Taking a lookback on 10 seasons of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports promoting the FIM Endurance World Championship, this is a reminder of who won what and who came out on top in 2023, plus a recap of some of the key moments and achievements of another epic EWC season.
HIGHLIGHTS
WBD Sports sticks to a winning formula with a calendar identical to 2022. Starting with the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans (below), the second running of the 24H SPA EWC Motos is next followed by the 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race (above) and the season-deciding Bol d’Or at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Having replaced the injured Gino Rea at F.C.C. TSR Honda France for the 2022 Bol d’Or, Alan Techer returns to Masakazu Fujii’s team on a full-time basis.
Viltaïs Raing switches from Yamaha to Honda power and becomes Honda Viltaïs Racing. Argentine Leandro Mercado (below) is an exciting new recruit.
While Austrian Philipp Steinmayr remains a key member of Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore having helped it to the 2022 Superstock title, Enzo De La Vega and Axel Maurin are new recruits following the departures of Hugo Clere and Baptiste Guittet, who step up to Formula EWC with Tati Team Beringer Racing.
Isaac Viñales, the cousin of MotoGP racer Maverick Viñales, joins Wójcik Racing Team’s Formula EWC entry alongside new team-mates Mathieu Gines and Sheridan Morais.
OG Motorsport World Endurance Team signs Cocoro Atsumi, Ludovic Rizza and Roberto Rolfo for its Superstock effort.
Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar (below) is the new name for Webike SRC Kawasaki France, which competed with considerable success in the EWC under Gilles Stafler’s guidance prior to the respected team owner taking the decision to retire at the completion of the 2022 season and put his operation up for sale. Ryuji Tsuruta is the new team head.
Enzo Boulom, Bálint Kovács and Anthony West are Maco Racing Team’s 2023 trio, while Motobox Kremer Racing signs Christian Napoli and Daniel Rubin to partner up with established team rider Geoffroy Dehaye.
Team Bolliger Switzerland’s 2023 trio includes Marcel Brenner and Nico Thöni, while Pedro Romero replaces Patrick Hobelsberger prior to the Le Mans opener.
With 77,200 fans in attendance, the highest number since 2011, F.C.C. TSR Honda France wins the 24 Heures Motos outright as Tecmas MRP BMW Racing Team (below) takes the Superstock honours.
In emotional scenes, its former rider Gino Rea, who continues his recovery from serious injury sustained in crash during practice for the Suzuka 8 Hours in 2022, receives a guard of honour from the EWC riders and their teams (below) as he set out on a highly emotional parade lap shortly before the 24 Heures Motos gets under way. He then follows his former team-mates’ progress with great interest before being awarded the Anthony Delhalle EWC Spirit Trophy.
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team moves to the top of the provisional FIM Endurance World Championship standings with victory in the 24H SPA EWC Motos, a result that ends the Austrian squad’s 14-year wait for a twice-around- the-clock triumph. National Motos Honda grabs top Superstock honours at the spectacular Belgian venue.
Team HRC with Japan Post (below) proves unbeatable during a thrilling 44th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race. Its second Suzuka victory in as many years followed a lengthy delay for Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team and an early setback for F.C.C. TSR Honda France, all of which means the EWC title chase will go down to the wire in the Bol d’Or.
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team hits back from its Suzuka struggles to win the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship following a tense climax to the season at Circuit Paul Ricard as Yoshimura SERT Motul wins the 86th Bol d’Or. YART is one of six teams in EWC title contention starting the legendary 24-hour event, but it endures a nervy conclusion to the race due to a temperature issue that forces the team to make multiple pit stops for running repairs.
There’s FIM Endurance World Cup despair for National Motos Honda and Chromeburner-RAC 41-Honda. The former loses the Bol d’Or category win and the Superstock title in the final hour with engine failure. RAC 41’s celebrations are short-lived after its Honda is found not to comply with the rules, leaving Team 33 Louit April Moto (below) to take the race victory and FIM crown.
CALENDAR
24 Heures Motos, 13-16 April 2023
24H SPA EWC Motos, 16-18 June 2023
Suzuka 8 Hours, 4-6 August 2023
Bol d’Or 24 hours, 14-17 September 2023 (below)
RACE WINNERS
24 Heures Motos
Formula EWC: F.C.C. TSR Honda France (Josh Hook, Mike Di Meglio, Alan Techer), Honda CBR1000 RR-R, 827 laps
Superstock: Tecmas MRP BMW Racing Team (Kenny Foray, Jan Bühn, Loïc Arbel), BMW M1000RR, 802 laps
24H SPA EWC Motos
Formula EWC: YART Yamaha Official EWC Team (Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika), Yamaha YZF-R1, 572 laps
Superstock: National Motos Honda (Sébastien Suchet, Valentin Suchet, Guillame Raymond), Honda CBR 1000RR-R, 556 laps (below)
Suzuka 8 Hours
Formula EWC: Team HRC with Japan Post (Tetsuta Nagashima, Takumi Takahashi, Xavi Vierge), Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, 216 laps
Bol d’Or
Formula EWC: Yoshimura SERT Motul (Gregg Black, Sylvain Guintoli, Étienne Masson), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, 717 laps
Superstock: Team 33 Louit April Moto (Christian Gamarino, Simone Saltarelli, Kevin Calia), Kawasaki ZX-10R, 697 laps
CHAMPIONS
Formula EWC: YART Yamaha Official EWC Team, 181 points (+20 points) (below)
Superstock: Team 33 Louit April Moto, 143 points (+16 points)
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
