12 HOURS OF ESTORIL ON SATURDAY 17 JULY
The second round of the 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship, the 12 Hours of Estoril, will take place on Saturday 17 July in the vicinity of Lisbon. After a hotly disputed start to the season at Le Mans, the 12 Hours of Estoril is expected to be equally exciting.
Yoshimura SERT Motul get to Portugal in the lead after their 24 Heures Motos win, but will face keen competition. The 2020 winners at Estoril, YART–Yamaha Official EWC Team, will provide the toughest competition for the new Suzuki factory alliance. At Le Mans last month, a mechanical problem put an end to the duel for the lead between the Suzuki and the Yamaha. The fight will take up where it left off at Estoril.
YART–Yamaha Official EWC Team are not the only ones seeking revenge. F.C.C. TSR Honda France, who finished 9th at the 24 Heures Motos following electrical problems and a crash, will also have to make up lost ground in the championship.
Well placed behind Yoshimura SERT Motul after their podium finish at Le Mans, Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar and BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team will be seeking the best possible position in the top three in the world standings.
ERC Endurance-Ducati, who completed a 24-hour race for the first time at Le Mans, finishing 8th, will attempt to continue on their road to the podium. During private tests at the beginning of race week at Estoril, ERC Endurance-Ducati will be shored up by Lorenzo Zanetti, a Ducati test rider in the Italian CIV Superbike championship, and World Superbike Ducati rider Scott Redding’s chief mechanic.
Yoshimura SERT Motul get to Portugal with a 16-point lead over the competition, but everything could change at the 12 Hours of Estoril. 30 points are available for the winner, plus bonus points for the top 5 teams on the starting grid and points awarded 8 hours into the race.
High-performance challengers who got unlucky at Le Mans but will be worth watching are VRD Igol Experiences, Tati Team Beringer Racing, Moto Ain, Wójcik Racing Team and 3ART Best of Bike.
An exciting fight in the Superstock class
A hard-fought battle is expected in the Superstock class too. The winners at Le Mans, National Motos, will have to defend their position against some highly motivated rivals, namely Team 18 Sapeurs-Pompiers CMS Motostore, who were forced to withdraw at Le Mans, BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers, No Limits Motor Team, Wójcik Racing Team 2, RAC41 ChromeBurner and Team 33 Louit April Moto.
The first official free practice for the 12 Hours of Estoril will start at 11am local time on Thursday 15 July. The race will be flagged off at 9am on Saturday 17 July.
