New Fireblade wins at Le Mans
The Japanese-backed FCC TSR Honda squad secured their second victory at the Le Mans 24-Hour after overcoming the weekend’s tricky conditions on the all-new Fireblade.
The trio of Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike di Meglio dominated, leading the majority of the race. The trio secured the 10-point bonuses at the eight and 16-hour stages, with Di Meglio setting the fastest lap of the race with a 1:36.985.
The victory is another significant milestone for the 2020 Fireblade, which also secured its first podium in WSB on Sunday in the hands of Alvaro Bautista (see page 68).
The Honda team, using Bridgestone tyres, topped a podium which included three manufacturers and three different tyre suppliers.
The Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar team of Jérémy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa finished second, using Michelins for the first time. The podium was completed by the Dunlop-shod Suzuki Endurance Team’s trio of Etienne Masson, Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon. The Suzuki outfit looked to be safe in second with only two hours remaining, however changing track conditions after another rain shower caught them out. A crash cost them their two-lap advantage over the Kawasaki team.
YART Yamaha battled back to fourth after a crash for Karel Hanika in the wet conditions at Garage Vert dropped them to 28th in the early stages. The official BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team lost fifth spot with only 12 minutes remaining when Ilya Mykhalchyk fell in the tricky conditions. The VRD Igol Pierret Experiences team inherited fifth.