BMW best! EWC Bol d’Or pole hat-trick ends YART’s rapid run

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team has ended Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team’s consecutive run of pole positions in the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship to keep up the pressure in its bid to land the EWC title for the first time during this weekend’s Bol d’Or 24-hour race.

Having set the qualifying standard at Le Mans, Spa and Suzuka, YART placed second to BMW, which also banked the Bol d’Or pole position 12 months ago and in 2022.

By going fastest, Dunlop-equipped BMW scores five points for a new championship total of 77 with YART earning four points to move onto 120 points. Suzuki-powered Yoshimura SERT Motul completed qualifying in third position for three points and a new total of 113. With a maximum haul of 65 points on offer, BMW remains firmly in the title fight.

The EWC qualifying order is based on the average time of the fastest two riders from each team across both sessions. But having made its mark during Thursday afternoon’s blustery First Qualifying courtesy of Illya Mykhalchyk and Markus Reiterberger, Friday’s second session, which also took place in windy conditions, was essentially a waiting game for the Belgium-based outfit and its new recruit Hannes Soomer, who has replaced Sylvain Guintoli for the Bol d’Or, plus reserve Jan-Ole Jähnig.

“I want to say a big thanks to the team, they gave a very good package for the bike,” Ukraine rider Mykhalchyk said. “We were very strong in previous years here and this year our target was to claim as much points as possible from the qualification and we did it. The bike performed really well in the strong wind. It gave good confidence to not have a disturbed feeling from the conditions and I could focus on my way. I did a pretty good lap and today our focus was on the race settings with the used tyres, and I also did well. This has made good feelings for the race; we are ready, and we are looking for a good one.”

Of BMW’s title chances, Mykhalchyk added: “Last year I had the fastest lap time in the race but for sure the target is to be fastest in every stint and it doesn’t matter what the weather conditions are like. It looks like we are ready, and my team-mates are also ready. The target is to do good laps, good stints and if we fit all our package together, I think we will end really good.”

For Austria-based YART, second place represented an improvement of two positions from the fourth place it secured in qualifying at Circuit Paul Ricard in 2023 with riders Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika. Canepa, who will retire from racing following the Bol d’Or, said: “BMW and the riders are exceptional at this track, and we knew to fight for the pole would be very complicated. But I am very happy because last year we were in fourth place and this is a track where we struggle quite a lot usually, especially in qualifying. So, to have the second fastest time is really great and we’re really happy.”

With its 24 Heures Motos-winning line-up of Gregg Black, Dan Linfoot and Étienne Masson restored, Yoshimura SERT Motul secured third place ahead of Honda Viltaïs Racing, F.C.C. TSR Honda France, Tati Team Beringer Racing, KM99, Kawasaki Webike Trickstar and Team Bolliger Switzerland.

Linfoot, who is chasing four consecutive podiums in 2024, said: “We lose one more point to Yamaha and we can’t be happy about that. The wind is causing issues for everybody and hopefully it will be better for the race so we can have a better feeling. But anything can happen in a 24-hour race, and we’ve got to feel positive about starting in this way.”

Tecmas MRP BMW Racing Team claimed pole position in the Dunlop-supplied FIM Endurance World Cup after it pulled off a tactical masterstroke with riders Loïc Arbel, Jan Bühn and Kenny Foray. Hungarian Endurance Racing Team by Moto-Jungle, which is making its EWC debut this weekend, placed second followed by Team Étoile in a BMW 1-2-3.

Arnaud Sassone, the Tecmas team manager, explained: “Pole position is a good satisfaction because it’s been an up-and-down season and being back on the top of the category shows the skills of the team and the riders. We took a look to the weather forecast yesterday and decided the conditions meant we wouldn’t be as fast as we want. It was a gamble [to wait for] this morning and it’s paid off. For the race I am quite confident but for sure there is pressure on the result because of the season we’ve had.”

Behind Team Étoile, Chromeburner-RAC 41-Honda, TRT27 AZ Moto and Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore completed the Superstock took six. National Motos Honda, which is bidding to win the Superstock-based title, was seventh fastest with two other title contenders, 3ART Best of Bike and Team Aviobike by M2 Revo, 13th and ninth respectively.

HOW SECOND QUALIFYING UNFOLDED
Taking part in his final EWC qualifying session before his retirement, it was fitting that Niccolò Canepa topped the Blue Rider order for Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team. The two-time EWC champion recorded a best time of 1m52.654s to edge out BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team’s Thursday pacesetter Illya Mykhalchyk by 0.250s.

Corentin Perolari was third fastestest for Tati Team Beringer Racing with 2022 Bol d’Or winner Florian Alt fourth for Honda Viltais Racing. Florian Marino was fifth fastest for KM99, despite falling at T7, with Josh Hook sixth quickest for F.C.C. TSR Honda France.

Yoshimura SERT Motul’s Gregg Black was seventh on his return from injury, one place ahead of Kawasaki Webike Trickstar’s Christian Gamarino. Kenny Foray was ninth quickest and the fastest Dunlop-equipped Superstock contender for Tecmas MRP BMW Racing Team as category rival Bálint Kovács rounded out the top 10 for new EWC squad Honda Endurance Racing Team. Chris Leesch, whose Chromeburner-RAC 41-Honda squad is an outside contender for the FIM Endurance World Cup, was another rider to fall during the 20-minute session.

BMW’s Markus Reiterberger left it until the final lap of the Yellow Rider group to clock the fastest time of the session, a 1m52.328s, which beat Marvin Fritz’s long-standing benchmark by 0.402s. Étienne Masson (Yoshimura SERT Motul) was third quickest with KM99’s Randy de Puniet fourth. Steven Odendaal was fifth for Honda Viltaïs Racing followed by F.C.C. TSR Honda Racing rider Mike Di Meglio. Hugo Clère was seventh fastest for Tati Team Beringer Racing as Kawsaki Webike Trickstar’s Román Ramos placed eighth and Kamil Krzemieńwent ninth quickest for Wójcik Racing Team. BMW-powered Yudai Kamei (Team Étoile) rounded out the top 10 and posted the fastest time among the Dunlop-equipped Superstock contenders. Class rivals Guillaume Antiga (Team 33 Louit April Moto) and Tom Oliver (TRT27 AZ Moto) were next up.

Honda Viltaïs Racing’s Leandro Mercado emerged from the Red Rider group on top after he posted a 1m52.688s best, bettering Dan Linfoot (Yoshimura SERT Motul)’s effort by 0.134s. Karel Hanika was third for Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team with F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Alan Techer next up.

Hannes Soomer, on his debut for BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, was fifth quickest followed by Randy Krummenacher (Tati Team Beringer Racing) and Alex Toledo (Team Bolliger Switzerland).

Loïc Arbel set the pace in the Dunlop-supplied Superstock division in eighth overall for Tecmas MRP BMW Racing Team with Hungarian Endurance Racing Team’s Soma Gőrbe ninth and Martin Renaudin in 10th for Chromeburner-RAC 41-Honda. Vincent Fere and Doriano Vietti-Ramos fellow for Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki and 3ART Best of Bike respectively.

Robin Mulhauser was the fastest Green Rider followed by F.C.C. TSR Honda Francenewcomer Kevin Manfredi, Honda Viltaïs Racing’s James Westmoreland and Yoshimura SERT Motul rider Cocoro Atsumi. Mathieu Gines was the fastest Superstock contender in fifth overall for Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore.

FIRST QUALIFYING REPORT: MYKHALCHYK FASTEST AS BMW PROVES RAPID IN EWC
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team became the FIM Endurance World Championship squad to beat following First Qualifying for the title-deciding Bol d’Or. Riders Illya Mykhalchyk and Markus Reiterberger combined to set the unofficial best average time of 1m52.049s to beat Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team with Yoshimura SERT Motul third. Tati Team Beringer Racing and Kawasaki Webike Trickstar were fourth and fifth fastest respectively based on the provisional order. BMW-powered Team Étoile set the pace in the Dunlop-equipped Superstock category, which counts for the FIM Endurance World Cup, followed by TRT27 AZ Moto and EWC newcomer Hungarian Endurance Racing Team by Moto-Jungle.

BEST LAPS
First Qualifying Blue Rider: Illya Mykhalchyk, 1m51.810s / Kazuki Watanabe, 1m54.429s
First Qualifying Yellow Rider: Markus Reiterberger, 1m52.288s / Máté Számadó, 1m55.155s
First Qualifying Red Rider: Karel Hanika, 1m54.321s / Martin Renaudin, 1m54.850s
First Qualifying Green Rider: Robin Mulhauser, 1m54.890s / Péter Sebestyen. 1m56.622s

Second Qualifying Blue Rider: Niccolò Canepa, 1m52.654s / Kenny Foray, 1m54.189s
Second Qualifying Yellow Rider: Markus Reiterberger, 1m52.328s / Yudai Kamei, 1m55.263s
Second Qualifying Red Rider: Leandro Mercado, 1m52.628s / Loïc Arbel, 1m55.005s
Second Qualifying Green Rider: Robin Mulhauser, 1m53,365s / Mathieu Gines, 1m55.633s

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