EWC Championship – sportpress.international

Race report Bol d’Or 2022 by fimewc.fr/

Viltaïs Racing Igol scored a major victory by winning the 100th Bol d’Or, but F.C.C. TSR Honda France scored even more by winning the FIM Endurance World Championship after 24 gruelling hours of racing at the Circuit Paul Ricard this Sunday afternoon.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s title win followed a race full of drama and high attrition in the southern French sun and capped off another eventful EWC season that also included 24-hour races at Le Mans and Spa-Francorchamps, as well as a return to Japan for the Suzuka 8 Hours.

In front of packed grandstands, Viltaïs Racing Igol’s first EWC victory was dramatic and unexpected in equal measure, but nevertheless a fitting reward for the tireless behind-the-scenes efforts of team manager Yannick Lucot, an impressive performance from the driver trio of Florian Alt (Germany), Erwan Nigon (France) and Steven Odendaal (South Africa), as well as key contributions from reserve driver James Westmoreland (Great Britain).

Viltaïs Racing Igol’s Bol d’Or victory meant that the four race wins to be awarded in the 2022 European Championship were won by four different teams, so open was the championship this season. And to underline the competitiveness, both the EWC qualifying and race lap records were broken at the Circuit Paul Ricard by Illya Mykhalchyk (1m 51.641s) and Xavi Forés (1m 52.979s) respectively.

Late Bol d’Or heartbreak for EWC aces
Until the final 90 minutes of the Bol d’Or, long-time leader ERC Endurance-Ducati appeared to be on course for victory, but was then halted by a mechanical failure, despite being comfortably in the lead. This left the Wójcik Racing Team at the head of the field. But in another late twist, the Polish team’s Yamaha slowed, forcing Mathieu Gines to push the bike into the pit lane for repairs.

By the time Dan Linfoot finally got the #77 bike back on track, Gines, Linfoot and Sheridan Morais had already lost more than five minutes and given up hope of victory.The Wójcik Racing Team achieved its best result of the season with second place, while Webike SRC Kawasaki France finished third in Gilles Stafler’s last EWC race as team principal before his retirement. Webike SRC Kawasaki France had also failed to finish on the podium before the 2022 Bol d’Or and even led for a while before dropping back due to a problem with the engine wiring and starting its comeback.

For ERC Endurance Ducati riders David Checa and Xavi Forés, the late retirement was hard to take after sharing a large part of the race with Chaz Davies, who injured his back and was unable to continue. Despite the highly emotional scenes in the team garage as his almost certain victory slipped away, Checa regained his composure and returned to the action in the final hour after quick repairs by his German team. He finished fifth behind the F.C.C. TSR Honda France team, who made another unscheduled pit stop in the final two hours of the race after a delay earlier in the race.

MACO Racing finished a strong sixth, with Team Bolliger Switzerland the next best Formula EWC team in ninth overall, despite Nico Thöni crashing two corners from the finish. Team LRP Poland finished two places further back, while Motobox Kremer Racing was ahead of Japanese newcomers TONE RT Syncedge 4413 BMW in the premier class. TATI Team Beringer Racing was in the lead and battling for the EWC title when it stopped with a technical problem on Sunday morning, much to the disappointment of the French team and its riders Leon Haslam, Grégory Leblanc and Bastien Mackels.

Success in Superstock for RAC41-Chromeburner and Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore

RAC41-Chromeburner took victory in the Superstock category ahead of BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers, reversing last season’s placings, while Pitlane Endurance finished third. In addition to regular riders Chris Leesch and Wayne Tessels, RAC41 Chromeburner recruited Jonathan Hardt for the final round.

The Frenchman was part of the BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers team that won the 2021 Bol d’Or Superstock and his participation seemed to make the difference for the team, who overcame a late scare when the exhaust on his Honda failed.

No Limits Motor Team, Falcon Racing, Énergie Endurance, JMA Racing Action Bike, Team 33 Louit April Moto, ADSS 97, Team Aviobike, Team 202 and TRT 27 Bazar 2 La Bécane all finished, but there was disappointment for Team LH Racing, National Motos Honda and 3ART Best of Bike.

OG Motorsport by Sarazin led the race until Alex Plancassagne crashed just before 02.50 and the safety car had to be deployed while the track barriers were repaired, while late mechanical problems prevented the Wójcik Racing Team Superstock Pole squad from reaching the podium just before the finish.

The 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore team took the FIM Endurance World Cup title despite being eliminated from the fight for victory due to a mechanical problem that took several hours to rectify. However, the Superstock victory in Le Mans and a second place in Spa-Francorchamps were enough to secure the title for the Yamaha-powered team, which relied on riders Baptiste Guittet and Hugo Clere from France as well as Austrian Philipp Steinmayr.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France becomes FIM EWC World Champion
F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s FIM Endurance World Championship title win follows on from the 2017/18 season when Josh Hook won the EWC title alongside Freddy Foray and Alan Techer.The Japanese team was one of five teams that fought a tough battle for glory at the Bol d’Or, but came out on top when its four rivals ran into trouble. Season riders Mike Di Meglio and Hook were joined at the final race of the year by Alan Techer on the #5 Honda, replacing Gino Rea, who suffered serious head injuries in a crash at Suzuka last month but helped F.C.C. TSR Honda France to podium finishes at the 24 Heures Motos and the 24H SPA EWC Motos. Defending champions Yoshimura SERT Motul finished second in the final championship order, with Viltaïs Racing Igol third. All results are subject to final confirmation.

While F.C.C. TSR Honda France celebrated, there was Bol d’Or heartbreak for several teams, including three EWC title contenders, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, who qualified on pole, YART – Yamaha Official Team EWC and Yoshimura SERT Motul. Team Moto Ain also failed to qualify due to technical problems after impressing with the fifth fastest time in qualifying.

https://www.fimewc.com/race-report-viltais-racing-igol-takes-dramatic-win-as-bol-dor-centenary-serves-up-an-ewc-thriller/