Bol d’Or 24-Hours
FIM Endurance World Championship
Circuit Paul Ricard, France
September 17, 2017
Provisional Overall Race Results:
1. GMT94 YAMAHA (David CHECA/Niccolo CANEPA/Michael DI MEGLIO), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike, 683 laps, Total Race Time 24:00:52.472, Best Lap Time 1:59.074
2. WEPOL BMW Motorrad Team by penz13.com (Markus REITERBERGER/Alessandro POLITA/Danny WEBB), BMW S1000RR, Superbike, 674 laps, 1:58.913
3. Honda Endurance Racing (Gregory LEBLANC/Sebastien GIMBERT/Yonny HERNANDEZ), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, Superbike, 673 laps, 1:59.067
4. Voelpker NRT48 Schubert-Motors by ERC (Stefan KERSCHBAUMER/Jan BÜHN/Lucy GLÖCKNER), BMW S1000RR, Superbike, 673 laps, 1:59.764
5. IVRacing BMW CSEU (Karel HANIKA/Fabrizio LAI/Julien MAYER), BMW S1000RR, Superbike, 671 laps, 1:59.671
6. F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Josh HOOK/Alan TECHER/Freddy FORAY), Hon CBR1000RR SP2, Superbike, 670 laps, 1:58.915
7. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent PHILIPPE/Etienne MASSON/Gregg BLACK), Suz GSX-R1000, Superbike, 670 laps, 1:59.024
8. Tati Team Beaujolais Racing (Julien PILOT/Kevin DENIS/Julien ENJOLRAS), Kaw ZX-10R, Superstock, 670 laps, 2:01.490
9. Team 33 Accessories – Louit Moto (Corentin PEROLARI/Chris LEESCH/Gabriel PONS), Kaw ZX-10R, Superstock, 667 laps, 1:59.628
10. Junior Team LMS Suzuki (Robin CAMUS/Cedric TANGRE/Hugo CLERE), Suz GSX-R1000, Superstock, 663 laps, 2:01.243
53. YART – YAMAHA (Broc PARKES/Marvin FRITZ/Kohta NOZANE), Yam YZF-R1, Superbike, 1:58.734
57. TEAM SRC KAWASAKI (Mathieu GINES/Randy DE PUNIET/Fabien FORET), Kaw ZX-10RR, Superbike, 1:58.386
More, from a press release issued by Eurosport Events/FIM EWC:
GMT94 YAMAHA WINS EPIC VICTORY AT THE BOL D’OR
Reigning champion GMT94 Yamaha has won the Bol d’Or for the first time since 2007. The French factory-backed team clinched the victory ahead of Wepol BMW Motorrad Team by Penz13 and Honda Endurance Racing. The latter two teams staged a historic finish, with a duel between Sébastien Gimbert and female rider Lucy Glöckner of Völpker NRT48 Schubert Motors by ERC.
The 81st Bol d’Or will go down in history as the only EWC race in which a female rider waged an unstinting battle for a podium spot with a factory-backed rider. Lucy Glöckner, 27, a familiar face on the IDM (German Superbike championship) circuit, went all out to stop Honda Endurance Racing getting on the podium at the Bol d’Or. 673 laps into the race, Sébastien Gimbert wrested the third place after a suspenseful duel a few minutes from the finish, passing the chequered flag less than a second ahead of Lucy Glöckner.
GMT94 Yamaha gets all the spoils
The other headline event of the opening round of the FIM EWC was that the reigning FIM EWC champion started the new season by sweeping to victory. GMT94 Yamaha combined the bonus points awarded at the 8-hour and 16-mark (20 points in all) with the 40 points allocated to the race winner, zooming to the top of the 2017-2018 FIM EWC standings. GMT94 Yamaha’s riders David Checa, Niccolò Canepa and Mike Di Meglio were in the lead practically throughout, and finished 9 laps ahead of the competition despite running out of fuel at one point.
Wepol BMW Motorrad Team by Penz13 got on the second step of the podium after an epic race. Having dropped to the bottom of the standings after a problematic refuelling stop, Markus Reiterberger, Alessandro Polita and Danny Webb climbed back up at speed to ease into the Top 5.
Edge-of-seat fight for the 3rd third step of the podium
So Honda Endurance Racing had to fight hard to score third spot on the podium at the tail end of the race. Electronic issues and a faulty alternator had slowed down Grégory Leblanc, Sébastien Gimbert and Yonny Hernández. Völpker NRT48 Schubert Motors by ERC, the team comprising Lucy Glockner, Stefan Kerschbaumer and Jan Bühn, finished 4th, missing the podium by a hair’s breadth.
Another S1000RR was in 5th place: IV Racing BMW CSEU’s bike, with riders Karel Hanika, Fabrizio Lai and Julian Mayer.
F.C.C. TSR Honda France and SERT make a fine showing
F.C.C. TSR Honda France started from 3rd position on the grid and wrested the lead from GMT Yamaha on Sunday morning. But at around 11am, a crash dashed the hopes of victory of the Japanese team backed by Bridgestone (and, as of this weekend, by Honda France). Josh Hook, Alan Techer and Freddy Foray finished 6th.
Suzuki Endurance Racing Team was back in top form on the new GSX-R 1000. However, this being the machine’s debut run in a 24-hour race, several mechanical and electronic issues cropped up. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team finished 7th.
A Superstock in 8th place
The fastest Superstock squad, Tati Team Beaujolais Racing, picked up a superb 8th place, with riders Julien Enjolras, Julien Pilot and Kevin Denis running a flawless race. 9th past the finish line (2nd in the Superstock class), Team 33 Accessoires Louit Moto (Kawasaki) was three laps behind Tati Team Beaujolais Racing. After a smooth climb back up into the Top 10, Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki was the 3rd Superstock team at the race finish.
29 machines at the finish
This edition of the Bol d’Or proved particularly gruelling for both the riders and the machines. Only 29 of the 59 competing teams made it past the chequered flag. More than one team in the lead was forced to withdraw early on in the race. After taking the lead for Kawasaki SRC, Randy de Puniet rode long enough to post the fastest lap of the race (a 1’58.386) before returning to the pits with a broken engine on the ZX 10R #11.
Other favourites too were forced to throw in the towel. YART Yamaha withdrew around 9pm after sliding down to the tail end of the standings following Kohta Nozane’s crash. Team Tecmas BMW featured in the leading pack for quite some time, then had to abandon the track during the night with a broken engine. Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers was the first to withdraw, 10 laps into the race, with a broken engine. Maco Racing also gave up after the first quarter of the race, followed by multiple withdrawals as the night wore on. Yamaha Viltaïs Experiences, Moto Ain CRT and RAC41 Honda crashed out; Ecurie Chrono Sport, WSB Endurance and Atomic Motosport had engine breakdowns, and Team April Moto Motors Events had electrical and electronic issues.
68,000 spectators watched the 81st edition of the Bol d’Or on the Castellet circuit: a 5% increase over last year.
More, from a press release by Yamaha:
GMT94 Yamaha Kick-off New Season with Stunning Bol d’Or Victory
The GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team has made the best possible start to the 17/18 Endurance World Championship season, taking a determined victory in the first round today, the 81st Bol d’Or at the Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France. The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team also started the race strongly but were unable to make it through the night, a technical issue forcing retirement in the first hours of the 24hr endurance race.
The legendary Bol d’Or race always brings unexpected racing with challenges around. For GMT94 Yamaha’s David Checa, Mike Di Meglio and Niccolo Canepa this weekend?s race was no exception. Having started from sixth on the grid, the French team made several pushes to reach the front of the pack, each time falling victim to bad timing with the safety car, losing a valuable minute to be chased down again. Added to this a Stop and Go penalty given to Di Meglio for speeding in the pit lane and the team had their work cut out in the hunt for victory.
Despite the setbacks, GMT94 Yamaha were unstoppable, overcoming the incidents and safety car time losses to forge ahead time and time again, eventually bringing it home after an exhaustive 24hrs of racing a staggering 10 laps clear at the front of the pack to claim their first victory of the new season as defending world champions.
The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team of Broc Parkes, Marvin Fritz and Kohta Nozane were also challenged with their share of incidents. Having started from second on the grid, the team had made good progress as one of the front runners until young Japanese rider Nozane suffered a heavy crash a couple of hours into the race. He was able to ignore the pain, remount and bring the bike back to the pits, allowing his teammates to rally and head back out. Unfortunately a recurring technical issue left the riders without many essential electronic systems on the bike. After considerable effort to fix the issue, Team Manager Mandy Kainz chose to retire from the race to avoid risking any injury to the riders in what would have been dangerous riding conditions.
GMT94 Yamaha sign off the first round of the new season leading the standings with the maximum 60 points, YART Yamaha leave with 0, determined to turn their fortunes around at the next round in Le Mans early in 2018.
David Checa
GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team
“For me, every victory is special, it is sharing. We have often experienced problems and bad luck, but here everything has worked wonderfully. For the first race of the 2017/2018 season we make a full card with the 60 possible points, between those granted for the victory and those given during the passages at 8 and 16 hours of racing. It is the result of a lot of work. We have never given up on any circumstances!”
Niccolò Canepa
GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team
“We did not let go, we gave 110% and in the end it paid off and we won. Last year was a great year, and the bike continues to be better at each race. My teammates are still very fast, we had an incredible season and I am really happy to keep it this way!”
Mike Di Meglio
GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team
“We knew that in coming here you had to score big points. We had to stay focused. It was a fantastic race, we gave everything from start to finish, first to get points every 8 hours then for victory. It was very hard during the night and it was really a sharing between the three riders and the team.”
Christophe Guyot
GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team Manager
“I’m so happy because we are leading the championship. We are always motivated, but this result is beautiful, now we enter the winter preparing for next year at Le Mans and will arrive there as the top team. For the confidence of the riders and the team this is fantastic and we know we are already prepared with a very strong bike. We had some difficulties in the race; it was very hard. We took the lead after two hours of racing, and then we fought with Suzuki. They were 11 seconds in front, but the pace car between us lost us half a lap, or one minute so we had to fight to come back. After we came back, another pace car, and we had to refuel during that pace car, so lost another half lap or one minute! then another pace car! Also losing half a lap. Then Mike Di Meglio made a mistake for a Stop and Go penalty, for going too fast into the pits. Altogether we lost three laps! So altogether we must have been three laps faster than everyone else to get back to the front. I’m very proud of my riders, bike and team. Thank you Yamaha!”
Broc Parkes
“Of course it is disappointing to come away not having finished the race, but Endurance racing is like this, it is always unexpected. I felt really good going in to the race, the bike is really fast, my teammates are on good form and the team is working well so we had everything in place to be a serious challenger at the front for the podium. Unfortunately Kohta crashed, but he was able to get up and bring the bike back, I’m glad he was ok. We had electronic issues come on and off making it almost impossible to ride consistently quickly without being very dangerous so it was the right decision to retire. We’ll be back in Le Mans and fighting at the front!”
Mandy Kainz
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team Manager
“It was an incredible race, a shame for our bad luck. We were well prepared, and fast enough to fight for the victory. We can’t look back so we will look forward and be the team to beat in Le Mans! I’m happy Kohta is ok as his crash was big and he wasn’t able to continue afterwards, leaving us with two riders. Crashes do happen, but unfortunately with just two riders and a recurring issue with electronics I didn’t want to send out the guys without guaranteeing their safety. I think we had the pace but my decision is safety first. We will pick ourselves up, look forward and begin preparing to be ready for the challenge of 2018. Both Broc and Marvin did their best with the difficult situation, I am proud of the efforts of the riders, and of the team as always.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda Endurance Racing:
Spectacular podium finish for Honda Endurance Racing at the Bol d’Or
Bol d’Or
The Circuit Paul Ricard, France
Honda Endurance Racing is celebrating this evening after completing the Bol d’Or on the podium in third place. Kicking off the 2017/2018 FIM Endurance World Championship in spectacular style Honda and its riders Gregory LeBlanc, Sébastien Gimbert and Yonny Hernandez finished the 24-hour race with a dramatic final few laps, aboard the new 2017 Fireblade SP2.
The race got underway at 1500hrs local time yesterday (Saturday 16 September) and it was LeBlanc who made the running start for the team after qualifying in fifth position. During the opening stages of the race the riders pushed hard and it wasn’t long until the team were battling with the top group.
LeBlanc and Gimbert have a vast amount of endurance experience between them, but it was Hernandez, an EWC rookie, who impressed both the team and his team-mates with his fast learning of the circuit and speed, to battle with the experienced endurance field during his stints aboard the CBR.
By the eight-hour point Honda Endurance Racing were in fourth position and collected its first championship points of the year, which are rewarded at both the eight and 16-hour marker for teams in the top-ten. With seven points already under their belts and a desire for the podium the team pushed on throughout the night.
With a faultless performance throughout the night stages from the riders and also the pit crew, the Honda team saw the sun come up over the Circuit Paul Ricard in third place. By now the 16-hour mark was looming and a further seven points were awarded to the team who had dropped back to fourth place.
Looking strong and running in second place, with 578 laps of the 5.791km circuit completed, the team had to make an unscheduled stop due to an electrical problem, which reoccurred a couple of times over the next few hours. With persistent hard work from the Honda crew the problems were eventually sorted and it was Hernandez who returned to the race and started to make up lost time.
However drama for the team was not quite over. With one hour left, Gimbert would be the rider to finish the 24 hours and rejoining in fourth position he set his sights on the final podium spot. Pushing the Fireblade as hard as he could and not missing a beat, the CBR responded meaning he was able to close down third place.
The final 20 minutes were a nail-biting affair for the Honda crew, who watched on as Gimbert quickly upped his pace and lap-by-lap was making progress. With the team, alongside LeBlanc and Hernandez watching on, endurance specialist Gimbert made his lunge on third place.
Trading paint with his third-place rival, it was Gimbert who pulled the pin and took the final podium place for Honda Endurance Racing after the team completed 673 laps and covered just under 4,000-km over 24 hours.
Having secured a big points haul this weekend, Honda Endurance Racing is currently sitting third in the 2017/2018 FIM Endurance World Championship and the team looks forward to continuing to push towards the championship when they return to France next year for the 24 Heures Motors (21-24 April 2018).
Sébastien Gimbert 111
The finish was like MotoGP or Superbike, honestly I gave my full energy for this finish. I’m happy for my team-mates and my team because many people work for this and we don’t have the chance sometimes. The last 20 minutes I push the maximum I can and I gave it my full energy. I’m very happy for this, okay we finish third but it feels like a victory. My bike is very nice, we have a little bit problem with electric but now we have a full winter to make it better. To have the last stint for me was big pressure, but I’m happy because Chris has confidence in me. This result is good for the future because the mechanics and my team-mates are also like this. Now I want to work for the win and now for me I have a big party with many friends.
Gregory LeBlanc 111
It was an amazing race. I want to say first thanks to Honda and Jonny for having confidence in me and also thanks to Yonny, because the first time I see this man is incredible he is very fast! And thanks to Seb because the last 20 minutes was amazing. I win many times the 24-hour race but this was a lot of emotion in 20 minutes! It’s incredible; we won the podium in the very last lap. It was an amazing 24-hour race. We have worked very hard all week and all race we were in the top positions and fight with all the top teams. This result is very good for me, for Honda and for the team because I think it is the first podium for Honda Endurance Racing at a 24-hour race. Is very good because the mechanics work so hard and I’m very happy.
Yonny Hernandez 111
I’m so happy because it was really good experience and we made a really good job with the team. It was amazing but is difficult to explain the circumstances because we can’t live everything in two hours, it’s across 24 hours. Then in the last hours we had some problems, then the team works to fix the bike and then we have two laps in front and then two laps something crazy but so fun. I’m so happy because my target when I come, I dream of podium and in 24 hours is so difficult because there are so many circumstances and I’m so proud of all the work of the team and thanks to Jonny for giving me the opportunity of this experience and to Team Honda for sure. I’m very happy but now I just want to go home and sleep for 48 hours!
Jonny Twelvetrees
Team Manager
An amazing race, we target a podium in 24-hour racing but we know that you need a lot to go your way to get a podium. We had a couple of problems early on which is part and parcel of 24-hour racing but we dealt with them fairly well. We had a really strong middle sector through the night, all three riders were really strong and all of them put in really good stints. Greg and Seb were both really strong and Yonny, around midday when the sun was up and it was more his specialist area, could push a good lap time. Overall we put ourselves in a good position, we were hoping at that point to be able to capitalise on a higher position, but these things don’t always work out. If we go back to our original objective of being on the podium, then objective achieved. The whole team has worked hard on the new Fireblade for 2017 and they couldn’t be more happier with it. It’s great for the bike and the team overall, and it’s a really strong platform that we can build on for the future.