IN
THE
WIND
P50
F.C.C. TSR
HONDA WIN
BOL D'OR
R
eigning Endurance World
Champions F.C.C. TSR
Honda France (Freddy Foray,
Josh Hook and Mike Di Meglio)
beat YART Yamaha (Broc Parkes,
Niccolò Canepa and Marvin
Fritz) by a mere 54 seconds to
win the 2018 Bol d'Or 24 Hours,
September 13-16, a race packed
with drama until the very last lap.
Yamaha Wepol Racing completed
the podium at the first round of the
2018-2019 FIM EWC.
The Penz13 squad, who finished
second at the 2017 Bol d'Or on a
BMW, had switched to Yamaha on
the eve of the 2018 edition.
Wepol was involved in a lengthy
battle with Bolliger Team Switzer-
land (Kawasaki), who finished at
the foot of the podium thanks to
riders Roman Stamm, Sébastien
Suchet and Jonathan Hugot.
Suzuki Endurance Racing
Team were often in the lead, but
various technical gremlins and a
capricious clutch caused Vincent
Philippe, Etienne Masson and
Gregg Black to drop back to fifth
at the finish.
Other favorites saw their
podium hopes go up in smoke,
like Team SRC Kawasaki France.
The final act of the drama-filled
race came when Randy de
Puniet, Jérémy Guarnoni and
David Checa's Kawasaki suddenly
developed electrical problems, as
a result of which they finished sev-
enth after leading the race during
the night and in the early morning.
The intensity never let up: from
the 10 seconds separating the
three teams in the lead five hours
into the race to the 30-second gap
between the podium contenders
three hours from the finish.
At the finish, five different
manufacturers were represented
in the top six of a race marked by
incessant lead changes.
Not all of the teams who started
from the top positions on the grid
were able to finish the race. ERC-
BMW Motorrad Endurance were
fourth on the grid, but gave up
shortly after nightfall following a
collision and crash two hours into
the race.
Honda Endurance Racing also
threw in the towel on Sunday
morning because of major engine
problems.
SET Racing got itself noticed
among the FIM EWC rookies for
a fine performance. The all-new
Swedish team had settled into
10th place after starting from
30th, but withdrew at noon on
Sunday with a broken engine. CN
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
FIMEWC.COM
F.C.C TSR Honda France
won the Bol d'Or 24-Hour
Endurance in France.
