EWC Bol d'Or, halfway point: 2nd dramatic turn of events!

While since the Tire problems for Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team #1 and then FCC TSR Honda France #5, the head of the 24 hours of the FIM Bol d'Or E.W.C. was occupied alternately by the Yoshimura SERT Motul then the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team #37, it was said that the approach of the halfway point would offer us a new twist…

The problems encountered by the official Yamaha and Honda obviously served as a lesson to the Suzuki of the same order, and, since then, it and the BMW have been fighting for the lead of the race, each with its weapons, among which the tires still played a crucial role.

At Suzuki, once the hardest tire of the Bridgestone allocation was removed, we could count on the usual performance of the Japanese tires, generally above the rest. During the afternoon, with the high track temperatures, this allowed the GSX-R to keep the lead, with a few dozen seconds on the BMW.

But this one then benefited from the progress of the Dunlop when the temperature dropped, and the junction was made shortly before the 11th hour, before the German bike led by Par Markus Reiterberger did not take command in the process. The latter then dug a gap of a good ten seconds and managed to keep the lead after its refueling, the Suzuki having done its earlier.

Alas, then in the hands of Hannes Soomer, the last minute replacement for Sylvain Guintoli, the BMW #37 made a mistake at 02:30 at Beausset, leaving the command to Etienne Masson on the Suzuki.

Therefore, the Yoshimura Suzuki could gallop ahead with a 3-lap lead, ahead of the Honda Viltais Racing #333 and the Yamaha #99 of KM99, while the unfortunate BMW #37 and Yamaha #1 are just one turn away.

We are only halfway through…

Ranking at 3:00 p.m.:

Credit rankings: its-live.net