Karel Hanika heads into next month's 24 Heures Motos as the rider to beat after setting a stunning time for the official Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC team on the final day of pre-testing at Le Mans.
The Czech star, riding a Yamaha YZF-R1 shod with Bridgestone and supported by his teammates Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz et Robin Mulhauser, achieved a best lap of 1m34.759s around the 4,185 kilometers of the Bugatti Circuit, which eclipsed his record of 1m34.878s achieved during the 45th 24 Heures Motos last April.
The leader of the first day, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, finished second in 1m35.192, followed by ERC Endurance-Ducati (1m35.350).
FCC TSR Honda France, who won the 2022 FIM Endurance World Team Championship, was fourth fastest with a charge of 1m35.542s followed by Yoshimura SERT Motul (1m35.672s), who will aim for a third victory consecutive to the 24 Hours next month.
The Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team, made up of the drivers Loïc Arbel, Maxime Bonnet, Jan Bühn and Kenny Foray, was the fastest for the second consecutive day among the Dunlop-equipped Superstock category competitors followed by 3ART Best of Bike and National Motos Honda.
EWC teams will have one final testing opportunity at Le Mans in a private test on April 11 before official on-track activity for the EWC season-opening 24 Heures Motos begins on April 13. The spectacular and extremely demanding two-lap clock race will begin at 15:00 CET on April 15.
source: FIMEWC.com
