F.C.C. TSR Honda France has vowed to hit back from a troubled 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship campaign, described by rider Josh Hook as a “terrible year”.
The 2022 world champion squad placed 13th in the final EWC standings on 33 points after failing to finish on the podium across the four-event season.
Despite a strong start to the Bol d’Or, which included a stint in the lead, F.C.C. TSR Honda France was forced to retire with four hours of the 24-hour counter left to run.
It followed a challenging race, which unravelled after one hour and 45 minutes when Hook was forced to pit with tyre failure, which also caused considerable damage to the rear of the #5 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
After returning to action following approximately 10 minutes of repairs, the team had to make another lengthy stop to fix a traction control issue caused by the earlier tyre problem, which dropped it further out of contention.
Nevertheless, Hook and team-mates Mike Di Meglio and Alan Techer fought their way back up to eighth overall and fifth in the Formula EWC category after 16 hours of racing.
Eighth overall then became fifth in the outright classification with five hours left to run. However, with just four hours remaining, Hook experienced a technical issue that stopped the bike at Turn 9 and ultimately led to retirement.
A statement from F.C.C. TSR Honda France read: “Despite the challenges faced throughout the season, the entire team remains determined to come back stronger and fight for another world title in the next season.”
Hook said: “It's an unfortunate result that reflects our season as a whole. We were all looking forward to this race to finish on a high, especially as we had the pace to win. The technical team did a great job, but it’s just the way it goes sometimes. We had a terrible year and one to forget.”
Di Meglio added: “We really hoping for a good result in this final round. We worked very hard together to come up with a very good bike. Unfortunately, the tyre problem penalised us by limiting our choices, but we still managed to ride fast and climb up the standings. The season ends as it began, and I'm disappointed for the team who deserved at least a podium.”
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
