F.C.C. TSR Honda France qualifies in fifth place in the final round of the 2024 FIM EWC Championship
Paul Ricard CircuitThe final round of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship will be held this weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard from September 12 to 15 where F.C.C. TSR Honda France aims to secure a podium finish with their new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP at the 87th Bol d'Or.
Honda’s endurance specialists Josh Hook, Mike Di Meglio and Alan Techer, together with a reserve rider for this round, Kevin Manfredi, placed the #5 Fireblade fifth on the grid ahead of tomorrow’s 24-hour race.
In the first qualifying session on Thursday, in sunny conditions but with a strong wind and cool temperatures, Hook was the first to take the track at the blue riders’ session, but could only be the 8th fastest of his session, with a time of 01:54.170.
Then, the French rider Di Meglio followed on the track achieving the same position as Hook, with a time of 01:54.529. His compatriot Techer set the third fastest time in his session with a lap time of 01:54.958. The reserved Italian rider Manfredi was the 11th fastest with a time of 1:57.655.
At night session F.C.C. TSR Honda France was the third quickest team on the track with a time of 01:54.076.
The following day, in the second qualifying session held under similar track conditions, all the riders improved their lap times due to a productive session and adjustments made to the Honda #5.
Hook gained seven-tenths of a second, setting a best time of 1:53.426 and finishing 5th in his session. Di Meglio improved by three-tenths with a time of 1:54.195, ending up 6th in a session interrupted by a red flag.
Techer made significant progress, improving by over a second with a lap time of 1:53.693, securing 4th place, and finally, Manfredi confirmed the team's strong performance by improving his time by 2.5 seconds, finishing 2nd with a time of 1:55.186.
By averaging the two fastest times from the qualifying sessions, the F.C.C. TSR Honda France team riders placed the Honda #5 in fifth place on the grid and grabs 1 point in the championship.
Honda Viltaïs Racing, the runner-up in the 2023 Bol d'Or race, secured a great fourth position on the starting grid with the team composed of Florian Alt, Steven Odendaal, Leandro Mercado, and reserve rider James Westmoreland aboard the Honda #333.
Tati Team Beringer Racing, qualified sixth on the starting grid, with a lineup featuring Hugo Clere, Randy Krummenacher, and Corentin Perolari.
The new Honda-powered team in the EWC category, riding the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, heads into the final round of the season in fourth place, determined to finish the FIM Endurance World Championship as the top independent team.
Honda could also win the 2024 EWC and World Cup Manufacturers’ titles, so there is a lot to play for at this last round of the season.
In the Superstock category, one of the FIM Endurance World Cup title contender, Honda RAC 41 Chromeburner secured the fourth fastest time in their category. The Honda #41 is third in the Superstock standings and the team is very confident to step in the podium of the season finale.
National Motos Honda FMA, aboard the Honda #55 was the seventh quickest team in their category and their focus during the qualifying sessions was to work on the race pace and be consistent, without doing any mistake.
The French team is leading the FIM Endurance World Cup, and their main objective this weekend is to finish the race and secure the championship title.
The 87th Bol d’Or race will start at 3 pm (CEST) on Saturday, September 14, and will finish at 3 pm (CEST) on Sunday, September 15."
The very windy conditions didn't make qualifying very enjoyable, but after solving our problems at the start of the week, we were able to put in a number of laps to prepare for the race. We had a very good second session, improving on each other's times. I'm confident for the race because the bike works well, we have a good pace and the wind should drop for the race.
The very windy conditions didn't make qualifying very enjoyable, but after solving our problems at the start of the week, we were able to put in a number of laps to prepare for the race. We had a very good second session, improving on each other's times. I'm confident for the race because the bike works well, we have a good pace and the wind should drop for the race.
I'm quite happy because we had some problems yesterday and HRC came up with a number of solutions that worked well. The conditions are really difficult. I felt the wind more today, but I was still able to improve my times. We have a good pace to fight for the podium. The most important thing is to avoid making mistakes during the race and to stay focused, because in 24 hours anything can happen.
I'm quite happy because we had some problems yesterday and HRC came up with a number of solutions that worked well. The conditions are really difficult. I felt the wind more today, but I was still able to improve my times. We have a good pace to fight for the podium. The most important thing is to avoid making mistakes during the race and to stay focused, because in 24 hours anything can happen.
Our race pace is good. Thanks to the work of the whole team in finding solutions, the bike is now working very well. We used qualifying to prepare for the race with a full tank and race tyres. The conditions were tricky because the wind was really strong, but the feeling on the handlebars is good and there should be less wind tomorrow, which is better for us and should enable us to have a good race.
Our race pace is good. Thanks to the work of the whole team in finding solutions, the bike is now working very well. We used qualifying to prepare for the race with a full tank and race tyres. The conditions were tricky because the wind was really strong, but the feeling on the handlebars is good and there should be less wind tomorrow, which is better for us and should enable us to have a good race.
