The FIM Endurance World Championship returns to the Le Mans circuit for the 47th edition of the 24H Motorcycles. While things started this Wednesday with a procession through the city, the 48 entered in the 24H started the weekend on the track yesterday, during the Free Practices and the first Qualifying Practices.
Before we begin, here is a table that summarizes the known facts:
|
24H Motorcycles |
2023 |
2024 |
| Free Trials |
1'35.964 – BMW Motorrad World – n°37 |
1:35.348 – Yart-Yamaha – n°1 |
| Qualifying Practices 1 |
1'37'.53 – Yoshimura SERT Motul – n°12 |
1'34.868 – YART-Yamaha – n°1 |
| Night Free Trials |
1'36.236 – FCC TSR Honda France – n°1 |
1'36.237 – Yoshimura SERT Motul – n°12 |
| Qualifying Practices 2 |
1'37.153 – Yoshimura SERT Motul – n°12 |
|
| Course | FCC TSR Honda – n°1 | |
| Best lap | 1'35.751 – BMW Motorrad World – n°37 | |
* Ranking of each session available at the end of the article.
Divided into four 20-minute rounds, qualifying for the 24 Heures Motos is decided on the average of the two best times of the drivers on each machine, wearing blue, yellow, red or green armbands.
EWC – 24H Motorcycles
The second part of the qualifying practice for the 24H Motos was much more competitive than the first, with the first appearance of the No. 5 at the top of the timesheet during the session reserved for blue drivers. Greg Black, however, tried to beat him in a final effort but ended up making a mistake, failing by nine thousandths. Note a fall – without consequences – of the No. 86 at the start of the session.
The times displayed are already slower on the red armband side, due to unpredictable weather, which lowers the temperature of the track. No. 12 takes her revenge this time. Led by Dan Linfoot, the Suzuki completes a lap in 1'35''259, or 8 tenths faster than his closest pursuer, Alan Techer (n°5).
If the No. 12 dominated most of this second qualifying practice session, the efforts made by Yoshimura's men were not enough. After calculating the average of the two best times, Yart-Yamaha retains its pole position ahead of its direct competitors, and the n°5 of FCC TSR Honda France.
Top-5 of the starting grid:
1. N°1 YART-Yamaha: 1'34''868
2. No. Yoshimura SERT Motul: 1'35''177
3. N°5 FCC TSR Honda France: 1'35''223
4. No. 333 Honda Viltaïs Racing: 1'35''353
5. No. 37 BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: 1'35''397
Superstock
The blue armbands saw several riders competing for the lead, but Kenny Foray, as on many occasions this weekend, quickly regained the upper hand aboard the #9 BMW, finishing with a lap in 1:36.832.
However, it was the #55 Honda which took pole position thanks in particular to Valentin Suchet's time. The #9 fails by less than a tenth, while the #41 Honda completes the top-3.
Top-3 of the starting grid:
1. N°55 National Motos: 1'37''177
2. N°9 Tecmas MRP BMW Racing Team: 1'37''255
3. No. 41 Chromeburner-RAC41-Honda: 1'37''401
Experimental
Unsurprisingly, the No. 45 confirms in the last category of entries in the 24H Motos. The Metiss-JBB crew completed every session in the first part of the table and recorded their best ever in 1:37.963.
The other bike in the category ridden by the men of the Rosso Bordeaux team barely ran this Friday morning. The four laps completed by the No. 3 saw them set a mark of 1:40.913.
24H Motos 2024 – Ranking of Qualifying Practice 1 (Blue Drivers):
Classification credit: EWC FIM // Full ranking available here.
24H Motos 2024 – Ranking of Qualifying Practice 1 (Yellow Drivers):
Classification credit: EWC FIM // Full ranking available here.
24H Motos 2024 – Ranking of Qualifying Practice 1 (Red Drivers):
Classification credit: EWC FIM // Full ranking available here.
24H Motos 2024 – Ranking of Qualifying Practice 1 (Green Drivers):
Classification credit: EWC FIM // Full ranking available here.
