Josh Hook and FCC TSR Honda FIM EWC World Champions

news7g09/19/2022

8 5 minutes read

Josh Hook and FCC TSR Honda FIM EWC World Champions

Josh Hook is crowned world champion for the second time

FCC TSR Honda France has become the FIM World Endurance Champion for the second time in its history after finishing in 4th place at the Bol d’Or 100th anniversary celebrations at the Paul Ricard track in Le Castellet (France).

To win the title, the Honda team had to stay and finish in the final round of this season. Honda’s three riders Josh Hook, Mike Di Meglio and Alan Techer established an incredibly fast and steady pace for most of the race.

FCC TSR Honda France started the 24-hour race from fourth place on the starting grid, and a brilliant start by French driver Mike Di Meglio immediately put the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP into the race lead in the race. first hours.

The Honda #5, however, is fitted with Bridgestone tyres, which have run into a number of issues that have temporarily jeopardized any title chances. In the third hour of the race, Techer had to get in the box to fix some problems with the oil-cooling radiators that brought the team to 27th place.

Honda’s endurance experts showed great determination and the team started an incredible comeback, placing the Honda Fireblade in 5th place after the first quarter of the race.

More than half way through the race, Techer had to go back to the box to change the exhaust for a second time but thanks to the team’s excellence, the bike returned to the race in the same spot.

With the Fireblade’s very solid lap times and superior economy, the team clinched another spot in the final quarter of the race to finish in fourth.

That’s enough to give FCC TSR Honda France its second World Endurance Championship title with a total of 154 points for 4th in this 85th edition of the Bol d’Or.

FCC TSR Honda France title success follows a dramatic and highly attri Le Mans and Spa-Francorchamps, plus a return to Japan for 8 hours Suzuka.

Yoshimura Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Motul took the lead EWC Series 2022 since the season opened at Le Mans in April where it won the first 24 hours of 2022 emphatic style. SERT came to the Paul Ricard lap with a 23-point lead over their nearest competitor, hopes high for another straight championship, but ultimately an engine failure cost them their chance.

Likewise, Yamalube YART Yamaha’s official EWC team that won the FIM 2022 endurance world championship ended prematurely when a three-hour engine failure forced them to retire. They spent three hours in the pit before re-entering the race but eventually had to retire after more problems.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Yamaha brand, as Team Viltais Racing Igol and Wojcik Racing EWC won 1-2 over Yamaha at the Bol d’Or event.

Viltaïs Racing Igol's first EWC victory was dramatic and somewhat unexpected with an equal score but nevertheless a worthy reward for the tireless efforts of Team Manager Yannick Lucot behind the scenes, the display Impressive performance from equestrian trio Florian Alt (Germany), Erwan Nigon (France) and Steven Odendaal (South Africa), plus the important contribution of reserve rider James Westmoreland (England). — Viltaïs Racing Igol’s first EWC victory was dramatic and somewhat unexpected with the equal score but nevertheless a worthy reward for the tireless efforts of Team Manager Yannick Lucot behind the scenes, the display Impressive performance from equestrian trio Florian Alt (Germany), Erwan Nigon (France) and Steven Odendaal (South Africa), plus the important contribution of reserve rider James Westmoreland (England).

The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team took high places against YART, SERT and FCC TSR Honda, but the German effort also suffered an engine failure.

The ERC Endurance Ducati actually led the race at both the 8 o’clock and the 16 o’clock mark, and held that position until the final 90 minutes of the Bol d’Or. The Ducati team appeared to have won but only stopped with a mechanical failure while comfortably ahead.

Endurance ERC #6 Ducati led the majority of the race but finished less than 90 minutes before the end of the race 24 hours

The Honda privateer RAC 41 Chromeburner with Chris Leesh, Wayne Tessels and Jonathan Hardt won the Suprenalck and 7th overall, after starting the race from 17th on the grid.

RAC 41 Chromeburner with Chris Leesh, Wayne Tessels and Jonathan Hardt won the Suposystem category

National Motos Honda was forced to drop out of the race because Swiss driver Valentin Suchet was involved in an accident after the first round of the race. Suchet fell on turn 4 and needed medical assistance.

Josh Hook – FCC TSR Honda France

“I have learned from the past to never underestimate the result before the checkers. We are back from past complicated situations and nothing is certain. Like everyone else, we did our race and never gave up. We did a great job, all three of us were quick, especially at night. We quickly ran out of positions to win, so we focused on the championship, which was clearly the priority. We chose to take care of the engine as much as possible to avoid the problems most of our competitors have. And it’s done! “

Mike Di Meglio – FCC TSR Honda France

“I’m so glad I finally became a World Endurance Champion! I came very close to GMT94 and I am really proud of this title after so many years of fighting for it. It was a really tough race. We had some problems and our opponents were forced to stop in turn. As Tati Team 4 was fighting at the front, we decided to create enough distance for our pursuer to get out of trouble. But when they dropped, we changed our strategy to preserve the engine as much as possible by switching straight earlier. It’s the best thing to do because winning the world championship is more important than getting on the podium. “

Alan Techer – FCC TSR Honda France

“It was a complicated race for everyone, we also had some mechanical problems. The team worked hard to reduce the time spent in the pit and along with my teammates we did our best to respect the race plan. The goal was obviously the title, and after Suzuki retired, we fought Team Tati, my old team. This is a special feeling for me, because I have won this title with the team that gave me the chance to win it in 2018. We also have a big thought for Gino, whom we dedicate. this title.. “

For FCC TSR Honda France, its FIM Endurance World Championship title follows on from the 2017-18 season when Josh Hook was teamed up by Freddy Foray and Alan Techer to win the EWC top prize. The Japanese team was one of five outfits in an enduring battle for glory that began with the Bol d'Or but prevailed when their four opponents struggled. — Mike Di Meglio and Hook were joined in the #5 Honda for Alan Techer’s final event of the year in place of Gino Rea, who suffered a serious head injury in a crash at Suzuka last month but helped the FCC TSR Honda France took to the podium in 24 Heures Motos and 24H SPA EWC Motos earlier in the campaign.

Chris Leesch – RAC 41 CHROMEBURNER

“So happy to have this win at the 100th anniversary of the Bol d’Or. We fought for this for a long time, we scored several podiums and in the end, we won. As usual, the Honda Fireblade performs very well year round, we have known since last year. We were lucky enough to have a good bike and we let us push until the end because the distance was so close when we entered the final leg. The car ran all the time, which is the most important thing in endurance racing and happy with Fireblade’s performance this weekend. “