F.C.C. TSR Honda France ready to reclaim the FIM EWC title
Fourteen teams powered by Honda took part at the Pre-Mans test ahead of the start of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship
A significant increase in Honda teams, surpassing last year's entry list by more than double, was observed at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans during the official testing, which lasted two days (April 2-3) ahead of the 24 Heures Motos, which marks the beginning of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship from April 18-21.
This considerable increase in Endurance teams selecting the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, highlights the excellent work of the Japanese brand in delivering an extremely competitive and reliable bike tailored for the demand of this endurance championship. Proven on track during the test, with seven of the top 14 times all set on Honda machinery.
The F.C.C. TSR Honda France team, defending winners of last year’s 24 Heures Motos, enters the 2024 EWC season with renewed confidence, thanks to the meticulous winter preparation.
Honda’s endurance specialists Alan Techer, Mike Di Meglio and Josh Hook concluded the two-day test in sixth position overall, amidst cold and wet track conditions. Riding the #5 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, they posted a best lap time of 1:36.636 out of the 42 teams participating in the event, less than one second shy of the quickest team.
On the first day, F.C.C. TSR Honda France were on track only for the initial two hours, when conditions remained dry. With the return of the rain later in the day, the team opted to remain in the pit box during the afternoon session.
On the second day, as the morning session was in damp conditions left by overnight rain, the Honda #5 team chose to wait until the track dried and conducted their tests during the afternoon session and improved their lap-time.
F.C.C. TSR Honda France is very confident and eager to start the new season and fight for its 3rd world title.
Honda Viltaïs Racing conclude two highly successful days of testing demonstrating their dominance as last season's leading independent team by consistently topping the timing sheets on both days and a best lap time of 1:35.679.
The #333 Honda squad comprising Florian Alt, Steven Odendaal, Tati Mercado, and James Westmoreland, confirmed that the team is ready following several winter tests aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade, with a clear objective set for each race to secure a podium finish and maintain a position in the top three by the season's end.
In the Superstock category, National Motos Honda also demonstrated good performance. With an unchanged line up from previous seasons, Guillaume Raymond and the Suchet brothers, Sébastien and Valentin, the #55 Fireblade set the second fasted lap time in the SST category.
The Honda teams will now look forward to the opening round of the 2024 EWC season with the prestigious 24 Heures Motos which starts at 3pm local time on Saturday 20 April and finishes at 3pm local time on Sunday 21 April.
‘’We're a little disappointed with the weather conditions, as we weren't able to achieve the desired lap time when the track dried. Additional dry laps would have been beneficial for us.However, we know now that we have a base setting that works here and we always find something better during the race day. We always perform when we need to and the team has done an excellent job, we just need to find the setting that all three riders are comfortable and we can be consistent’’
‘’We tried many things despite this challenging weather forecast so we will have to test a bit more in the race week. At the end we were not so far with the pace but still things to try during the race week.’’
‘’During the two days of testing at Le Mans, we have tested many things trying to find setup for the race weekend. Thanks to the team's great job, we are highly confident in starting the season with strong results.’’
