The Japanese in full force, BMW lurking at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Motos

The Japanese in full force, BMW lurking at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Motos

The 24 Hours of Le Mans Motorcycles, which starts this Saturday, sees the Japanese motorcycles start from a strong position, with BMW left in the dark after failing to qualify with just fifth place at the start.

The 48 crew will depart at 3:00 pm (1:00 pm GMT) for a one-hour tour of the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans, which is over four kilometers long.

As it was until 1970, the pilots of 24 Hours of Le Mans carsmotorcyclists still race, wearing helmets, from one side of the track to the other where their motorcycles are lined up in a herringbone pattern.

There are 18 contestants at the start of this edition of 47 in the first division EWC and 30 inside Superstock where the machines next to the row line up.

It’s here Yamaha du YART N°1, the reigning world champion, who had the best time in practice and will therefore start from pole. He is ahead Suzuki du Yoshimura SERT N°12 and Honda du FCC TSR N°55.

Three drivers for each motorcycle in the category EWC (and four for those who want Superstock), will run for 24 hours until Sunday, with the vagaries of the weather, which the weather forecast predicts dry, but also those created by other competitors due to the difference in speed between the fastest and those below.

The situation in which the French Kenny Foraysitting inside Superstock on top of BMW and who will start in the 11th position, sometimes it is considered dangerous, especially during qualifying. “We are in the qualifiers for the world championship and there are others who confuse qualifying with regular rounds and who stay in the middle of the line. I find it surprising that we still have this kind of problems at this level.”

A situation that could risk repeating itself during the race where professional drivers and non-qualifiers rub shoulders in limited night visibility conditions.

BMW ambush

It’s a Honda FCC TSR The French Mike di Meglio and Alan Techer associated with Australia Josh Hook who won last year ahead of Yamaha YART and BMW you Motorrad Racing.

The latter was a bit disappointed during qualifying only getting the fifth fastest time. Tried by the French Sylvain Guintoli – already a two-time winner on 24 Hours of Le Mans Motorcycles in 2021 and 2022 during the Suzuki race -, German Markus Reiterberger and Ukrainian Ilya Mikhalchikhowever, it is a serious candidate for the final victory.

The only success of BMW in the championship EWC back dates 24 Business Hours in 2022, but the Bavarian company has decided to put all the chances on its side this year by recruiting. Guintoli who, at the age of 41, is one of the greatest professionals in the profession.

“It’s a new challenge, a new challenge and BMW The 24 Hours of Le Mans Motorcycles has never been won by a European manufacturer, so we will be looking for this first victory, but also to fight for the title.” the world, he told itAFP Guintoli.

THE 24 Hours of Le Mans Motorcycles it is the first round of four of the championship EWC 2024, others being Eight Business Hours (Belgium, June 8), the Suzuka Eight Hours (Japan, July 21) and Bol d’Oranother 24 Hour race, at the Castellet circuit near Toulon in southeast France on September 14-15.