The Yamalube YART Yamaha Team took the first ever Estoril 12 Hour victory after a sublime performance from Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccolò Canepa. The Wojcik Racing Team and the Moto AIN team completed a triple celebration for Yamaha on the Estoril podium. Wojcik finished third overall and the Moto AIN team took the FIM Superstock World Cup victory and the 2019/2020 title.
The YART Yamaha team began its championship-deciding run in the hands of Marvin Fritz. The German had a difficult start, suffering a small technical problem, and finding himself at the back of the pack as it battled into the first corner.
The former IDM Superbike champion kept his head cool, quickly making his way through the field, then found himself in seventh position after the first five minutes. Fritz continued to make his way to the front, setting the fastest lap early in the race as the track temperature began to rise.
As he found his rhythm, Fritz was just within reach of the podium after moving up to fourth. He wasted no time in overtaking the Honda FCC TSR, moving to the outside into the final corner and finishing his maneuver into the first corner he began chasing the race leader.
After an impressive first stint, Fritz handed the YART R1 back to Karel Hanika, which immediately began to put pressure on the BMW team. However, his first stint was made a little easier, taking the lead after the BMW Motorrad team crashed.
Controlling the pace, YART continued to dominate proceedings. Hanika was in the middle of his second stint when he suffered a small technical problem with his right footrest. Not alarmed, he kept a cool head, alerting the team to intervene to make a quick repair. With just over four o'clock on the clock, Niccolò Canepa took over from the Czech driver.
As the halfway mark approached, the YART had a lead of just one second over the FCC TSR Honda, and the battle would drag on.
As the track temperature continued to rise to 43 degrees, Hanika made a normal start to his next stint, running up the temperature in his Bridgestone tires. With just under six hours remaining, there was no room for error in the second longest race of the season. The Czech rider quickly settled into his stint, following the FCC TSR Honda team, then finally regained the lead in Turn 6 after losing it briefly on his previous lap.
As two-thirds of the race distance approached, the pressure was back on the YART after their lead was reduced again. With Fritz back on board, the bike retained the lead at the end of the eight-hour race, collecting ten additional championship points, to add to the five already taken thanks to pole position.
The celebrations continued after eight hours for Yamaha, when the Moto AIN DAFY team confirmed their title as FIM Endurance World Champion thanks to the efforts of Roby Rolfo, Robin Mulhauser and Hugo Clere.
Back in the lead, Hanika encountered more problems, including a new problem with her right footrest. YART and Hanika quickly resolved the problem and continued to run comfortably in low 1'40s as the sun began to set on the Estoril track.
With two hours to go, YART Yamaha once again found themselves in a battle for the lead, with two different strategies for the two leading teams. However, YART used its experience to perfectly minimize its final pit stop, with Fritz breaking into a sprint nine minutes before the end of the race, securing victory by 24,5 seconds.
Unfortunately for the team, this was not enough to win the world championship, finishing the ultra-competitive 2019/2020 EWC season in second position overall, 18 points behind the eventual winner, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.
The Wojcik Yamaha team had a great race, placing in the top 5 throughout the 12 hours, to take third place overall, joining YART on the podium. Meanwhile, Moto AIN took an impressive eighth place, winning the World Cup and the 2019/2020 crown.
Another good result that saw Yamaha crowned Manufacturers' Champion, scoring 237 points throughout the 2019/2020 FIM World Endurance Championship season.
Karel Hanika, Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC team: “I started the year with the YART team as the fourth rider, but I proved myself and joined the team with Niccolò and Marvin. I have now done three races with this team, and we have won twice, and at Le Mans we were the strongest, but after my mistake we lost the podium. I am very happy to end the season with a victory despite two footrest problems. Throughout the week the team did an amazing job, especially Marvin who was really strong, so overall it was a good race. »
Marvin Fritz, Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC team: “ We worked very hard from the first session; It was a new route for me, so I had to learn it. The track wasn't difficult to learn, it was just physical on the body. As for the race, we didn't expect the tires to perform as well as they did, so big thanks to Bridgestone. The team was fantastic, even with the little problems we had during the race, no one made any mistakes and everyone was really consistent throughout the relays, always faster than the other teams. During my last stint, I pushed like hell to widen the gap on the TSR, and in the end, we won. I'm really happy because it's always nice to end the year with a victory, because we have a long winter ahead of us. I want to thank the team, my sponsors, Yamaha and Bridgestone for their hard work this season and I look forward to next year. »
Niccolò Canepa, Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC team: “ It was not an easy race, but one we had to win. This is the last race of the season, and so it was important that we came into the winter break with a performance like this at Estoril. »
Mandy Kainz, Team Manager, Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Team: “ On paper this seems clear; I don't think we've ever dominated like this before. From free practice to night practice, qualifying and warmup, we dominated the field, but it was not an easy race. It was a mixed race, with a bit of bad luck and luck on our side, it shows once again how unpredictable Endurance is. But in the end, we did what we wanted, we took as many points as possible, and we came very close to winning the championship. We have once again shown the potential of the team, the new R1 and the Bridgestone tires. The team did an incredible job. It was a tough battle with Honda, but in the end we came out on top! »
