Karel Hanika starts the 24 Heures Motos hoping it’s a case of no pole, no problem in the FIM Endurance World Championship.

The Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team rider was the qualifying star at Le Mans last season but his Austria-based squad had to make do with P2 for the EWC season opener. 

“We are delighted to start from second position,” Czech Hanika said. “The whole team worked hard this week, and despite tricky conditions during qualifying, we had a great strategy and managed to get the best result possible. It was enough for P2, and we only just missed out on our fourth pole position in a row at Le Mans, but as always in endurance, the race is much more important than qualifying.  

“My first session went well, I set the best lap time in the wet, but my team-mates did excellent lap times in the mixed conditions to secure second on the grid. We are focused on the race and want to fight for victory, but know that the most important thing is to reach the end of the race to score as many points as possible. The team has done a great job, and I cannot wait to start the race.”