Honda teams complete Le Mans test ahead of the 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship
Honda’s endurance teams have been in action at the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans this week (30-31 March) for official testing ahead of the 24 Heures Motos, which kicks off the 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship in a few weeks’ time on 17-18 April.
Endurance specialists and last year’s 24 Heures Motos winners, F.C.C. TSR Honda France wrapped up the two-day test in second position overall aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, posting a best lap time of 1:36.068 out of the 43 teams in attendance.
Weather conditions were a stark contrast compared to the previous test earlier in the year, with track temperatures reaching 40°C and the ambient temperature up to 25Cº. The change in temperature didn’t hamper the team’s progress however, where Josh Hook and Mike Di Meglio worked through electronic settings as well as different compounds with tyre supplier Bridgestone.
The team’s third rider Yuki Takahashi was not present during the test due to commitments in the Japan Superstock 1000 Championship, which takes place this weekend (3-4 April).
Fellow Honda endurance teams also in attendance were National Motos who this year make their debut in the Superstock category aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Wrapping up the test 14th fastest overall, National Motos were second fastest on the timesheets in the Superstock category.
RAC 41 Chromeburner enjoyed a solid test with a new ride line-up and although having some technical difficulties early on, the team worked through to fix the issues and are confident in the bikes set-up ahead of the 24-hour race.
The main goal for the Atlantic Racing Team during the two days was to look for the performance and find the correct set-up of the CBR1000RR-R, to allow its riders to be fighting within the top 15 in the Superstock category.
Honda's teams will now look forward to the first round of the 2021 EWC season with the prestigious 24 Heures Motos which starts at 12pm (CEST) on Saturday 17 April and finishes at 12pm (CEST)on Sunday 18 April.
The weather was much warmer than in the previous test, and the good thing about this hot weather is that we got to try different tyres and which combination will work better in the heat in case of this hot weather for the race. The second day was also positive in testing new tyres with the warmer weather, but unfortunately, we didn't do too many laps. Still, overall we came away with the good direction with the temperature brackets for the tyres that works better.
The weather was much warmer than in the previous test, and the good thing about this hot weather is that we got to try different tyres and which combination will work better in the heat in case of this hot weather for the race. The second day was also positive in testing new tyres with the warmer weather, but unfortunately, we didn't do too many laps. Still, overall we came away with the good direction with the temperature brackets for the tyres that works better.
Track conditions were very different compared to last time, but we perfectly adapt to such conditions. As Yuki was not here, we had more time to work on ourselves, but the fact that he is not here will not affect us for the race as we already saw that we have the same feeling on the bike during the last test. We also tried a new front harder tyre for this weather, and I improved my lap timing on day one. The second day was harder as we had some small issues and the lap times were not constant, I also had two crashes at the end of the day, not what we were hoping but overall it was a positive test.
Track conditions were very different compared to last time, but we perfectly adapt to such conditions. As Yuki was not here, we had more time to work on ourselves, but the fact that he is not here will not affect us for the race as we already saw that we have the same feeling on the bike during the last test. We also tried a new front harder tyre for this weather, and I improved my lap timing on day one. The second day was harder as we had some small issues and the lap times were not constant, I also had two crashes at the end of the day, not what we were hoping but overall it was a positive test.
Pre-24 Heures Motos test times:
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team – 1:35.133
F.C.C. TSR Honda France – 1:36.068
Yoshimura SERT Motul – 1:36.190
VRD Igol Experiences – 1:36.476
Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar – 1:36.527
Tati Team Beringer Racing – 1:36.953
Wójcik Racing Team – 1:36.979
ERC Endurance Ducati – 1:37.276
Team LRP Poland – 1:37.504
BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers (SST) – 1:37.745
R2CL – 1:37.766
3ART Best of Bike – 1:37.794
Moto Ain – 1:37.797
National Motos (SST) – 1:37.865
Maco Racing – 1:37.912
Bolliger Team Switzerland – 1:38.027
OG Motosport by Sarazin (SST) – 1:38.050
Team 18 Sapeurs-Pompiers CMS Motostore (SST) – 1:38.180
JMA Action Bike (SST) – 1:38.679
Metiss (EXP) – 1:38.735
RAC41 Chromeburner (SST) – 1:39.056
