New elements for the 2008 season The 2008 Qtel FIM World Endurance Championship will start next weekend with the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sixty-two teams will be ready to go from Thursday for the free practice testing on the Bugatti racetrack, but only fifty-six machines will be entered after the qualifying sessions. With a new season come new rules. The Qtel FIM World Endurance Championship 2008 will open two distinctive classes. Teams entering the Formula EWC Class will compete for the Endurance World Championship, while the FIM World Cup will crown machines competing in the Superstock class. Prototype bikes are allowed to race in the Open class, but they do not score points for the championship. New Formula EWC rules are more or less the same as previous Superproduction class, allowing drastic changes on the chassis and the fitting of quick wheel changing devices. The Formula EWC also allows a certain level of engine preparation (cylinder head, camshaft and gearbox…). On the track, Formula EWC bikes can be recognised by their white racing number on a black background. Thirty-four teams, amongst them fourteen as permanent teams, will be entering this class in Le Mans with the target of clinching the 2008 FIM Qtel World Endurance Champion title. Superstock motorcycles must stay very close to production machines. Neither engine modifications nor quick wheel changing devices are allowed. On the track, Superstock machines have their racing number put over a red background. Twenty-four teams, amongst them five permanents, will enter at Le Mans and at the end of the season the best of them will receive the FIM World Cup. Teams will score points at every event in both classes. Next weekend at Le Mans, thirty-five points will reward the winners of both Formula EWC and Superstock. No doubt that the competition will be very close in Formula EWC. 2007 event winner and World Champion Suzuki Endurance Racing Team is obviously one of the favourites for this edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, but the competition keeps getting stronger. Official teams Yamaha France GMT 94 and Team Kawasaki France will be highly competitive, but semi-official team Honda National Moto might also have some word to say. Amongst permanent teams, Yamaha Austria Racing Team, Phase One Endurance, Endurance Moto 38, Bolliger Team Switzerland, Maco Moto Racing Team with their three new riders, YMES Folch Endurance or Midi Pyrénées MV Agusta Racing can create a surprise. We’ll have a first taste of the 2008 hierarchy as from Thursday, April 17th, after the first free practice and qualifying sessions. Friday morning, the second qualifying session will decide the starting grid, with the average lap times of each of the three riders. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the opportunity to be closer to the men and the machines that will enter the first of the six events of the Qtel FIM World Endurance Championship cannot be missed: the pits will be open to the public on Friday 18th from 5 to 8 pm. The 24 Hours of Le Mans will start on Saturday 19th at 3 pm. *2008 Calendar* *Date Country Event* April 19th & 20th France Le Mans 24 H May 10th Spain Albacete 6 H July 27th Japan Suzuka 8 H August 9th Germany Oschersleben 8 H September 13th & 14th France Bol d’Or 24 H November 8th Qatar Doha/Losail 8 H