EWC 2023 Review: Honda Wins Manufacturers’ Title, F.C.C. TSR Honda France Wins Season-opener but Fourth Overall

The joint Japanese-French team, F.C.C. TSR Honda France, continued raced throughout the season with its three-rider team of Josh Hook, Mike Di Meglio, and Alan Techer on their CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP.

Last Year’s Champions Storm to Season-opener Win at Le Mans

In the opening round, the 24 Heures Motos held at the Circuit Bugatti (France) on April 15-16, F.C.C. TSR Honda France maximized the potential of its racing bike during the nighttime session while the temperature was low, earning an extra 10 points awarded to the leading team every 8 hours. The riders, who remained focused despite the slippery track and fog, rode flawlessly and remained in the lead at the 16-hour mark. They continued on to win the race with perfect pit stops and fast lap times in the final stages of the race. Claiming 63 of the 65 available points, this was a great start to the season.

Second Place, Despite Exhaust Problems at Spa

Round 2, of the 24H SPA EWC Motos, was held at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Hook got off to a great start from fourth grid and for the first few hours battled for the lead. Each team rider was lapping consistently and without mishaps, but with a quarter of the race remaining, the bike developed exhaust issues. Forced to pit for repairs, team mechanics completed their work in five minutes, and hard efforts paid off as they moved up one position to finish in second place. Heading into the Suzuka 8 Hours, F.C.C. TSR Honda was ranked second, trailing by a single point.

Team HRC with Japan Post Wins Suzuka 8 Hours Again, Honda Dominates Podium

Round 3 was the celebration of summer, the Suzuka 8 Hours. This was the second year HRC competed as a factory team at the event, this time with a new partner, Japan Post Co., Ltd., as Team HRC with Japan Post.

Takumi Takahashi, Iker Lecuona, and Xavi Vierge were initially planned to represent the team, but Tetsuta Nagashima, one of last year’s winning riders, had recovered from his injuries, and Lecuona was scheduled to race in MotoGP on the same day. The final rider lineup for the team was Takahashi, Nagashima, and Vierge.

Team HRC with Japan Post, which had performed well from the pre-tests, qualified second in timed qualifying and advanced to the Top 10 Trial, which was held for the first time in 6 years. Vierge and Nagashima rode in the trials. Nagashima's 2 min 5.329 s lap was the top time, earning the team pole position for the second straight year.

YART Yamaha Official Team EWC (YAMAHA) was expected to be Team HRC’s fiercest rival as they were faster than the Honda team in certain sectors, but around 90 minutes into the race, the Yamaha slowed down and dropped out of contention. Team HRC with Japan Post was in a clear lead from then on, and by the halfway mark, had lapped every other team. Takahashi, Nagashima, and Vierge lapped at a pace in the 2 min 08 s range and made their pit stops faster than the regular EWC teams, further extending their lead. In the final stages, rain began to fall, but Takahashi was able to keep out of trouble through riding cautiously. At the end, Nagashima took over, completing the team’s 216 laps earning them the Suzuka 8 Hours title for the second year in a row. This was Takahashi fifth Suzuka 8 Hours win, tying the record for most wins held by Toru Ukawa. Nagashima took his second win in a row, and Vierge was happy with his first win.

Honda riders dominated the podium, with SDG Honda Racing (Teppei Nagoe / Naomichi Uramoto / Haruki Noguchi) in second place and F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Mike Di Meglio / Alan Techer / Tarran Mackenzie) in third place. TOHO Racing (Ryuichi Kiyonari / Takuma Kunimine / Ikuhiro Enokido) had finished second, but were disqualified due to a fuel tank capacity violation during post-race inspection. However, veteran rider Kiyonari's performance in the rain, where he lapped at a pace more than 10 seconds faster than his competitors, left a strong impression.

Honda Viltaïs Racing on the Podium at Bol d'Or
Honda Wins the Manufacturers’ Title

F.C.C. TSR Honda France led YART Yamaha Official Team EWC by 13 points heading into the final round.

Starting from the third grid, the Honda team kept up a solid pace in the top positions until halfway into the race, when mechanical problems struck. Despite the best efforts by team mechanics in the pits to repair the damage, they had no choice but to retire.

Despite the disappointment of losing the title in the final round, F.C.C. TSR Honda France, which had achieved consistent results in the previous three rounds, finished fourth overall.

Thanks to last year's Bol d'Or winners, Honda Viltaïs Racing (Florian Alt / Steven Odendaal / Leandro Mercado / James Westmoreland) finishing in second place, and the successes of the teams riding CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SPs, Honda concluded the season winning the EWC manufacturers' title.

Race Report

Rd.01 24 Heures Motos：Perfect win for F.C.C. TSR Honda France at 24 Heures Motos

Rd.02 24H SPA EWC Motos：Another podium for F.C.C. TSR Honda France and victory for National Motos Honda in Superstock

Rd.03 Suzuka 8 Hours：Second Consecutive Victory for Team HRC with Japan Post, Top 3 for Honda

Rd.04 Bol d'Or：Honda Viltaïs Racing takes Bol d’Or podium to secure the Constructors' FIM Endurance World Championship for Honda

Standings