This Saturday the second round of the Motorcycle Endurance World Championship is being held on the famous Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps. The eight-hour long event began at around 13:00 p.m., and has already seen numerous changes within the different categories.
EWC:
The n°1 was not worried at the start. Led by Niccolo Canepa, Yart Yamaha approached the steep climb in the lead, and gradually gained tenths from its pursuers to lead the event with a three-second lead after 30 minutes of riding.
Behind, the other places on the podium were however more contested. At the end of the first half hour, Markus Reiterberger (n°37) played cat and mouse with Gregg Black (n°12), overtaking the latter in the same place during each pass, before losing his advantage again.
Active observer of this duel, Alan Techer (FCC TSR Honda France) put pressure on his two competitors and then overtook them with a certain ease. A great response to a personal error that caused him to waste time in the first place.
“I didn't turn the bike on, so when I jumped on it, it didn't start. I tried to push as much as possible to come back, but it's obviously a little disappointing because we knew we had the ability to fight up front. I'm going to rest now, and we'll see what the rest of the race has in store for us." comments the principal concerned after his relay, taking full responsibility for this incident.
Superstock:
Many lead changes in the Superstock class during this first half hour of racing, mainly caused by early pit stops. Thus the n°11, as well as the n°777 and n°9 took control of the race, each moving between 8th and 10th positions overall.
EWC 8H Spa – Ranking after 30 minutes of racing:
The second half of this first hour of racing saw the leading drivers pass through the pitlane for the first time. The first to dive into the pit lane was Niccolo Canepa, shortly after 13:45 p.m.
Taking over, Marvin Fritz came out in sixth position, but quickly moved into the top-3 thanks to stops by the #5, #12, and #333.
After the first hour of action, the situation is the same as before the first pit-stop, but the gap is widening between the number 1 and its pursuers. Marvin Fritz increased the distance a little further with the rest of the peloton. He thus relegates Josh Hook of the FCC TSR Honda France to more than five seconds. Niccolo Canepa, however, admitted that the strategy put in place should see them make one more stop than their opponents, which is not a foregone conclusion when we know how much time a refueling can cost at Spa.
EWC 8H Spa – H1 classification:
Ranking : E.W.C.
