With Belgium’s legendary 6.985-kilometre Circuit de Spa Francorchamps gearing up to host round two of the FIM Endurance World Championship from 6-8 May, here’s what a selection of riders have said as the countdown to the first running of the 8 Hours of Spa Motos continues.
Marvin Fritz (Germany), Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team
The new format going from 24 hours to eight hours means the race becomes more of a sprint race. At a track where speed is very important with the long straight this can be very interesting. And, as riders, we’ll also have more energy than a 24-hour race.
Jérémy Guarnoni (France), KM99
Eight-hour races are another philosophy. You can be more nervous and, like we see at Suzuka, so there can be more mistakes. But it will be nice, less physical for the riders but harder for the teams who will have to really go fast with the pitstops.
Josh Hook (Australia), F.C.C. TSR Honda France
I love the circuit, it’s a great circuit for racing and perfect for an eight-hour race. It’s a good call to back off to a shorter race. I can’t wait to do it.
Dan Linfoot (Great Britain), Yoshimura SERT Motul
I really love Spa, it’s exciting to race there, it’s an exciting and legendary track, a long track. I’m sure the race will become a little more intense with the eight-hour format, a bit like the Suzuka 8 Hours. It means you can probably push a little bit more, not that you’re not pushing in a 24-hour race of course but it will be more intense.
Kevin Manfredi (Italy), Wójcik Racing Team STK
It’s incredible, it’s another track, it’s not similar to the others. It’s similar to the rollercoaster and it’s very fast.
Markus Reiterberger (Germany), BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team
Coming to Spa is always special, the Tarmac is so nice and I am really loving it, it’s just amazing with so much grip. My team manager Werner [Daemen, from Belgium] was the former record holder so Spa is a good place for us.
Philipp Steinmayr (Austria), Honda No Limits
The track is awesome and I simply love it. There are so many special corners and when I ride Eau Rouge for the first time it was amazing, a really special corner.
Tom Ward (Great Britain), TRT27 AZ Moto
It’s a track you must respect but I’ve got high expectations. At the moment it’s meant to be me, Tom Oliver and Alex Olsen riding for TRT27 AZ Moto but Alex has just broken his wrist and if he’s suffering with his wrist then me and Tom will do the race by ourselves. I know it will be physically harder but I feel like it could be better. I can’t wait.
Timetable refresher
Friday 7 June
09h00-11h00: Free Practice
13h15-15h15: First Qualifying
17h00-19h00: Second Qualifying
19h30-20h30: Pit Walk
Saturday 8 June
09h00-09h45: Warm-Up
11h00-11h45: Pit Walk
13h00: Start of 8 Hours of Spa Motos
21h00: Finish of 8 Hours of Spa Motos
Malmedy parade and autograph signing to create exciting spectacle and a thrill for the fans
All motorcycles contesting the 8 Hours of Spa Motos will take part in a spectacular riding parade from Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to the town of Malmedy on Wednesday 5 June. EWC riders will sign autographs for fans and pose for selfies before returning to the track. The parade gets under way at 16h00 with the autograph signing session from 16h30-18h00. The return journey begins at 18h00.
Details of ticket sales and more fan activities are available here: https://www.spamotos.com/en/
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
