Honda Endurance Racing ready to take on 24 Heures Motos challenge

24 Heures Motos

Circuit des 24 Heures, France

The Honda Endurance Racing team are primed for a strong showing at the 40th 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans this weekend (15-16 April), after completing a successful pre-season testing programme aboard the all-new 2017 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2.

Endurance specialists Freddy Foray, Julien da Costa and Sébastien Gimbert return to the Honda Endurance Racing team for their fourth consecutive year and will be joined at Le Mans by British road-racer Lee Johnston as reserve rider.

All riders have enjoyed getting to grips with the all-new Fireblade, which the UK-based team took delivery of in early January and have been busy developing into an EWC machine. With the new Fireblade featuring more power, less weight and a sophisticated electronics package compared to the previous model, the Honda Endurance Racing team is confident for the remaining four FIM Endurance World Championship races.

The team enjoyed a solid test at the Bugatti Circuit (28-29 March) in preparation for the gruelling 24-hour race at Le Mans this weekend, where a record number of 60 teams have entered. On the closing day of the test the Honda Endurance Racing team was tenth fastest overall.

During the pre-Le Mans test the stunning 2017 livery was unveiled complimenting the all-new Fireblade design. Back on board with the team is lubricant specialist Motul, Akrapovic exhausts, Dunlop tyres and Clinton Enterprises.

All three riders are looking forward to the next competitive challenge at Le Mans and the formidable task of the 24 Heures Motos.

The 24 Heures Motos begins at 1500 CEST on Saturday 15 April. For more information and updates on the team throughout the race, follow @HondaRacingCBR

24 Heures Motos

Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans

Event schedule

Thursday 13 April

1000-1200 – Free practice

1540-1730 – Qualifying 1 (20 minutes per rider)

2030-2200 – Night practice

Friday 14 April

1010-1200 – Qualifying 2 (20 minutes per rider)

1800-2000 – Pit walk

Saturday 15 April

1005-1050 – Warm up

1500 – Race begins

Sunday 16 April

1500 – Race finish

Freddy Foray 111

I feel that we are making really strong progress, we’re going step-by-step and we have made some big improvements with the front feeling of the bike, even compared to our first test in Spain. The pre-season tests have left us feeling very confident and we are making progress each day. We have some new members to the team and everyone is getting on well and they have done a great job to already give us such a good package with the new Fireblade. I am confident for the year ahead and looking forward to seeing now what we can do for the 24-hour race this weekend.

Julien Da Costa 111

We have had a very positive test at Le Mans and have discovered a lot during our tests. We are trying many things on the chassis and also with Dunlop tyres – it’s a lot of hard work for everyone and a lot to learn, but I feel that we are in a good position ahead of the race. We have a good feeling and it’s getting better lap after lap, Freddy and I did a race run and we were very happy with the times and how that went. Now we have the real (and much longer) race coming and we’re looking forward to the start of it.

Sébastien Gimbert 111

The recent tests have been really positive for everyone. I am pleased with the agreement between us all, the team has given their full to be ready for Le Mans this weekend. I really want to thank everyone at Honda Racing, the new Fireblade is already feeling so much better in performance, but also with the new electronic help our performance is greater. However, we still have a long road ahead with the development, but I trust our team and know that they will have everything in place for the 24 Heures Motos.

Jonny Twelvetrees

Team Manager

Following our pre-season testing I am really pleased with how the tests have gone. The test at Le Mans has been especially good and we have really made progress, even since our test at the beginning of March. We’ve not had the all-new Fireblade for long and the team has been working incredibly hard to get everything ready in time for testing and also for the 24 Heures Motos. The new SP2 engine is much stronger than what we have had before, so we have been seeing how this affects our fuel consumption. We can see already that with the addition of the fly-by-wire throttle and the all-new electrics it means that we have a very fast and efficient package. We have already made great progress in obtaining a base setting that all our riders are happy with and everyone in the team is very excited to unlock the full potential this new machine has.