satisfied and I have to rest for about six weeks. It’s a shame because I will not only miss the 24 hours of Le Mans but also the first race of the German Superbike Championship. I am so sad I can’t ride at Le Mans, I was really fit and ready for the challenge. Considering how the next days will be, I intend to come to Le Mans and cross my finger on site for my BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com guys.”

Gareth Jones

Rider

“I am excited to have the opportunity to race in Le Mans again, especially with BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com and on the brand new BMW S 1000 RR. This bike and team have proven results and excelled last year. I look forward to being on a competitive bike and I intend to make the most of it. Of course the circumstances are not those you want, as Bastien got injured in a test crash. I really hope he will be fit very soon and can back on his bikes.”

Rico Penzkofer

Team Principal

“First of all myself and the whole team want to send our best wishes to Bastien wishing him a speedy recovery. We hope to see him back on track very soon. Of course it was kind of a shock for us with just a couple of days to go to the season opener at Le Mans and the 24 hours race there. But we also have full faith in Gareth, he is quick and safe and knows what Endurance is about. I think we are still going to be competitive in that first race of the year and can aim high.”