YART Yamaha Official EWC Team overhauled reigning champion FCC TSR Honda France at the top of the FIM World Endurance Championship standings with victory in the 24H SPA EWC Motos, their first win twice on the day since 2009.
Despite a slow start for Marvin Fritz, YART Yamaha quickly got going and took the fight to their title rivals in an epic early showdown at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
FCC TSR Honda led the order from Spa after eight hours, with YART paying compliance after 16 hours. But while YART largely stayed out of trouble, exhaust issues forced FCC TSR Honda into the pits for five minutes just after 4 p.m.
This costly stop allowed Austrian team YART to steal a gear, and even a damaged rear tire just before 7pm was quickly changed in the pits, allowing the team to continue their charge of victory for his first victory over the 24 hours since he triumphed at Le Mans in 2009.
The Belgian BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team made the most of a series of Yoshimura SERT Motul misfortunes to take third place at their home event, with the Suzuki-powered squad in fourth.
BMW Motorrad was held back by some mechanical issues in the first eight hours, but Yoshimura SERT Motul endured an unlucky race after starting strongly in the lead. Sylvain Guintoli tried to pit in the wrong garage in the first hour. The team was then hit with a costly pit stop penalty for contact by Étienne Masson on the Holland Motorstore Racing bike at turn seven just after five hours.
The Japanese team’s misfortune continued when their bike was forced into the pits for three minutes to fix a technical problem after six hours. His chances of a top three finish were ended for good when his bike required a water pump change with three and a half hours remaining.
Kawasaki Webike Trickstar managed fifth place, overcoming an early crash by Kazuki Watanabe, who was taken to hospital for checks, but returned to the track to resume what was then a fairly smooth race.
Belgian team KM99 battled back to sixth after a good night on their Yamaha, going from 14th overall after eight hours to sixth after 16. This came after Bastian Mackels crashed at Eau Rouge in the opening hour, before his teammate. Lucas Mahias slipped near the pit entrance at seven and a half hours.
Honda Viltaïs Racing took seventh, with Motobox Kremer Racing eighth, MANA-AU Competition ninth and TATI Team Beringer Racing occupying the 10th and final points position in a race affected by light rain in the closing stages.
The ERC Endurance Ducati was unable to follow up its fourth place finish at the inaugural EWC at Le Mans, retiring after nearly four hours. Wójcik Racing Team EWC followed suit after seven-and-a-half hours, with Team Bolliger Switzerland forced to pull out when their bike became stranded in the gravel after 18 hours.
Full report to follow soon.
