The 46th edition of the 24 Heures Motos started with a bang from the first corner with the spectacular fall of the #12 Suzuki of Yoshimura SERT Motul, but things never really calmed down after that. Falls, engine failures, oil on the track and safety cars punctuated the hours while a trio formed at the head of the race, the Yamaha #7 of YART – Yamaha leading just ahead of the Honda #1 of FCC TSR Honda France and the fast #37 BMW of the Motorrad World Endurance Team.
As night approached, Yamaha #96 Moto Ain suffered an engine problem and made the track slippery, causing the safety cars to come out for the third time.
Shortly after 21 p.m., Yamaha #7 shortened its stint due to a small brake problem. She loses command. Honda #1 takes the lead.
The #4 Kawasaki of Tati Team Beringer Racing took the opportunity to climb into 3rd position.
At 21:40 p.m., BMW #37 was penalized with a stop and go after overtaking under a safety car. She loses a full minute, which gives Honda #1 a comfortable mattress. The #4 Kawasaki suffered the same fate, which allowed the #7 Yamaha to return to the provisional podium.
At 22:30 p.m., it's the turn of Honda #1 to make a stop and go, but she manages to retain the leadership with a minute in advance. An advantage which increases significantly when the #37 BMW makes a mistake, shortly before 23:00 p.m.
As a result, Yamaha #7 moves up to 2nd position. The #6 Ducati is third at 2 laps.
It's midnight, there are 15 hours of racing left...and nothing is decided!
Photo credit and ranking: FIMEWC.com
