F.C.C. TSR Honda France win Le Mans 24 Hour

2023 FIM Endurance World Championship
Round One – 24 heures Motos, Le Mans

F.C.C. TSR Honda France has made the best possible start to its FIM Endurance World Championship title defence with victory in a dramatic 24 Heures Motos. The FIM EWC Championship opener recorded a weekend fan attendance of 77,200, the highest number since 2011.

Josh Hook, Mike Di Meglio and Alan Techer combined to claim victory on the #1 Bridgestone-equipped Honda CBR1000 RR-R.

For Frenchman Di Meglio and Australian Hook, the result marked their third victory in the 24 Heures Motos. For Techer, the win was his second in the traditional EWC season opener on the Circuit Bugatti.

Josh Hook

“Unbelievable. We won the championship last year without actually winning a race. Obviously we want to win races, we want to show we are the best and to come here, first round of the season and win Le Mans, such a big amazing race that everyone wants to win, it’s a bucket-list race and to come here and win is amazing and all thanks goes to the team. They worked so hard over the winter to come to the race this year with a bike that’s a winning package. Today’s performance just shows that. Our race was flawless, there was no mistake in the garage, with the mechanics, the bike was sound and all three of us three riders didn’t make a mistake either. It’s the perfect 24-hour race in my opinion and it’s not often you do a 24-hour race and have no problems. And an amazing day for us.”

The Japanese squad came through a typically challenging day and night contest, heading home YART Yamaha and BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team in the victory chase by a three-lap margin. The second and third-placed squads both enjoyed periods at the head of the pack but lost vital minutes in the pits.

A brake caliper issue proved costly for YART Yamaha when Niccolò Canepa was behind the handlebars before Karel Hanika crashed on oil during the early hours of Sunday morning.

Mandy Kainz – Yamalube YART Team Manager

“To secure back-to-back podiums at Le Mans is a good feeling. Of course, we would have loved to have won the race, but our goal was to finish due to the number of points on offer, and we achieved that. The guys rode superbly. We had a slight issue with the front brake that lost us a couple of laps, and then more bad luck when Karel crashed on the oil, with another bike hitting ours in the gravel trap. I am incredibly proud of the team for how they responded to all the challenges, plus the amazing work they did during the off-season to prepare the bike. We have shown we have the pace, and the R1 and the Bridgestone tyres are working superbly, so even though we wanted to win, coming away with 54 points is a great result, and we will aim to build on this performance in Spa.”

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team had to overcome a setback in the eighth hour of the race. Mikhalchik slid as he was overtaking a slower rider and had to head for the pits with a damaged motorbike. The team gave a fantastic collective performance to repair the bike, returning Mikhalchik to the track after just seven and a half minutes. The trio on the #37 then mounted a recovery performance from seventh position.

As the race progressed, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team stood up to the harsh conditions, overcoming very cold temperatures and early morning fog to move up place by place. On Sunday morning, in the 19th hour of the race, the #37 BMW M 1000 RR was back in third and on course for the podium. Mikhalchik, Reiterberger and Guarnoni held that position to the finish line.

Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director

“This 24 Hours of Le Mans once again had everything that makes endurance racing special: action and drama. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team also experienced highs and lows here at Le Mans, but never gave up and claimed a well-deserved third place on the podium. Congratulations to the riders and the team, who gave their all. We showed that we can battle for the win with our overall package. Our new BMW M 1000 RR went like clockwork in its first race, the performance was outstanding, the fastest lap shows how fast it is and there were no technical issues at all. That is an excellent foundation for the upcoming races this season. A big thank you to everyone in the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team led by Werner Daemen and at BMW Motorrad Motorsport, who have contributed to this successful debut for our new endurance bike. We are also delighted with the win for the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Teams in the Superstock class – that was the perfect debut for this newly-formed team. Congratulations to Arnaud Sassone’s squad!”

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Having led during the opening stages, Honda Viltaïs Racing finished fourth ahead of ERC Endurance Ducati, which was in the podium fight before a lengthy pitstop was required to complete a clutch change.

TATI Team Beringer Racing rounded out the top six followed by Yoshimura SERT Motul. The pole-sitting Le Mans-based squad lost 18 laps in the opening hour when Gregg Black crashed heavily following contact with Josh Hook at the Dunlop Chicane on lap one.

Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar was next among the Formula EWC contingent with Ryosuke Iwato drafted in to make his 24 Heures Motos debut shortly before the start alongside his fellow Japanese Kazuki Watanabe and Frenchman Randy de Puniet. Team Bolliger Switzerland was next with Wójcik Racing Team completing the Formula EWC top 10 after a crash for Spaniard Isaac Viñales. Team LRP Poland and Motobox Kremer Racing were next home. Anthony West was in action for Maco Racing and the team reached the finish despite myriad delays.

A heavy crash on Saturday evening for Bastien Mackels ended KM99’s hopes of success on its EWC debut, while an engine failure hit Moto Ain’s hopes after 175 laps.

Racing through the night is always one of the most demanding aspects of the EWC, but the challenge was increased significantly during the 46h running of the 24 Heures Motos as ambient and track temperatures plunged to a little more than freezing. Smoke from the packed campsites close to the track also meant visibility was compromised with early morning mist adding another hazard to the mix. Despite the challenging conditions, the EWC regulars posted consistently high and evenly matched lap times to underline the close competition in the series, which resumes at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium from 16-18 June.

The newly-formed Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team claimed what at one stage appeared to be an unlikely victory in the FIM Endurance World Cup, which also counts for the Dunlop Superstock Trophy. Two unscheduled stops due to mechanical issues handed Chromeburner-RAC-Honda the initiative, only for Jonathan Hardt to crash heavily on Sunday morning on oil dropped by a competitor. Although the French team eventually returned to action it had to make do with fourth position in class. Having endured a luckless 2022 season, 3ART Best of Bike finished second followed by Honda No Limits.

It proved a race of attrition in the Superstock category. Team Louit April Moto, which started the class on pole position, retired following a crash. Last season’s FIM Endurance World Cup title winner Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore was forced out by a mechanical issue shortly after 02h00. BMRT 3 D Maxxess Nevers was eliminated in an early-race collision, while Aviobike, Falcon Racing, JMA Racing Action Bike, National Motos Honda, OG Motorsport World Endurance Team and Pit Lane Endurance also tried but failed to finish. However, Slider Endurance, ADSS97, TRT 27 Bazar 2 La Bécane, Wójcik Racing Team, Holland Motorstore Racing, Energie Endurance, Uniserv Moto82 Team, Team 202 and Players all crossed the finish line in the Superstock category.

The next round of the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship is the 24H SPA EWC Motos at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium from the 16th to the 18th of June.

2023 24 heures Motos Results

2023 Endurance World Championship Standings

2023 Endurance Teams Superstock Standings