24 Heures Motos

FIM Endurance World Championship

Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, France

April 16

Provisional Overall Race Results:

1. GMT94 – Yamaha (David Checa/Niccolo Canepa/Mike Di Meglio), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike (1st in class), Dunlop, 860 laps

2. YART – Yamaha (Broc Parkes/Martin Fritz/Kohta Nozane), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike (2nd in class), Bridgestone, -19.819 seconds

3. Team SRC Kawasaki (Mathieu Gines/Randy De Puniet/Fabien Foret), Kaw ZX-10R, Superbike (3rd in class), Pirelli, -12 laps

4. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Philippe/Etienne Masson/Alex Cudlin), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike (4th in class), Dunlop, -12 laps, 44.678 seconds

5. F.C.C. TSR Honda (Gregg Black/Damian Cudlin/Arturo Tizon), Hon CBR1000RR, Superbike (5th in class), Bridgestone, -17 laps

6. Tati Team Beaujolais Racing (Julien Enjolras/Dylan Buisson/Kevin Denis), Kaw ZX-10R, Superstock (1st in class), Dunlop, -23 laps

7. MOTO AIN CRT (Hugo Clere/Alexis Masbou/Robin Mulhauser), Yam YZF-R1, Superstock (2nd in class), Dunlop, -26 laps

8. Maco Racing Team (Gregory Junod/Anthony Dos Santos/Marko Jerman), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike (6th in class), Dunlop, -29 laps

9. Yamaha Viltais Experience (Axel Maurin/Bastien Mackels/Florian Alt), Yam YZF-R1, Superstock (3rd in class), Michelin, -31 laps

10. AM Moto Racing Competition (Adrien Ganfornina/Alexandre Ayer/Romain Maitre), Kaw ZX-10R, Superstock (4th in class), Dunlop, -36 laps

11. Honda Endurance Racing (Julian Da Costa/Sebastien Gimbert/Freddy Foray), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, Superbike (7th in class), Dunlop, -38 laps

28. TECMAS – BMW (Kenny Foray/Matthieu Lussiana/Camille Hedelin), BMW S1000RR, Superbike (14th in class), Pirelli, -75 laps

30. Girls Racing Team (Melissa Paris/Amandine Creusot/Margaux Wanham), Yam YZF-R1), Superstock (15th in class), Dunlop, -83 laps

36. Team Rabid Transit (Dragan Ljubinkovic/Dalibor Miletic/Zelko Paulovic/Brandon Cretu), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike (15th in class), Bridgestone, -172 laps

38. Bolliger Team Switzerland (Horst Saiger/Roman Stamm/Michael Savary), Kaw ZX-10R, Superbike (16th in class), Pirelli, -30 laps

More, from a press release issued by Honda Endurance Racing:

Determination and hard work propel Honda Endurance Racing at the 24 Heures Motos

24 Heures Motos

Circuit des 24 Heures, France

With 822 laps completed and 3,440km covered, the Honda Endurance Racing team finished the 40th 24 Heures Motos just outside the top-ten in 11th place today, after an outstanding display of teamwork, determination and hard work over the 24 hours.

The race got underway at 3pm local time at the Bugatti Circuit on Saturday 15 April and all-eyes were on the Honda team and the all-new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2, as it made its racing debut in the FIM Endurance World Championship. Freddy Foray started for the team but as he pulled away from the start, disaster struck and a problem with the chain saw Foray immediately back in the pit box.

With minutes ticking by the Honda squad worked hard and Foray was out of the box and on his way chasing down the pack. However, it wasn’t to be plain sailing for the first hour as two-sensor problems delayed team-mate Julien Da Costa, costing the team valuable time and places.

Rejoining the race last, in 59th place, the Honda squad knew they had work to do and trying not to be too disheartened Foray, Da Costa and Sebastian Gimbert set about making their way through the pack.

With super-slick pit stops, Honda’s endurance specialists gave it their all and impressed the EWC paddock with their determination and ‘never give up’ attitude, which by the halfway point saw the team sitting in the top-30.

As daylight broke over the 4.185km French circuit the Honda team had moved into the top-20 and had started to track down the top-ten. 11th place was eventually secured and with two hours remaining, and too big a gap to catch the team in front, the objective for the rest of the race was clear – bring the CBR home in this position.

With the Fireblade putting in a faultless performance once the initial issues were sorted and at a pace that could have well seen the team running in the top-five, Honda Endurance Racing finished the race just outside the top-ten and reconfirmed the endurance of the Fireblade machine, especially in the harsh environment of a 24-hour race.

The Honda Endurance Racing team will now look over the data collected from the race and get to work preparing for the next round of the 2017 FIM Endurance World Championship, the Oschersleben 8 Hours, in Germany on 19-20 May.

Freddy Foray 111

Well, we have finished the 24 Heures Motos so that is the main thing. We got a very bad start and I cannot imagine the first hour like that again, it was a nightmare! But the team worked hard to resolve the issues and after we had no problems at all. We pushed and pushed over the whole race and being that far back we knew it wasn’t possible to get a top-five or even a top-ten, so to just be outside is very encouraging. We had good pace and overall it was a good result for the team, and we have learnt a lot. We don’t have a lot of an advantage with this Fireblade as it’s a new machine, but from this race we have learnt a lot and we have lots of data to take away and work on. You know for today we have to accept the result and we know that the potential is there, but now we have to work and be ready for Oschersleben.

Julien Da Costa 111

You know we have to take the positives from today and this weekend, we started bad but we finished strong and we were able to be strong throughout the whole race, once the team had sorted the early issues. So we do have an improvement and the positive thing is that the new Fireblade does work well, the engine, gearbox and electronics are all strong, we just have a few small details to fix. But I am really happy with the bike and it’s encouraging for the next races, we just need to have a star above looking out for us with some luck! We know that we can run in the top-five and our pace showed this all weekend, so it’s just a matter of time before we are there. But with a new bike it will take some work to get there, but I am sure with the teams dedication to succeed it won’t be that long.

Sébastien Gimbert 111

The new Fireblade is good, for me it was important to finish the race and we did this, unfortunately we just had the issues at the start, which held us back. This 24-hour race was a big test for us with some new team members and also with the new Fireblade, but we finished and we have a lot of data and information we can now take with us to help with the rest of the season. Everyone is working really well together and any issues were sorted quickly and once all resolved we had no further issues. I was happy with our pace, but we do need a second or two more, the CBR is very comfortable and has so much potential, but from this weekend I feel we have some information now that can help us with this. I’d like to thank the team for all their hard work and we will be back stronger for Germany!

Jonny Twelvetrees

Team Manager

Well we have just finished the 24 hours and it feels a lot longer than 24 hours! The start was crazy and most of our faces were very long after a string of problems at the start, but I was so impressed with the team and riders, how they all rallied round and got to work. The new Fireblade did a great job and so did everyone in the team, we’re pleased to finish just outside the top-ten – if you had said that we’d finish there at 6pm last night, I don’t think we’d have believed it! I’m really happy with our race pace as without the issues I believe we could have been running in the top-five. But it’s the first race for our new bike and yes, it’s not what we wanted, but I think we have shown that we have a very strong package and we just need to unlock the potential now. A small issue can stop you as much as a big one, but the important thing was that the guys were able to diagnose the problem and it worked as we had no further issues for the rest of the race. I’m happy, but now we do have a lot of work to do ahead of Oschersleben. It is a different race being eight hours and a different circuit, but we have 24 hours of data, which is a lot more than we started with. We are more knowledgeable now and need to take everything in and prepare for Oschersleben.

More, from a press release issued by Eurosport Events:

GMT94 CARRIES OFF A BRILLIANT WIN AGAINST YART AND SRC

GMT94 Yamaha won the 24 Heures Motos after a relentless battle against YART Yamaha Official EWC Team. Team SRC Kawasaki rounded off a podium with three tyre manufacturers represented: Dunlop, Bridgestone and Pirelli. 74,500 spectators watched the suspenseful race on the Bugatti circuit.

GMT94 Yamaha pulled off an exceptional performance after wresting the lead in the race at 11am today. David Checa, Niccolò Canepa and Mike Di Meglio completed 860 laps, finishing with a less-than-20s lead over Broc Parkes, Marvin Fritz and Kohta Nozane for the YART Yamaha Official EWC Team. Yamaha last won at Le Mans in 2009 with YART, and in 2005 with GMT94.

This 40th edition of the 24 Heures Motos will be remembered for the amazing performance and endurance of the two factory-backed Yamaha squads, who dominated the proceedings for nearly the entire duration of the race. After a lengthy spell in the lead, YART Yamaha Official EWC Team gave in to insistent pressure from GMT94 Yamaha in the late stages of the race.

Their unstinting battle enabled the two teams to finish 12 laps ahead of Team SRC Kawasaki, who placed 3rd at this edition of the 24 Heures Motos, with Randy de Puniet, Fabien Foret and Mathieu Gines in the saddle. After being slowed down by a crash and a few technical issues, SRC Kawasaki finished with a narrow 45-second lead over Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson and Alex Cudlin), also slowed by crashes. SERT, the winner of the Bol d’Or, the first round of the FIM EWC 2016-2017, still tops the world championship standings ahead of Team SRC Kawasaki and GMT94 Yamaha.

F.C.C. TSR Honda ran a flawless race and finished 5th. Though the excellent performance of riders Gregg Black, Damian Cudlin and Arturo Tizon was somewhat overshadowed by the front-end duels, it enables the squad to remain in the running for the title as current 4th place holder in the overall standings.

Tati Team Beaujolais Racing the winner in Superstock

With a 6th place finish, Tati Team Beaujolais Racing was the top Superstock. Julien Enjolras, Dylan Buisson and Kevin Denis ran a faultless race on their Kawasaki ZX-10R. They also won the EWC Dunlop Independent Trophy, which netted them a €5,000 prize. With a 7th place finish, the 2nd Superstock, Moto Ain CRT, won the EWC Dunlop Independent Trophy runner-up prize. After leading the category for a good portion of the race, Yamaha Viltaïs Experiences lost ground because of an oil leak problem and finished 3rd Superstock and 9th overall behind Maco Racing Team. Another Superstock team, AM Moto Racing, rounded off the Top 10.

Handicapped from the start by a chain problem, Honda Endurance Racing finished 11th, ahead of Japanese team Eva RT Webike Trick Star. Another favourite, Tecmas BMW, also had a rocky time of it, and finished 28th.

A record-breaking edition

The 40th edition of the race in the presence of Susumu Yamashita, Chairman of Mobilityland and owner of the Suzuka circuit, saw a few records smashed. Randy de Puniet broke the lap record with a 1’36.408 lap. The race also witnessed a new record distance of 860 laps in 24 hours, and the narrowest gap of its history at the finish (19s 819): proof of the sheer intensity of Endurance racing.

The frenzied pace was hard on riders and bikes alike, and quite a few threw in the towel. After an excellent start in the Top 10, Bolliger Team Switzerland dropped back, then withdrew altogether with an electronics problem on Sunday morning, while Team April Moto Motors Events quit the race in the early evening of Saturday when the gearbox on its Honda CBR1000RR broke.

Mechanical breakdowns also forced EVO IVRacing BMW CSEU, WSB Endurance, Ecurie Chrono Sport and Starteam 67 to withdraw.

Next FIM EWC race: the 8 Hours of Oschersleben on 20 May.

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Yamaha Deliver Le Mans Masterclass with Incredible Double Podium

The GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team and YART Yamaha Official EWC Team delivered a masterclass in Endurance racing over the last 24 hours. The two Official Yamaha Endurance teams took first and second on the podium respectively for the 2017 FIM 24 Heures Motos at the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans, turning the event into a two horse race as they fought less than a minute apart, over the entire race, ending 11 laps ahead of the rest of the field in their own class.

GMT94 Yamaha’s David Checa enjoyed a strong start, fighting in the front pack from fifth at the first corner to rise back to fourth, before handing over to teammate Niccolò Canepa who came back out to third position. Canepa was able to increase the pressure before handing over to third rider Mike Di Meglio who continued on the same form to get the race into play. It wasn’t long before the French team were up in to second position in their rhythm and chasing race leaders YART Yamaha Official, the two soon leaving the rest of the field behind. The early hours of the morning saw committed riding close the gap down to around 15 seconds, before YART began to again stretch it out. As morning broke over the circuit GMT94 raised the game again, cutting the lead back down to around 20 seconds as the two Yamahas continued their duel for the win.

With just over four hours remaining Mike Di Meglio was on fast form, dropping the gap quickly to Nozane in front. An unfortunate contact with a back marker caused him to crash out, but Di Meglio himself was not slowed and with just under four hours to go he was able to catch Nozane, fighting closely through the first three turns for the lead that would become the overtake that secured the race victory.

From that point the GMT94 Yamaha Official riders were able to slowly stretch out the margin to the final lap, wrapping up the race after an exhausting 860 laps and 24 hours. Adding to the drama, Canepa fell ill with fever during the night, continuing to ride until 9am in the morning through fever and sickness before retiring to allow his two teammates to complete the final seven hours between them.

It proved to be a great start for Broc Parkes on the no.7 YART machine from second on the grid, fighting to secure an early lead and immediately dropping into the 1:36s lap times. The Australian led until lap eight when a safety car came out for a couple of laps, bunching the competitors and bringing the competition in. He fought with the group until handing over to Marvin Fritz, who came out to lead the pack again. Fritz kept the pace up, maintaining the lead for his stint before passing on to young Japanese talent, Kohta Nozane. Nozane ensured the team’s race leading pace was respected, keeping the YART YZF-R1 at the front of the pack whilst displaying incredible corner lean angles as he powered around the Bugatti circuit.

The three worked hard to keep and grow their lead as day turned to night, the riders taking repeated faultless turns on their R1. As the night turned to early morning, fellow Yamaha riders GMT94 Official had worked hard to close the gap to just over 15 seconds by 5am in the morning. The YART Yamaha trio then picked up the pace again, growing the gap to nearly 50 seconds just over an hour later. After leading the race for an incredible 20 hours, the gap wasn’t to last, as the daylight brought with it an unexplained loss of pace. GMT94 were gradually able to regain the time creating a tense, exciting atmosphere as Yamaha hunted Yamaha on the Bugatti circuit. The winning pass was made with Di Meglio passing Nozane with just under four hours to go. YART kept their pace high as the clock counted down, discovering at the final riding stint of Parkes that the bike had been accidentally switched to wet map resulting in a lower bottom end power. As a result they crossed the line in second place 19.819 seconds behind GMT94 to secure second.

Yamaha Viltaïs Experience enjoyed a great start to their Le Mans weekend, riders Axel Maurin, Bastien Mackels and Florian Alt working hard to secure the Superstock pole position. A great start to the race saw them quickly in sixth position, climbing to fifth after the first pit stop. From there their pace continued to increase, as they climbing to a highest of fourth as they battled for the Superstock victory. Without doubt the most competitive stock team on the track, an unfortunate technical issue with an oil filter plagued them twice, costing valuable time. Despite this they kept coming back and working even harder, and had regained second position in the Superstock class when an unfortunate crash in the final hours again set the clock back. They eventually brought their YZF-R1 home in a hard fought third position, ninth overall.

David Checa

GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team

“I don’t think I’ve ever done a 24hr race like this, it was incredible. I have to say congratulations to YART, their riders made it a Superbike race that lasted for 24hrs, which is not usual! When we knew Niccolò was not feeling well we decided to continue to ride until the morning because the rhythm was so high and we didn’t want the risk to be exhausted at the end. In the morning we decided to push, we made nearly a minute riding but then lost it also nearly in the garage. In the end we managed it and for me it was an incredible race. We never gave up. It shows everyone that the R1 is fast and works well, to be 12 laps ahead shows what the bike is capable of, and also what the Dunlops can do.”

Mike Di Meglio

GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team

“This race was amazing, very hard, very close fighting with YART, the lap times were so close. It was more difficult with Niccolò being sick as I had to finish the race with David. I was afraid how I could do it physically with short break for food and massage between rides, but we did it and found a great pace to become first. When I was behind Nozane I gave 100%, it was like qualifying but for 32 laps!”

Niccolò Canepa

GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team

“We are really happy for the final result, winning a 24hr race is something unbelievable, it’s my first time so it is something incredible. I’m a little upset because I was feeling sick all night with fever so it was really hard for me to ride every stint here where it is really physical. The gap from YART was really close so we had to push a lot all night. At 9am I decided to stop. My teammates did an amazing job taking the victory, I want to say thanks to them and the team, they did an amazing job. It’s been a fabulous day for me!”

Christophe Guyot

GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team Manager

“If we are going to fight with anyone I want it to be with Mandy as he is my friend. I’m very happy for him as he proved that his team is incredibly strong and professional, he deserved the battle we had. His rider line was also so strong, it was important that we also had a strong rider line up to compete. Mike and David and Niccolò were amazing, and I think in all the riders from both teams were the best of the whole race. It was a two-team race between GMT and YART. After two hours settling in to the race we were ready to fight and then the only bike that was impossible to catch was YART! Their pace was unbelievable. We tried many strategies and it took until 20hours to reach them. Congratulations to them, and to Yamaha because for us to fight like that we needed an amazing bike, strong, reliable and fast. This success today is a sign of the Yamaha family all working together across teams and engineers to share our data and learings so we can all be more competitive. Finally of course thank you to my team who worked tirelessly through the weekend to make it a win.”

Broc Parkes

YART Yamaha Official EWC Team

“From a team perspective I think we did a great job, unfortunately we didn’t win the race but we only lost five points to GMT over the whole weekend. We showed that as a team we are very strong and we led over 20 hours of the 24 hour race. We just missed out a little bit at the end. We knew this would be one of the hardest races for us, the eight hour races will be better and riding at circuits that the other two will know. The positive is we performed really well, now we can look forward to the next races and we are not too bad on points. Congratulations to my teammates who did a great job.”

Marvin Fritz

YART Yamaha Official EWC Team

“It’s my first 24hrs so I’m really happy for second place, its good to finish and get good points, only five less than GMT because we led after 8 hours and 16 hours. We made a good job, Bridgestone were great, its just a shame we had the issue with the wet map that we didn’t find until nearly the end when Broc had his last stint and was on the pace again. We are on a good level and now we focus for Oschersleben, Slovakia and Suzuka. I’m happy for the team, we are fast and in with a chance.”

Kohta Nozane

YART Yamaha Official EWC Team

“The race was really long, but an amazing experience for me. I really enjoyed riding with my teammates, my English isn’t so good for communicating but we still managed to find a good way to work together to make the best set up and feeling, which is really nice. I’m really tired today, but I think tomorrow I know I will want to come back next year with the same teammates and win the race!”

Mandy Kainz

YART Yamaha Official EWC Team

“I’m very proud of my riders and my team here. Everybody gave everything they could and we proved that for 20 hours of the race we were untouchable. It?s unfortunate that we had the problem of the accidental wet map change on the bike, I think without it the end of the race could have been different, and definitely closer! Our two young riders who have never been here performed at an impressive level, and the R1 was also the perfect bike. To not only lead for 20 hours, but to be two teams 12 laps ahead of anybody else says a lot. We are very happy to have great support from our partners Bridgestone here, and we look forward to going to the next round prepared to fight for victory. Congratulations to Christophe and the GMT team, they rode an amazing race, and provided an exciting Yamaha battle to remember.”

24 Heures Motos Race Results

GMT Yamaha Official EWC Team – Yamaha YZF-R1 – 860 laps 24:04:27

YART Yamaha Official EWC Team- Yamaha YZF-R1 – 860 laps +19.819

Team SRC Kawasaki – 848 laps +12 lps

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team – 848 laps +12 lps

F.C.C. TSR Honda – 843 laps +17 lps

Tati Team Beaujolais Racing – 837 laps +23 lps

Moto AIN CRT – Yamaha YZF-R1 – 834 laps +26 lps

Maco Racing Team – Yamaha YZF-R1 – 831 laps +29 lps

Yamaha Viltaïs Experience – Yamaha YZF-R1 – 829 laps +31 lps

AM Moto Racing Competition – 824 laps +36 lps

EWC World Championship Standings

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team – 95 points

TEAM SRC KAWASAKI – 92

GMT Yamaha Official EWC Team – 71

F.C.C. TSR Honda – 67

YART Yamaha Official EWC Team – 62

MACO RACING Team Yamaha – 54

EVA RT WEBIKE TRICK STAR – 53

Tati Team Beaujolais Racing – 48

MOTO AIN CRT Yamaha – 48

Yamaha Viltaïs Experience – 38

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

SUZUKI RETAINS EWC LEAD AFTER LE MANS 24-HOUR

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team continues to lead in the 2017 Endurance World Championship after finishing fourth in the second round, the 40th Le Mans 24-Race in France.

SERT riders Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson and Alex Cudlin crossed the line just-off the podium with a total of 848 laps completed following a difficult and emotional event close-to the team’s headquarters – and hearts – at the Circuit Bugatti.

In memory of Anthony Delhalle, the team’s long-standing rider, who succumbed to injuries during testing last month, the team raced throughout, despite suffering a couple of slip-offs during the night when Masson clipped another rider. Then, following a quick pit-stop, Masson slipped-on oil and the team had to climb back-up the ranks again.

When Cudlin took over the # 1 Suzuki GSX-R1000, SERT was ninth, but then the team made an amazing climb through the field with every rider change throughout the night moving SERT into third place when the sun rose on Sunday morning after a close-fight with the Honda FCC team – and then SRC Kawasaki – who like SERT suffered a slip-off.

To get as much chance as possible to reach the podium, the team decided to double the stints by Philippe and Masson because of their faster pace and also knowledge of the GSX-R1000, but they couldn’t quite make-up the time lost in the pits, finishing just 44 seconds from the podium.

However, the team go into the next round at Oschersleben next month with a three-point advantage over SRC Kawasaki and 24 clear of Le Mans race winners GMT94 Yamaha.