The 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps continues, and after three hours of racing, the outcome is more uncertain than ever. On the one hand, Yoshimura SERT Motul, a legendary team, which is currently battling with FCC TSR Honda France, victorious at the 24 Heures Motos and incidentally reigning world champions. In front, the YART-Yamaha, very visible since the start of the weekend. These first hours of the race were marked by many twists and turns: without further ado, find the summary of this start.
BMW lets go
A mechanical problem forced the BMW #37 BMW Motorrad World Endurance Racing Team to lose a few moments, even if his Pirelli tires had got the better of his performance as soon as the lights went out. If the crew Reiterberger/Guarnoni/Mykhalchyk won here last year, repeating it will be very complicated given the nature of the race and above all, the competition.
An exciting duel
If at 17 p.m., YART-Yamaha escapes in the lead, Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki #12) and Karel Hanika (Yamaha #7) gave us a spectacular battle for several laps, see:
We are simply loving the battle for the lead between @SylvainGuintoli and Karel Hanika! 👀#FIMEWC #24hSpaMotos pic.twitter.com/YHgHtAKRF1
— FIM EWC (@FIM_EWC) June 17, 2023
In fact, since the lights went out, the Austrian-owned Yamaha YZF-R1 has been significantly faster. Greg Black and Sylvain Guintoli had to work hard to maintain the Suzuki GSX-R 1000, and Etienne Masson now sees the return of Honda #1 FCC TSR Honda France. Their second place is more threatened than ever. In addition, Suzuki #1 suffered a fuel shortage but fortunately, it was able to return to its stand.
Wójcik in difficulty at Spa-Francorchamps
La Yamaha YZF-R1 #77 du Wójcik Racing Team EWC experienced an electronic failure, very unfortunate for the training. Currently hovering around 30th position, hopes are low for Mathieu Gines' machine.
Of the breakage
The start of the race was quite eventful, and many teams were forced to make heavy repairs. The safety car came out several times, first following the fall of the Yamaha #99 KM99 at the top of the steep hill.
Crash for bike #99 at the top of Raidillon 😬#FIMEWC #24hSpaMotos pic.twitter.com/N5GFlxmn0U
— FIM EWC (@FIM_EWC) June 17, 2023
Then Kawasaki #24 BRMT 3D Maxxess Nevers was seen on fire, even though she is one of the favorites in the Superstock category. In the same category, it is the Yamaha #13 OG MOTORSPORT WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM which suffered the horrors of the race with a significant fall, before the engine of the Kawasaki #22 Team 202 doesn't go up in smoke.
Here is the ranking at 17 p.m. – be careful not to be confused by the pit stops:
