FIM Endurance World Championship Bol d’Or 24 Hours Magny-Cours, France April 18, 2013 Combined Free Practice Results: 1. SRC KAWASAKI (Greg LEBLANC/Loris BAZ/Jeremy GUARNONI/N. SALCHAUD), Kaw ZX-10R, Superbike, 1:40.619 2. SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM (Vincent PHILIPPE/Anthony DELHALLE/Julien DA COSTA/Alex CUDLIN), SUZUKI GSX-R1000, Superbike, 1:41.012 3. BMW Motorrad France Thevent (Karl MUGGERIDGE/Sebastien GIMBERT/Sylvain BARRIER/Jake ZEMKE), BMW S1000RR, Superbike, 1:41.618 4. YAMAHA France – GMT94 – Michelin Yamalube (David CHECA/Kenny FORAY/Matthieu LAGRIVE/Maxime BERGER), YAMAHA YZF-R1, Suprbike, 1:41.636 5. MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA – YART (Igor JERMAN/Broc PARKES/Sheridan MORAIS/Marko JERMAN), YAMAHA YZF-R1, Superbike, 1:42.483 6. NATIONAL MOTOS (Gregory JUNOD/Thomas METRO/Olivier FOUR/David PERRET), HONDA CBR1000RR, Superbike, 1:42.804 7. TEAM 18 SAPEURS-POMPIERS (Stephane MOLINIER/Lucas DE CAROLIS/David BRIERE), KAWASAKI ZX-10R, Superbike, 1:43.067 8. PENZ13.COM FRANKS AUTOWELT RACING TEAM (Pedro VALLCANERAS/Jason PRIDMORE/Hayato TAKADA/Steve MERCER), BMW S1000RR, Superstock, 1:43.402 9. TEAM R2CL (Dylan BUISSON/Guillaume DIETRICH/Gwen GIABBANI), SUZUKI GSX-R1000, Superbike, 1:43.422 10. HONDA TT LEGENDS (John MCGUINESS/Michael RUTTER/Simon ANDREWS/Michael DUNLOP), HONDA CBR1000RR, Superbike, 1:43.624 More, from a press release issued by FIM Endurance Press Office: SRC Kawasaki leads in Bol d’Or free practice Ahead of SERT and BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent SRC Kawasaki has decided to make its mark right from the start. In this morning’s free practice, the official ZX-10R ridden by Gregory Leblanc, Loris Baz, Jérémy Guarnoni and Nicolas Salchaud was the fastest in this first head-to-head on the track at Magny Cours. With a best lap time of 1’40.619, SRC Kawasaki squeaked ahead of the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (1’41.619) with Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle, Julien Da Costa and Alex Cudlin. The Kawasaki, winner of both the Bol d’Or and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012, is therefore leading its rivals going into this afternoon’s qualifying session. Third in the free practice in under a second behind the Kawasaki, BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent has to contend with two new riders, Karl Muggeridge and Jake Zemke, who are riding the S1000RR for the first time alongside Sébastien Gimbert and Sylvain Barrier. Hard on their heels on the clock is Yamaha France GMT 94 Michelin Yamalube with David Checa, Kenny Foray, Matthieu Lagrive and Maxime Berger. With a crew rejigged at the last minute after an injury for Josh Waters, Monster Energy Yamaha YART nevertheless managed the fifth fastest lap time. The Austrian Yamaha will be ridden by Igor Jerman, Broc Parkes, Sheridan Morais and Marko Jerman. Honda National Motos (Gregory Junod, Thomas Metro, Olivier Four and David Perret) and Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers (Stéphane Molinier, Lucas de Carolis and David Brière) on Kawasaki are already up with the pack just ahead of the first Superstock, the BMW of Penz13.com Racing Team, a serious contender for the Superstock win with Pedro Vallcaneras, Jason Pridmore, Hayato Takada and Steve Mercer. The first qualifying practice session will begin this afternoon at 17 h 10 on the Magny-Cours circuit in chilly conditions under an overcast sky. Follow the race on Saturday 20 April from 15 h (GMT +2) on FIM-LIVE.COM with “LIVE TIMING”, tweets and pics on http://live.fim-live.com/fr/timelines/bol-dor-france More, from a press release issued by Honda TT Legends: EWC gets underway with the 77th Bol d’Or 24-hour The 2013 World Endurance Championship gets underway this weekend with the 77th Bol d’Or 24-hour race at Magny Cours in France. The Honda TT Legends team attends the iconic event with its new four-strong rider line-up of John McGuinness, Simon Andrews, Michael Rutter and Michael Dunlop. McGuinness is no stranger to the Bol d’Or having taken part with the Honda TT Legends for the past two years and Andrews tackled the race in 2012 when the team placed sixth. Both Rutter and Dunlop are new to endurance racing, but will be looking to impress on their first outing with the Honda TT Legends. All four riders will take part in qualifying today and Friday before three are selected to race on Saturday. With some significant updates to the CBR1000RR Fireblade race machine, including a new electronics system, the team is well prepared and ready to take on one of the world’s toughest motorcycle races. The Bol d’Or begins at 15.00 CEST on Saturday 20 April. John McGuinness I’m feeling good. It’s our third year here at the 24-hour race and I’m looking forward to it, I’m excited. We finished fifth the first year and sixth last year, so this year I’d love to get on the podium. I think we deserve it! We’ve got some new electronics on the bike and a few different people in the team – some really strong and experienced riders – so it’s all good. After a long, cold winter in the UK it’s nice to be here, whizzing round on the bike in the sunshine. We’ll just see what the weekend brings and hopefully we can bring the bike home safe, standing on the steps. Simon Andrews I can’t believe it’s a year since we were here last. Things have changed – we’ve got new electronics, a few changes in the team, a couple of new riders. It’s good to have Rutter and Dunlop on board and have a couple of new minds working on the project. I’m a lot fitter than I was this time last year and I know what to expect this time, so that will all help. We had our first run on the bike yesterday in good weather, and so far, so good. We’re all happy. Michael Rutter I was feeling quite good until I spoke to everyone else and they told me what to expect! It’s daunting to know that you’ve got to do 24 hours, especially through the night as I’ve never been out in the dark before. It’s all completely new but to be honest yesterday’s free practice was really good, the bike went well and we’ve got time to get a few more laps in before the race. Michael Dunlop It’s obviously my first time at an endurance race and it’s Rutter’s first time too so we’re trying to get as much track time in as possible before the race. It’s all looking good so far and we’ll get the qualifying done and see who’s going to be racing, that’s the main thing. It will be interesting to see who ends up in the line-up. I’d love to race, it’d be great to have a 24-hour race on the CV but we’ll see what happens. For news, blogs and real-time updates: Follow @HondaTTLegends on Twitter Visit www.HondaTTLegends.com Subscribe to www.youtube.com/HondaRacingEurope Bol d’Or practice and race schedule Thursday 18 April 11.30 – 12.30 Free practice 17.10 – 19.00 Qualifying 1 (30 minutes per rider) 21.00 – 22.00 Night practice Friday 19 April 12.20 – 14.10 Qualifying 2 (30 minutes per rider) 18.50 – 21.00 Pit walk Saturday 20 April 10.30 – 11.15 Warm up 12.35 – 14.15 Pit walk 15.00 Race begins Sunday 21 April 15.00 Race ends More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Defending World Endurance Champions SERT started free practice for the opening round of the 2013 series in second place at Magny Cours today at the 77th Bol d’Or. Team riders Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and newcomer Julien Da Coster – the fastest rider on the French-team’s GSX-1000 – was just knocked off the top position by SRC Kawasaki. Third fastest was BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent ahead of the Yamaha France GMT 94 Michelin Yamalube. The fastest Superstock team today was Junior Team Suzuki LMS, who came back to take sixth place on the provisional grid ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha YART, while Yamaha DG Sport Herock fought its way into eighth ahead of team Honda TT Legends. The second qualifying practice session will start tomorrow morning at 11:00hrs (local time) to deterime the starting grid for the 51 teams in the race that starts at 15:00hrs on Saturday. Bol d’Or Free Practice: 1 SRC Kawasaki (Kawasaki) 1:39.744, 2 SERT (Suzuki GSX-R100) 1:40.135, 3 BMW Motorrad (BMW) 1:40.896, 4 Yamaha France GMT (Yamaha) 1:41.128, 5 National Motos (Honda) 1:42.360.