Le Castellet. The final showdown for the world championship title in the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) will take place next weekend (12th to 15th September). The 24-hour classic Bol d’Or at Le Castellet (FRA) marks the season finale, and among the teams in contention for the title is the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. The BMW Motorrad Motorsport factory team, led by Team Manager Werner Daemen (BEL), currently sits third in the championship standings, trailing the leaders by 44 points. A total of 65 points are still up for grabs in the season’s final race weekend.
Riding the #37 BMW M 1000 RR for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team will be Markus Reiterberger (GER), Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), and Hannes Soomer (EST) taking turns in the saddle. Soomer, who has served as the team’s fourth rider this season, steps in to replace Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) in the core trio, as Guintoli can’t participate in the Bol d’Or due to personal reasons. Earlier this season, Soomer celebrated victory in the Superstock class at the 8-hour race at Suzuka (JPN) with Japanese team TONE RT SYNCEDGE 4413 BMW. Acting as the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team’s fourth rider at Le Castellet is Jan-Ole Jähnig (GER), who also competes with Team GERT56 in the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM).
After finishing second in the class at Suzuka, Team Étoile with the #25 BMW M 1000 RR still has a chance at the Superstock title in the FIM Endurance World Cup. At the Bol d’Or, the team will feature riders Hikari Okubo, Kazuki Watanabe, Shogo Kawasaki, and Yudai Kamei (all JPN). The French Superstock team Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing, racing with the #9 BMW M 1000 RR, aims for success at their home race. The team’s three regular riders, Kenny Foray (FRA), Jan Bühn (GER), and Loïc Arbel (FRA), will be rotating in the race. Another Superstock team comes from Hungary, the HERT by Moto Jungel team, with riders Bálint Kovács, Soma Görbe, Péter Sebestyén, and Máté Számadó (all HUN), competing on the #713 BMW M 1000 RR.
On the Tuesday before the final weekend, teams and riders had another chance to fine-tune their bikes during private testing at Le Castellet. The official sessions of the race weekend will begin on Thursday, 12th September, with free practice, the first qualifying sessions, and night practice. The starting grid positions will be determined on Friday, 13th September, in the second qualifying session. The 87th edition of the Bol d’Or will kick off at 15:00 o’clock on Saturday, 14th September, with the checkered flag falling 24 hours later.
Comments ahead of the Bol d’Or.
Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “We are excited for an intense finale in the FIM Endurance World Championship. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and our three riders Markus, Ilya, and Hannes will give it their all to keep the title fight open until the very end. Of course, we’ll also need a bit of luck, but in a 24-hour race like the Bol d’Or, anything can happen. The goal is to be on the podium on Sunday afternoon, both in the race and the championship standings. In the Superstock class, Team Étoil team also has a chance to cap off the season with the title. The Tecmas-MRP Racing Team has already proved that it can win a 24-hour race with the BMW M 1000 RR. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for them all, as well as for the Hungarian team HERT by Motor Jungel. At the same time, our thoughts are with Sylvain and his family, and we wish them all the best.”
Werner Daemen, Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “We have a very good and very reliable bike. We have our basic set up that works on all tracks and, to be honest, our expectations are quite high. We always aim for the podium or even the win and that is possible at the Bol d’Or. So we go for the win! We are very happy with the performance of all three riders. But we all also think a lot of Sylvain and his family, he is a real friend, so let’s hope we can get this victory also for him.”
Markus Reiterberger (#37 BMW M 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “The test went very well. Right from the start, we had a good pace, and I was faster than my best race pace from last year. The bike felt good from the first laps, but we also tried a few things and found a good direction. My teammates also set great lap times, and especially Hannes, who had never ridden at Le Castellet before, and Jan-Ole, adapted well to the bike. We accomplished and sorted out a lot on the first day. Now we’re heading into race weekend with excitement. We’re well-prepared, the track suits us and our BMW M 1000 RR. Things are looking good, and we have one goal: we want to win and claim the possible world championship title. Although it’s difficult to achieve the title on our own, nothing is impossible. We’ll just try to get the maximum out of the weekend and leave the rest to race fate, which always plays a big role in the EWC. Us riders and the team are highly motivated to finish the season in the best possible way.”
Ilya Mikhalchik (#37 BMW M 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “I can’t wait for this final FIM EWC race of the season and I am quite positive. After the strong result at Suzuka we also have a good base set up for the track here at Le Castellet. The target is for sure to fight for the maximum points in qualifying, to try to get pole position and to do a constantly good job in the race to have a great result after 24 hours. Then we will see what we can achieve in the end.”
Hannes Soomer (#37 BMW M 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “We had a good test day. As it’s my first time here, the focus for me is to find a good and solid race pace for Saturday and Sunday and to learn as much as possible from my teammates to help them as much as possible in the race.”