FIM Endurance World Championship leader F.C.C. TSR Honda France holds the edge after eight hours of epic action as it continues a thrilling showdown with YART Yamaha Official EWC Team in the 24H SPA EWC Motos.

Despite a stuttering start to the race by Marvin Fritz, the YART Yamaha rider soon picked up the pace and reeled in F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Josh Hook in a dramatic opening hour, with the fight for the lead continuing relentlessly into the night.

But F.C.C. TSR Honda France was on top at the crucial eight-hour interval to earn it 10 championship points to bring its current provisional total to 73, with YART Yamaha earning nine to move on to 63. However, with two thirds of the race remaining, the title lead is very much up for grabs.

Yoshimura SERT Motul was third after eight hours of intense EWC racing, claiming eight points. The France-based Japanese team was also firmly in contention for the lead, but it suffered an early mishap when Sylvain Guintoli attempted to pit at the wrong box. It was then hit by a costly stop-go penalty when rider Étienne Masson was adjudged to have made contact with the Holland Motorstore Racing bike through turn seven just after the five-hour mark. The Suzuki-powered squad’s misfortune continued when it was forced into the pits for three minutes to rectify a technical issue after six hours.

TESTING TIMES FOR HOME EWC TEAMS
The Belgian teams have endured a testing opening third of the race. BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, which claimed seven points in fourth place after eight hours, fought its way back from some early mechanical issues. Meanwhile, KM99’s Bastian Mackels crashed at Eau Rouge in the opening hour, before his team-mate Lucas Matias slipped off near the pit entrance at the seven-and-a-half-hour stage, leaving the Yamaha-equipped team 14th overall.

Kawasaki Webike Trickstar held fifth after eight hours to score six points, defying an early crash for Kazuki Watanabe, who was taken to hospital for checks, but returned to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to resume racing.

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DUNLOP SUPERSTOCK TROPHY SHOWDOWN
In the Dunlop Superstock Trophy class, Chromeburner-RAC41-Honda was engaged in a dramatic dogfight with National Motos Honda for the category lead, with the former holding the advantage after eight hours and placing sixth overall to take 10 FIM Endurance World Cup points with National Motos Honda next up followed by Team 33 Louit April Moto and Pitlane Endurance - JP3 and Honda No Limits. Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team’s Kenny Foray, who led the way in qualifying, took a commanding early lead, only to be forced into the pits for repairs after 10 laps.

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OUT OF THE RUNNING
The safety car made a number of appearances throughout the afternoon following series of oil spills requiring the attention of the trackside volunteer marshals. Team 202, with Amandine Creusot riding, suffered a mechanical failure after 35 laps which dumped a considerable amount of oil and necessitated a 20-minute clean-up. The French squad retired in the process. ERC Endurance Ducati’s race ended after it suffered gearbox problems following four and a half hours of racing. Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motorstore and 3ART Best of Bike also did not reach the eight-hour mark.

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RIDER QUOTES

JOSH HOOK, F.C.C TSR HONDA FRANCE
“It’s a close race. There is no real point in trying to go for it and gap them because you just burn yourself out for no reason. I tried it a couple of times and I just can’t get it done. It’s just a matter of riding around together for the moment. It’s good watching and it makes the stints go a little quicker too. We’ll be better at night. As soon as it gets colder, the better. Our bike works and I am looking forward to it. You can’t really see too much here in the night, but the bike will be working well.”

KAREL HANIKA, YART YAMAHA
“We were still on the hard option with the tyres. We have switched to the softer version for Niccolò (Canepa) and maybe it will be better. There is definitely a long way to go.”

SYLVAIN GUINTOLI, YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL
“I was feeling quite good on the bike. With the lower temperatures, the tyres are working a little bit better, and we are getting a little bit more grip. Everything is going really well, and I am just enjoying myself and pushing. We have to push because we lost a lot of time in the pits. We are third at the eight-hour mark, but the idea is to try and come back. We know we can have a good pace at night. The night practice on Friday was very good, so we have to keep pushing, try to recover that time and unlap ourselves and let’s see how it goes.”

LIVE TIMING: https://www.its-live.net/#/live/ewc/2023/24hspa/33

HOW TO WATCH: https://www.fimewc.com/where-to-watch