The 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship was decided during a thrilling Bol d’Or title showdown at Circuit Paul Ricard last month. Here’s a recap of some of the stories that have made the news in recent weeks. And a reminder that French-language versions of selected articles are available here: https://www.fimewc.com/fr.
NEW PYRAMID TO CREATE PATHWAY TO THE TOP IN EWC
In partnership with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports Europe, which has been marking 10 years as promoter of the FIM Endurance World Championship in 2024, is excited to set out a clear pathway to the top in the EWC with a new entry-level category, a key component as the build-up to 2025 begins. WBD Sports’ commitment to further widening the appeal – and thereby increasing entry numbers – of international motorcycle racing’s toughest discipline is centred on a pyramid that gives riders and their teams alternative platforms to compete on, regardless of their level of experience and financial means. CLICK FOR FULL STORY
FIM PRODUCTION WORLD TROPHY IS GO FOR 2025
The FIM Production World Trophy is a new addition to the FIM Endurance World Championship pyramid for 2025. An entry-level category, FIM Production World Trophy competitors will race 1000cc motorcycles that closely resemble their roadgoing counterparts but with only basic modifications allowed to limit running costs and ensure the new class is accessible both financially and in performance terms. With these targets in mind, only the standard fuel tank can be used and replaced during pitstops with the aid of a secured quick-release connector rather than by refuelling the motorcycle. A minimum pitstop time will be regulated for safety reasons. Significantly, FIM Production World Trophy contenders will get the opportunity to compete on track at the same time as the Formula EWC and Superstock riders and benefit from live broadcasting and exposure on the EWC’s official channels. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
NEW-FOR-2025 YAMAHA R7 ENDURANCE SERIES TO JOIN TWO EWC WEEKENDS AS A SUPPORT RACE
Yamaha’s all-new R7 Endurance Series will be a support race at two European rounds of the FIM Endurance World Championship in 2025, serving as a potential starting point for riders and teams considering climbing the EWC pyramid in the future. The all-new Yamaha R7 Endurance Series will provide a platform for riders and teams to progress from national to international level. Using the Yamaha R7 motorcycle on tyres from a controlled supplier, the Yamaha R7 Endurance Series will be contested over long-distance races at two European EWC events in 2025. This will give contenders the chance to experience an EWC event with the view of entering the championship as permanent teams in future seasons. The Yamaha R7 Endurance Series is open to all regardless of age and experience, either racing for a team or on a purely privateer basis. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
IT’S FOUR TO THE FORE AS 2025 FIM EWC CALENDAR IS REVEALED
The race to win the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship is go with confirmation of the calendar for next year’s 46th EWC season. Mirroring the schedule that challenged ace motorcycle riders and their teams and captivated global television audiences in 2024, the 2025 fixture list features two 24-hour races and two events held over a duration of eight hours. The action kicks off with the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans in April and concludes with the Bol d’Or at Circuit Paul Ricard in September. In between are visits to Circuit de Spa Francorchamps for the 8 Hours of Spa Motos in June followed by the 46th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race in August. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
EWC-SUPPORTING YAMAHA R7 ENDURANCE SERIES EXCITEMENT BUILDS WITH CALENDAR REVEAL
Confirmation of the FIM Endurance World Championship calendar for 2025 means the dates and venues for the inaugural Yamaha R7 Endurance Series are now known. As a support series to the EWC, the new-for-2025 Yamaha R7 Endurance Series will feature on the timetable during the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans in April and the 8 Hours of Spa Motos, which will be held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in June. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
NATIONAL MOTOS HONDA FMA GETS TITLE REVENGE AGAINST THE ODDS IN EWC SUPERSTOCK
Twelve months on from its FIM Endurance World Cup heartbreak, National Motos Honda FMA claimed the EWC Superstock title in the Bol d’Or despite being held back by myriad delays that could have led to more agony at Circuit Paul Ricard. The EWC stalwart team was 20 minutes away from winning the coveted title in 2023 only to be denied by mechanical failure with the finish almost in sight. But it hit back in style by claiming the Dunlop-supplied category’s biggest prize in a tense final round of the season. CLICK FOR FULL STORY
EWC MANUFACTURER TITLES GO TO HONDA AND YAMAHA
Honda and Yamaha came out on top in the race to win the EWC’s two manufacturer titles during the season-deciding Bol d’Or. Yamaha bagged the FIM Endurance World Championship for Manufacturers after finishing runner-up in 2023, with Honda claiming the Superstock-based FIM Endurance World Cup for Manufacturers after it finished third 12 months ago. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
KM99 HAS ITS EWC INDEPENDENTS’ DAY
KM99 finished its second FIM Endurance World Championship campaign on a double high at Circuit Paul Ricard. As well as clinching its maiden EWC podium in a fine second place overall from seventh on the grid, the Belgian squad completed the Bol d’Or as the top independent EWC team of 2024. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
LEHMANN AT THE DOUBLE TO LAND YAMAHA R7 EUROPEAN CUP SUPERFINALE GLORY DURING EWC BOL D’OR BUILD-UP
Lennox Lehmann made it two wins out of two in the Yamaha R7 European Cup SuperFinale – the first to take place as part of an FIM Endurance World Championship weekend – to secure the title and the top prize of a new Yamaha R7 motorcycle. The opening race winner hit the front in race two just before the second counter was red-flagged, a result that secured the German rider the SuperFinale crown ahead of Valentin Folger in second and third-placed Ioannis Peristeras. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
SALUTING NICCOLÒ: EWC KING CANEPA CALLS TIME ON EPIC CAREER
The FIM Endurance World Championship has been saluting Niccolò Canepa after the reigning EWC champion called time on his riding career. Canepa is retiring as one of the most accomplished EWC racers of all time. As well as twice winning the coveted EWC title, the 36-year-old from Genoa in Italy is a member of an exclusive group of riders to have won the sport’s three 24-hour races at Le Mans, Paul Ricard and Spa-Francorchamps. But his achievements in the EWC go much further with myriad standout performances along the way. He became the first Italian to claim victory in the Bol d’Or, a feat he achieved in 2017. He then won the 8 Hours of Slovakia Ring during the 2018/19 season, his first with YART. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
TEAM 18 BACK TO 1 IN EWC BOL D’OR SUPERSTOCK
Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore returned to the top in the FIM Endurance World Cup for the first time since the 24 Heures Motos in 2022 with victory in the Dunlop-supplied Superstock section of the Bol d’Or. As well as taking the class win, the Yamaha-powered outfit finished in a fine fourth overall with a line-up consisting of Enzo De La Vega, Baptiste Guittet, Maxim Pellizotti and Mathieu Gines. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
F.C.C. TSR HONDA FRANCE LOOKS TO EWC 2025 AFTER ‘YEAR TO FORGET’
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. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
EWC DELIGHTED TO SUPPORT CŒUR DE PILOTE DURING BOL D’OR
The FIM Endurance World Championship was delighted to continue its support of Cœur de Pilote during the recent Bol d’Or season showdown at Circuit Paul Ricard. A not-for-profit association reliant on volunteers, Cœur de Pilote is dedicated to supporting children with serious illness. It organises and takes part in motorsport-related events to give children the opportunity to savour moments of joy and passion by giving them first-hand experiences through immersing them within participating teams. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
FROM TALKING TO RACING… AKROYD MAKES EWC BOL D’OR RETURN
Joe Akroyd made his third Bol d’Or start, one year on from his comeback to the FIM Endurance World Championship after a stint commentating on the series for British Eurosport. An Isle of Man TT racer in the past, Akroyd, who made his Bol d’Or debut in 2021, didn’t race in 2022 or 2023 but returned to Circuit Paul Ricard for the 2023 Bol d’Or with the Metiss team, albeit as a reserve rider. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
BLACK REVEALS WRIST INJURY FEARS FOLLOWING BOL D’OR EWC WIN
Gregg Black feared he would be a Bol d’Or absentee due to the wrist injury sustained in a testing crash prior to 45th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance World Championship. The British-born French rider faced a late fitness test prior to helping Yoshimura SERT Motul win the 24-hour race and the coveted EWC title. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
BOLLIGER’S BOL D’OR EWC HIGHS AND LOWS
Team Bolliger Switzerland went from FIM Endurance World Championship elation to elimination during the Bol d’Or. After scoring four intermediate points for holding seventh place in Formula EWC after eight hours of racing, the Kawasaki-powered squad was forced to retire during the ninth hour following engine failure. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
WÓJCIK’S ALL-POLISH EWC TRIO LEAVES ITS BEST TO LAST
Wójcik Racing Team’s all-Polish line-up of Kamil Krzemień, Jurand Kuśmierczyk and Artur Wielebski saved its best to last in the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship with sixth place in Formula EWC during the season-deciding Bol d’Or. A result that vindicated Wójcik Racing Team’s decision to give the opportunity for three young Polish riders to gain experience in the EWC’s top tier also netted seventh place in the final FIM Endurance World Championship for Teams ranking at the end of Wójcik’s first season competing with Honda power. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
LEESCH PRAISES TEAM AND TEAM-MATES, WANTS REVENGE IN EWC 2025
Chris Leesch said Chromeburner-RAC 41-Honda’s Bol d’Or Superstock podium and runner-up placing in the final FIM Endurance World Cup standings owed plenty to his team and team-mates. But the Luxembourg rider, who was partnered by Martin Renaudin, Wayne Tessels and newcomer Diego Poncet during the Bol d’Or season showdown, is already targeting the top step of the podium in the Dunlop-equipped category in 2025 to build on a successful 2024 season. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
TOUGH BREAKS BUT PLENTY OF EWC BOL D’OR POSITIVES FOR BMW
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team finished in the FIM Endurance World Championship top three for the second season running with rider Illya Mykhalchyk vowing to “keep pushing” following the squad’s fifth-place finish in the Bol d’Or. Werner Daemen’s Belgium-based team started on pole position for the third year running as one of four overall title chasers. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
EWC TEAM BMRT3D MAXXESS NEVERS “STRONG” FOR 2025
BMRT3D maxxess Nevers can be “strong” in 2025 thanks to the experience it gained during its maiden season in the FIM Endurance World Championship’s top tier. The French team’s statement followed its early exit from the season-deciding Bol d’Or earlier this month due to engine failure at 05h10 following earlier issues having held 10th place in the Formula EWC category after eight hours of racing. CLICK FOR FULL STORY.
HOW THEY STAND IN EWC
The standings following round four of the FIM Endurance World Championship season, the 87th Bol d’Or, are available by clicking HERE.
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
