The official Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC team composed of Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika, FIM endurance world champions E.W.C. in title, was simply sensational in dominating the debates to achieve two consecutive victories in Spa-Francorchamps and reduce the gap with the leader in the general classification to just one point.
The weather, which is often a key factor on the 6,985km legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, remained dry and sunny throughout the second round of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), and the thousands of fans who attended the event witnessed one of the most dominant performances in recent years.
Defending champion YART set a milestone on Friday, not only dominating free practice, Marvin Fritz setting an unofficial lap record of 2'18.551, but also putting in an impressive performance in qualifying. The three drivers dominated their respective groups by showing blazing speed, which allowed YART to start in pole position and secure the five points offered for having taken pole position.
Fritz didn't let it get him down and got his hands on the official lap record on Friday afternoon after setting a time of 2'18.552 in his first qualifying session, beating the established time of 2'18.845 by Hanika in 2022. But the German was not the only one to be fast, since the three YART drivers managed to break the 2:19 mark (the only ones to have done so throughout the weekend ), the Austrian team having shown incredible pace before Saturday's race.
The first edition of the 8 Hours of Spa Motos, following two 24-hour editions in 2022 and 2023, provided some exciting racing, but no one could stop YART from taking back-to-back victories at Spa. As always, strategy proved crucial during the race, as while the #1 Bridgestone-shod R1 was undoubtedly the fastest bike on the grid in the hands of the YART riders, due to fuel consumption , the team knew it would have to make one more pit stop than its rivals.
With this in mind, we had to push from the start, and we couldn't dream of a better first stint than that of Canepa. The Italian, who was still feeling the effects of his crash at the Daytona 200, started superbly from pole and took the lead at the end of the first lap. After a brief battle with his championship rival, the 36-year-old SERT set the tone for the rest of the race by racing away. By the time of the first pit stop, he had created a sensational gap of almost ten seconds at the front, in one of the most electric opening laps in EWC history.
Fritz and Hanika then continued to set a frantic pace while showing incredible consistency. As the race progressed, the trio were relentless and continued to push, getting faster and faster as time passed, eventually increasing their lead to over a minute . All three drivers were completely faultless, and the team made not a single mistake during the pit stops, as YART increased its lead advantage with almost every lap.
Niccolò Canepa crossing the finish line
True to their strategy, they opened up a sufficient gap to be able to make an additional stop while retaining the lead of the race.
As is often the case, the experienced Canepa took the final stint and brought the YART R1 home to win the 8 Hours of Spa Motos by 40,145 seconds after completing 201 laps, sparking jubilant celebrations as part of the team and completed the perfect weekend. With this victory and pole position, the reigning champions took home the maximum 35 points on offer in Belgium and closed the gap to the EWC standings leader to just one point, with two rounds still to go. argue.
The race was more difficult for the Belgian team KM99 made of Jérémy Guarnoni, Florian Marino and Randy de Puniet. After qualifying in seventh position, they suffered a crash in the first half hour, which caused them to fall in the timing screens. They fought hard, but a second crash cost them even more time, but they rallied in the final two hours to finish in 16th place overall and 10th place in the Formula EWC category.
Next up for both teams will be the 45th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in Japan, July 19-21.
Niccolò Canepa : “I'm delighted because we won last year in the 24-hour race, and we won again this year in the eight-hour race. Honestly, it was a perfect performance throughout the race weekend from all of us, from the team to the tires, and of course my teammates were incredible. Although we had to make an extra pit stop, we managed the strategy perfectly and stuck to our plan to secure the victory, and we have now closed the gap to the championship leaders to just one point with two rounds remaining. ".
Marvin Fritz : “It was the perfect race. We won, set a new lap record, and we both finished at the top of our qualifying groups, and managed to get maximum points for the championship. I couldn't be more proud of my teammates and the entire YART team, we did an incredible job. We pushed from the start of the race because we knew we had to make one more pit stop than our competitors, and Niccolò couldn't have given us a better start. Karel and I continued this way, and we all set an incredible pace for the rest of the race. The team did a superb job with the pit stops, the Bridgestone tires were excellent and the bike felt wonderful. Honestly, it was the perfect performance, and sticking to our strategy and not making a single mistake was amazing. It was very special. Last year we won with the #7 bike; this year we won with the #1 on our R1, and I couldn't be happier. On the way to Suzuka.”
Karel Hanika : “It’s incredible to win for the second year in a row here in Spa. I had a difficult race at Le Mans. I wasn't at my best and my fall cost us the victory. So I had to reset and focus on getting back to my best. It took me a little longer to gain speed during the private tests, but lap after lap I regained confidence, and in qualifying I felt very good on the bike again. In an eight-hour race it's easy to make a mistake because it's more of a sprint, but the whole team was faultless and we put in an incredible performance. I'm happy to have been able to bounce back like this, and my team and my teammates are so good it's unbelievable. The atmosphere within the team is excellent and I couldn't be more proud of what we have achieved here at Spa. I would like to thank the whole team and everyone at Yamaha and Bridgestone who supported us; this victory is for you. We’re already looking forward to Suzuka.”
Mandy Kainz, Team Manager : “What a performance! The whole team has been incredible since we arrived on Thursday, working tirelessly to produce such a performance. I am very proud of them. The drivers were impeccable today and showed what we are capable of. The bike was superb, and when we combine everything like we did here in Spa, I truly believe we are unstoppable. Obviously it's about endurance, so there are a lot of factors to take into account, but this weekend we had the perfect race. To achieve two consecutive victories at this circuit is also special, and I would like to thank the team, Yamaha and Bridgestone, who gave us the perfect package. We managed to get maximum points in the championship, and we are only one point behind the leaders, so it's off to Suzuka.
