2017-2018 FIM Endurance World Championship
24 Heures Motos du Mans
Bugatti Circuit
Le Mans, France
April 20, 2018
Final Overall Qualifying Results (based upon the average of each rider’s best lap time):
1. Team SRC Kawasaki (Mathieu Gines 1:37.231/Randy De Puniet 1:36.446/Jeremy Guarnoni 1:37.163), Kaw ZX-10R, SBK, 1:36.946
2. YART – Yamaha (Broc Parkes 1:36.773/Marvin Fritz 1:36.545/Takuya Fujita 1:37.986), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, 1:37.101
3. Team NRT48 – BMW Motorrad (Kenny Foray 1:37.132/Peter Hickman 1:37.012/Lucy Glockner 1:37.871), BMW S1000RR, SBK, 1:37.338
4. GMT94 Yamaha (Mike Di Meglio 1:37.372/Niccolo Canepa 1:37.182/David Checa 1:37.704), Yam YZF-R1, SBK, 1:37.419
5. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Philippe 1:37.122/Etienne Masson 1:37.978/Gregg Black 1:37.469), Suz GSX-R1000, SBK, 1:37.523
6. F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Josh Hook 1:38.095/Freddy Foray 1:37.137/Alan Techer 1:37.500), Hon CBR1000RR, SBK, 1:37.577
7. Honda Endurance Racing (Gregory Leblanc 1:37.275/Sebastian Gimbert 1:37.628/Erwan Nigon 1:37.955), Hon CBR1000RR SP, SBK, 1:37.619
8. TECMAS- – BMW (Julian Da Costa 1:37.013/Camille Hedelin 1:38.647/David Perret 1:37.427), BMW S1000RR, SBK, 1:37.695
9. Wepol Racing by penz13.com (Michael Laverty 1:36.999/Christian Iddon 1:38.438/Danny Webb 1:37.683), BMW S1000RR, SBK, 1:37.706
10. Mercury Racing (Karel Hanika 1:37.969/Jakub Smrz 1:38.642/Sylvain Barrier 1:38.201), BMW S1000RR, SBK, 1:38.270
More, from a press release issued by Eurosport Events/FIM Endurance World Championship:
SRC KAWASAKI ON POLE AT LE MANS
Team SRC Kawasaki will start from pole position tomorrow (Saturday) at the 24 Heures Motos, ahead of YART Yamaha and BMW-mounted team NRT48. Yamaha Viltaïs Experiences holds on to the lead in the Superstock class, ahead of Team 33 Accessoires Louit Moto and Moto Ain.
Team SRC Kawasaki has picked up pole position at the 41st edition of the 24 Heures Motos, to be flagged off at 3pm tomorrow (Saturday) on the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans. After topping qualifying yesterday, the factory-backed Kawasaki team further improved its performance at the second qualifying session. Julien Da Costa and Freddy Foray were quicker than Randy de Puniet yesterday, but this morning de Puniet wrested back control, clocking the fastest overall qualifying lap (1’36.446). His teammates Mathieu Gines and Jérémy Guarnoni also improved on their best times, even though Guarnoni took two spills towards the tail end of the session.
YART Yamaha picked up 2nd place on the grid. Following a lacklustre first qualifying, the Austrian factory team made a substantial improvement today. Broc Parkes and Marvin Fritz were the only two riders apart from Randy de Puniet to come in under the 1’37 mark. YART Yamaha’s young new Japanese rider Takuya Fujita also shaved nearly 1.5s off his best lap as compared to yesterday.
As a result, YART Yamaha beat factory BMW team NRT48 – which offers fresh proof of its potential each time its riders take to the track – to second spot on the grid. Kenny Foray, Peter Hickman and Lucy Glöckner were all within the same second on their lap. They are definitely serious contenders for the win – and if they did win it would go down in the annals of the championship, as a BMW has never won the 24 Heures Motos.
Other BMWs giving chase
Reigning world champion GMT94 Yamaha is 4th on the grid, just ahead of Suzuki Endurance Racing Team and two CBR1000RR-mounted teams: F.C.C. TSR Honda France and Honda Endurance Racing. But another three BMWs are among the Top 10 on the grid and poised to give chase. Team Tecmas BMW placed ahead of Wepol Racing by Penz13 and Mercury Racing. All three squads are made up of fast, experienced riders who will be targeting the podium, like Wepol Racing by Penz13 at the Bol d’Or last September.
Superstock battle in the offing
Yamaha Viltaïs Experiences, the winner of last season’s Superstock World Cup, leads the category on the starting grid, ahead of Team 33 Accessoires Louit Moto and Moto Ain. The three teams confirmed their status as favourites but will nevertheless have to reckon with 3ART Moto Team 95, Tati Team Beaujolais Racing and Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki.
Tyres could determine the outcome
The tyre manufacturers too are locked in battle. The Top 3 on the grid features two Pirelli-shod teams (SRC Kawasaki and NRT48) and one using Bridgestone tyres (YART Yamaha), ahead of a Dunlop-shod group comprising GMT94 Yamaha, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team and Honda Endurance Racing. Once again, the tyres will be a significant factor in determining who gets the win.
The 60 teams competing in the 2nd round of the FIM EWC will be on the track at 10.25am tomorrow (Saturday) for the warm-up. The 24 Heures Motos will be flagged off at 3pm.
Follow the 24 Heures Motos on the website fimewc.com, via the live timing www.fimewc.com/live-timing, on Facebook, Twitter and the new FIM EWC iOS and Android smartphone app.
More, from a press release issued by Honda Endurance Racing:
Honda Endurance Racing ready for the 40th 24 Heures Motos
24 Heures Motos
Circuit des 24 Heures, France
The Honda Endurance Racing team has qualified seventh ahead of tomorrow’s 24 Heures Motos at the Bugatti circuit, Le Mans. With glorious conditions at the 4.185km circuit, Honda’s endurance specialists Sébastien Gimbert, Gregory LeBlanc and Erwan Nigon scored an average combined time of 1:37.61, just 0.673 seconds off pole.
The Honda team arrives at the second round of the FIM Endurance World Championship third in the overall championship standings, and with a podium scored at the opening round at the Bol d’Or in September, the squad are keen to pick up from where they left off.
Final qualifying took place today and, after a mixed start in yesterday’s practice and first qualifying, the team made a step forward overnight with changes to the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2, which saw all-three riders well within the top-ten in their individual sessions.
The Honda Endurance Racing team will now prepare for the 24 Heures Motos, which is scheduled to get underway tomorrow (Saturday 21 April) at 1500 local time (BST +1), with the race finishing on Sunday 22 April at 1500 local time (BST +1).
To keep up-to-date with the team’s progress over the 24 Heures Motos, follow @HondaRacingCBR on Twitter.
Sébastien Gimbert 111
I am very happy with how today has gone with qualifying; yesterday I wasn’t too happy as I experienced some slide and not good feeling with the front. But with the work the team put in overnight and with the track conditions better and the temperature lower, today I am very happy! The Fireblade is working so well and for me it’s perfect for the race tomorrow. I am confident ahead of the race and we now need to make sure we’re consistent with our lap times, do not have a crash and for sure we can aim and be within the top-three, but of course we want the win!
Gregory LeBlanc 111
Yesterday – where do I start?! It wasn’t ideal and I am sorry for the team for the damage to the CBR, it’s never good to crash when it’s not your fault, but this is racing and sometimes it happens, I am just glad I am OK for the race. The team has worked very hard with the CBR and today I am happy with qualifying. We are in a very good place before the race tomorrow and we have 24 hours on track to make our moves but we will aim for the top-three and the podium, Le Mans is somewhere I have won many times and I would for sure like to win again!
Erwan Nigon 111
I made a mistake with my own strategy today, but sometimes you know this happens. Today for me wasn’t the best, but for the team it was good! I was the third rider today and riders always want to be on top, even with our teammates, so today I was the slowest one, but tomorrow I will make sure that isn’t the case. I have a very strong team around me with Greg and Sébastien and the team also; they work very hard to make sure the Fireblade is perfect for us. We are in a good place for tomorrow and it’s a 24-hour race, so anything can happen! But for sure we want to be on that podium and I know that we will all push throughout and that will be our aim with the CBR.
Jonny Twelvetrees
Team Manager
Le Mans so far has been tough, like it always is! Our first qualifying session didn’t go quite to plan with Greg unfortunately being involved in an incident and crashing out. It wasn’t a simple crash so we’ve had a lot of work in the garage to get through to get the bike rebuilt, but these things do happen – he was left unhurt, which of course is the main thing. We pushed on through the qualification session and found a lot of good things and a good direction for today’s sessions. We dialled in what we thought would work and we’ve gone quicker today and have three happy riders ahead of the race tomorrow. The Fireblade is working really well and I’m looking forward now to 3pm when we go racing.
More, from a press release issued by WEPOL Racing by penz13.com:
WEPOL Racing by penz13.com to start #24heuresMoto from P9
Le Mans, France. The WEPOL Racing by penz13.com team has qualified in ninth position for the second round of the 2017/2018 FIM Endurance World Championship at the 24 hours of Le Mans. The race will start tomorrow, 21st of April at 15 o’clock with the checkered flag set to be waved on Sunday at the very same time.
During the free, night and qualifying practices, the squad of former racer Rico Penzkofer worked hard to be set up right for the race with not paying attention to the lap times in qualifying too much. Also the Saxonian team made a clever tire strategy and choice as those are limited for the whole weekend.
Fastest man of the team was British rider Michael Laverty, posting a 1:36.999 time being one of only four riders to go sub the 1.37 barrier. Team mate Christian Iddon set a 1:38,438 minutes but having been stuck in traffic on his time trail attempt. Danny Webb made it to a 1:37,683.
With that, the WEPOL Racing by penz13.com team qualified in a average best time of 1:37,706 minutes on P9 of the grid for tomorrow’s legendary 24 hours race. On pole position – held by SRC Kawasaki – the average best time was only 0,760 seconds adrift.
Also on site was Marek Cerveny as a reserve rider, qualifying for the race if he would eventually be needed. “I am happy to be able to be part of this team here this week and it is a very good experience for me. There are so many good riders around here on track an this is very great. A big thank you goes out to the whole WEPOL Racing by penz13.com team for this opportunity.”
Michael Laverty – Rider:
“I’m happy with the work we have done so far, the Wepol Racing by penz13.com are working well, they have adapted the bike to suit all 3 riders and we are all able to run a similar consistent pace for the race. I was satisfied to dip into the 36s in qualifying and I’m looking forward to the race ahead.”
Christian Iddon – Rider:
“I am quite happy about qualifying. The team has dona a very nice job and Michael and Danny have shown great speed. I wasn’t so fast as I would have liked in qualifying, but we have saved some extra for the race so I am very confident we can do a great job.”
Danny Webb – Rider:
“This week has had his fair share of ups and downs and I am sorry for my little crash I had this week. Luckily I wasn’t injured and the boys gelled the bike together again. We had some small problems but could solve them all and now we are looking strong for the race which I hope to finish in a good position – all the team deserves that.”
Rico Penzkofer – Team Principal:
“We have done a great job this week. As always we were not concerned about a one lap time speed, but about our race pace and for that we have done all we’ve needed. We also made a clever tire strategy during those qualifying sessions so we have something in the back hand and in spare for the race. It will be hard as no one expected those hot temperatures so we need to be able to react on the conditions. I think we are well set for the race tomorrow, so Le Mans 24 hours – bring it on!”
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:
Late Rider Change Promotes YART Yamaha to Le Mans 24 Pole Position
The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team have been on consistent, dominant form in the run up to this weekend’s 40th edition of the 24 Heures Motos. Regular riders Broc Parkes and Marvin Fritz had been the riders to beat in qualifying, bringing the average speed of their team up to second in overall time, with third rider and Le Mans rookie Takuya Fujita doing his best to get to grips with the demanding Bugatti circuit.
After struggling with an unfortunate stomach illness today, Takuya has made the decision to withdraw from the race, to give his team the best chance of success. YART Sporting Director and reserve rider Max Neukirchner will step up in his place, the move having a knock on effect on YART’s qualifying position. As Max’s time was faster than Takuya’s, the team average qualifying time is fast enough to put YART on pole position for the 40th 24 Heures Motos race tomorrow.
Takuya Fujita
YART Yamaha Official EWC Rider
“I’m really sorry for my team that I have to take the decision to step down at this very late moment. My first time here challenging for the 24 Heures at Le Mans has been really exciting and I’ve enjoyed learning the track alongside my teammates. Their experience and speed is amazing! Unfortunately I’m not feeling very well, so having discussed with my team manager I feel it is correct to withdraw now and not risk harming the team’s chances of success. I know Max is also very fast here so I feel strongly they will still be able to fight at the front.”
Max Neukirchner
YART Yamaha Official EWC Rider
“I’m obviously very sorry for Takuya that he is not able to continue through the weekend and experience his first Le Mans 24 experience. Having said that I know how very difficult it can be to face such a marathon race when you are not physically in good form for it, so he has made the correct decision. I’m looking forward to doing my best to support my teammates Broc and Marvin and taking the fight all the way to the finish line.”
Mandy Kainz
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team Manager
“We’re very proud of Takuya who has put in a really strong effort in these first sessions leading up to the race. I’m sorry for him that he will not get to experience the race itself but we have to be practical and ensure we line up with a fully fit team. I have full confidence in Max to play his part alongside Broc and Marvin, I believe we have everything in place to fight for victory. It’s a long race and anything can happen in Endurance, but we are as good as we can be!”