2024 FIM Endurance World Championship
Round One – 24 Heures Motos
Circuit Bugatti Le Mans (4.185km)
The first of four races that make up the FIM Endurance World Championship and the FIM Endurance World Cup in 2024, 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans, attracted 47 entries covering eight different motorcycle manufacturers and 23 nationalities.
Round One – 24 Heures Motos
There were so many highs, lows, followed by more highs, then yet more lows, for so many teams as their fortunes ebbed and flowed during the 24 hour contest.
Yoshimura SERT Motul rider Gregg Black suffered a highside three hours into the race. Team Director Yohei Kato said at the time: “In the pit box we missed a fuel reset and Gregg tried to reset but made a wrong button. The traction control didn’t work well and he had a high side. But all three riders have shown a great performance so we will catch up soon.”
And that they did… Although their job was made a lot easier after race leaders YART suffered some problems of their own.
Gregg Black – Yoshimura SERT Motul rider
“It’s always good to finish the race but the objective is to win. We won in 2021 and 2022 but those races were a bit easier because we could relax towards the end. We were quite fast with YART but with the crash we dropped quite far back and had to push all the way to the end. BMW and YART had issues and we ended up leading the race when on paper we thought maybe we would finish third or second. But we made no more mistakes and kept pushing. In the end we only had one lap over BMW so we couldn’t relax. It’s amazing to be back on the top step [of the podium here], just amazing. Dan, Étienne, the whole team have done such great work all winter, we showed our speed and got our revenge from last year. It’s just awesome.”
For team-mate Dan Linfoot, his maiden EWC victory was the perfect way to begin his career as a Yoshimura SERT Motul rider.
Dan Linfoot – Yoshimura SERT Motul rider
“The last stint you were over-thinking everything, you hear every noise of the engine, you short shift early, you downshift with some space. It was tough but I rode under the limit, found a nice rhythm and kept my head. It’s amazing, I’m speechless, my first race with the team, in the team’s home race. I’m just so thankful to everybody for accepting me into the team, helping me with everything I need. It’s just an incredible day.”
BMW
The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team made a strong start to the new season. The three regular riders, Markus Reiterberger (GER), Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), and Sylvain Guintoli (FRA), secured second place on the podium.
The trio started the twice-around-the-clock marathon from fifth place. With flawless performances from the riders and the team’s excellent work in the pit, the team climbed into the podium positions and was already in second place on Saturday after a few hours of racing. The team maintained that position right through to the finish on Sunday afternoon.
Werner Daemen
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team Manager
“I am very proud that we finished in second place. All three riders made a tremendous job. Nobody crashed, we had some difficulties in the night when it was very cold but all three riders coped with the conditions and I am very proud of them. They went for it over the entire week, worked together well and we had a very good atmosphere in the team. We showed that we are a strong team and I think that the second place is just the start of a fantastic season. I am 100 per cent sure that we can fight for the victory in Spa, Suzuka and Le Castellet.”
Markus Reiterberger – BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team Rider
“We had a problem with the exhaust but second is still a very good position for us and we didn’t give up. It was unbelievably cold [during the night], colder than last year. I had a glove under my glove and a heat vest under the suit but it was still super-super cold, the visor was frozen and I really didn’t feel my fingers under braking”
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team
The Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team of Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz, and Karel Hanika showed incredible pace, leading for the majority of the race before claiming third as they got their title defence off to a positive start.
The reigning champions enjoyed the perfect build-up, securing pole position, a new lap record thanks to a 1:34.708 from Canepa, and the maximum five points available during qualifying. All three riders topped their respective qualifying groups, and confidence was high ahead of the iconic running start at Le Mans on Saturday.
Round One – 24 Heures Motos
Canepa took the first stint, and when the flag dropped, he started well, dropping to fourth but battling his way to the front before the end of the third lap. The Italian held the lead until the first pit stop, handing over to team-mate Fritz. An excellent stint from the German rider saw him pit to swap with Hanika from second, and by the time Canepa was back on the Bridgestone-shod YART #1 R1, he retook the lead with less than three hours of race time on the clock.
Round One – 24 Heures Motos
The trio held onto this lead for 15 hours, riding imperiously through the cold and windy conditions at night and extending their advantage at the front to five laps. In the process, they secured the maximum ten points on offer at the eight-hour mark.
The Austrian squads’ race pace was devastating, but just before the sun came up and the next allocation of points at 16 hours, misfortune struck. With the temperatures at their lowest and the humidity rising, the track conditions became treacherous, with dew forming on the asphalt. After the team had led the race for 450 laps, Hanika was caught out by the changing levels of grip, high-siding the bike from the lead and injuring his shoulder, ending the team’s domination of the race.
The Czech rider managed to restart the R1 and brought it back to the box, where the team pulled out all the stops to repair the damage in under 18 minutes, but they had lost between 10-11 laps and rejoined in fourth, five laps off the lead. Even though the bike was being repaired in the pits, YART gained another 9 points for being in second as the race clock struck 16 hours. Unfortunately, Hanika’s crash, while not serious, aggravated a previous shoulder injury, which meant he could not ride for the last eight hours of the race.
Canepa, who was not 100 per cent himself after a crash in practice at the Daytona 200, went back-to-back with Fritz riding stints. Even though track temperatures were still low, Canepa was determined to get back into the podium fight and set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:35.791, during a stunning stint. The duo began to mount a superb fightback.
They battled right to the end, through the physical and mental pain barriers, moving into the podium positions with five and a half hours to go. They managed to maintain this impressive pace right to the chequered flag despite another extended pit stop to check that the bike had no lingering damage from the crash.
After this, Canepa and Fritz managed the workload between them and finished strongly to once again showcase the team’s impressive pace and secure third, five laps behind the winners after completing 852 laps, meaning they collected another 28 vital championship points. While the team were disappointed not to make the most of their undoubted pace, 52 points from a possible 65 and leaving Le Mans second overall in the EWC standings, just nine points behind the leaders, was a strong way to kick off the defence of their EWC crown.
Mandy Kainz
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team Manager
“To finish on the podium here at Le Mans is always a good result due to the challenging nature of the race and the track conditions. We are disappointed we did not come away with the win, as we had the pace all weekend, but to leave with 52 points and be second in the championship is still a positive result. Obviously, Karel was upset with his crash, but the conditions were at their worst when it happened; he should not be too hard on himself. Niccolò and Marvin responded superbly to take the rest of the stints, and as a team, we are strong, with no weak links. The key thing for me is just how well we performed, so if we can carry this pace into the next round at Spa, we will surely be able to fight at the front again.”
Round One – 24 Heures Motos – Podium
F.C.C. TSR Honda France
Last year’s winners F.C.C. TSR Honda France started the 24-hour race qualified but two early crashes put an end to the team’s chances for success.
After 6 laps, Hook had a minor crash and managed to rejoin the race in 26th place and thanks to a series of consistent and solid laps, he managed to place the Fireblade #5 to 8th place after 26 laps.
When Hook returned to the pits, he informed Mike Di Meglio about a strange sensation with the front tyre. The Frenchman took a couple of laps, but unfortunately, he crashed due to a lack of feeling with the front braking.
Di Meglio had to push the bike all along into the pits, where the team made an impressive job repairing the bike. However, the bike fixing cost the team approximately 45 minutes, rejoining the race in 45th position overall and 15th in the EWC category.
The team began an incredible comeback, working their up the order to 8th position by the last quarter of the race only for then another heartbreak to befall them. The chain broke while Josh Hook was on the bike and that put them out of the race due to the chain breaking the crankcases. Hooky also copped some damage to himself from the flailing chain…
Josh Hook – F.C.C. TSR Honda France
“It was a day to forget unfortunately. Everything looked good for the race. Everyone was feeling good on the bike. But it didn’t work out as expected. It’s a shame, but that’s racing. In my last stint the chain broke and hit the back of my leg. I’m in a bit of pain, so I’m going to see the medical team to check my leg and find out the verdict.”
The WeBike Trickstar team were the top finishing Kawasaki, taking fourth outright.
National Motos Honda clinched another superb victory in the Superstock category and finished fifth outright.
The new Honda-powered team in EWC category, Tati Team Beringer Racing, with Hugo Clere, Randy Krummenacher and Coren Perolari were sixth outright.
Team Bolliger Switzerland finished seventh outright.
Honda Viltaïs Racing had qualified well and looked on course for a good result before technical problems forced them out of the running.
The second round of the 2024 FIM EWC season takes place in Belgium, with the 8 Hours of Spa Motos on June 7th and 8th at the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, a track where YART were victorious last year when it was still a 24-hour race.
2024 FIM EWC 24 Heures Motos Results
- Yoshimura SERT Motul – Suzuki 857 laps
- BMW Motorrad World Endurance – BMW 856 laps
- YART – Yamaha 852 laps
- Kawasaki WeBike Trickster – Kawasaki 844 laps
- National Motos – Honda 840 laps
- Tati Team Beringer – Honda 839 laps
- Team Bolliger Switzerland – Kawasaki 837 laps
- BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers – Kawasaki 836 laps
- Chromeburner-RAC41 – Honda 835 laps
- Motobox Kremer – Yamaha 825 laps
2024 FIM Endurance World Championship Points
- Yoshimura SERT Motul – Suzuki – 61 points
- YART – Yamaha – 52 points
- BMW Motorrad World Endurance – BMW – 51 points
- Kawasaki WeBike Trickster – Kawasaki – 39 points
- Tati Team Beringer – Honda – 33 points
- Team Bolliger Switzerland – Kawasaki – 28 points
- BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers – Kawasaki – 24 points
- Motobox Kremer – Yamaha – 20 points
- KM99 – Yamaha – 18 points
- Wojcik Racing – Honda 12 points
2024 FIM Endurance World Championship Calendar
- 24 Heures Motos (Le Mans, France): 18-21 April (FFM)
- 8 Hours of Spa Motos (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium): 6-8 June (FMB)
- 45th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race, Japan: 18-21 July (MJF)
- Bol d’Or (Circuit Paul Ricard, France): 12-15 September (FFM)
