FIM EWC Bol d’Or: Pole position, race lead, and fighting spirit.

Le Castellet. At the season finale of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC), the 24-hour Bol d’Or race at Le Castellet (FRA), the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team experienced all the highs and setbacks that endurance racing can offer. Starting from pole position, Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), Markus Reiterberger (GER), and Hannes Soomer (EST) were running at the front for a long time, even taking the lead at points. In the tough second half of the race, the entire team showed great fighting spirit. After 24 dramatic racing hours, in which many teams faced difficulties, the #37 BMW M 1000 RR crossed the finish line in fifth place (fourth in the EWC class). This result allowed the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team to maintain its spot on the World Championship podium, finishing the season in third overall.

From the first test session, the speed of the #37 BMW M 1000 RR was evident. With a perfect qualifying session, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team secured pole position for the 87th edition of the endurance classic. The race, which started at 15:00 on Saturday, went according to plan until the early hours of Sunday morning, with the goal of winning in sight. In the highly competitive front group, Mikhalchik, Reiterberger, and Soomer consistently held second place, pushing hard for the lead. Reiterberger even set a new lap record with a time of 1:52.517 minutes. After eleven hours of racing, the #37 BMW M 1000 RR was in the lead.

The first scare came early Sunday morning. After a heavy highside crash, Soomer sustained a fractured upper arm and a dislocated shoulder. However, the Estonian gritted his teeth, picked up the bike, and rode it back to the pits despite his injuries. From then on, Mikhalchik and Reiterberger continued the race as a duo. Before long, they had worked their way back up to second place, holding that position until the morning. As a consequence of the crash, a fuel system issue arose, requiring multiple repairs in the pits. Nevertheless, the entire team gave everything and got the #37 back on track. Mikhalchik and Reiterberger showed tremendous fighting spirit, launched another comeback, and ultimately finished in fifth place.

In the Superstock class, the three BMW teams impressed in qualifying, securing the top three positions. Pole position went to the French Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team. Riding the #9 BMW M 1000 RR were Kenny Foray (FRA), Jan Bühn (GER), Loïc Arbel (FRA), and Jan-Ole Jähnig (GER), who joined the team as the fourth rider for the race. The newly formed Hungarian HERT by Moto Jungle team (#713 BMW M 1000 RR) immediately secured second place on the grid in their race debut with riders Bálint Kovács, Soma Görbe, Péter Sebestyén, and Máté Számadó (all HUN). Completing the qualifying success were Hikari Okubo, Kazuki Watanabe, Shogo Kawasaki, and Yudai Kamei (all JPN) from the Japanese Team Étoile (#25 BMW M 1000 RR), who finished third in qualifying. The team had already achieved an excellent second place at the Suzuka 8 Hours (JPN) behind Team TONE RT SYNCEDGE 4413 BMW.

In the race, the three Superstock teams continued their impressive performances, battling for victory and leading the standings for long stretches. However, as the race progressed, the harsh realities of endurance racing, which tests both man and machine, emerged. Unfortunately, all teams were forced to retire early due to technical issues.

Reactions after the Bol d’Or.

Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “Highs and setbacks – the Bol d'Or once again demonstrated all sides of endurance racing. After securing pole position with a strong performance, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team fought long and hard for the victory we had all hoped for. The pace of the BMW M 1000 RR, the riders’ performances, and the entire team’s work were once again impressive. However, endurance racing doesn’t always reward these efforts. Equally impressive was the tireless effort and fighting spirit to overcome the difficulties later in the race and still achieve the best possible result under these conditions. At the same time, we wish Hannes a speedy recovery after his severe crash. A huge thank you to the entire team and our riders for a strong performance throughout the entire season. The BMW Superstock teams were also convincing, initially securing a triple success in qualifying and then dominating the race at the top of the class. Unfortunately, they too faced setbacks. Nevertheless, it is clear that the BMW M 1000 RR competes at the top of the world in both the Superbike and Superstock classes.”

Werner Daemen, Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “It was a race of mixed feelings because we were the strongest. And our riders were the strongest. To not be on the podium then is painful, to be honest. In qualifying, we were much stronger than the rest. In the race, we had the pace to win. Markus and Ilya were one second faster than everybody else. Hannes also did a very good and stable job. Then we were leading the race, being 20 seconds in front. Hannes overtook someone, came off the ideal line and had a big highside. The mechanics did an incredible job to repair the bike in only nine minutes. But from then on we had issues. We climbed back to second place but there were more issues and in the end it was P5 – and the third place in the World Championship standings. This of course is not bad but it is painful if you know that the bike and the riders had everything to take victory this weekend.”

Markus Reiterberger (#37 BMW M 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “We had the potential to take the win. Unfortunately, we had a crash and later technical issues, and didn’t make it to the podium. But we gave it our all and finished the last twelve hours of the race with just two riders. Our focus then was to make it to the finish. I now feel every bone after the 15 stints I did. It’s a shame we’re not on the podium – but we’ll try again! A big thanks to the entire team.”

Ilya Mikhalchik (#37 BMW M 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “It was tough, I think it was the toughest 24-hour race I ever had. In all aspects. There was a lot of action on the track, and then for half of the race I was only riding with Markus so I am really tired now but for sure happy that we did this incredible job. The team was also working so fast in the box when we had some technical issues. We were all on the highest level. I am a little bit upset as we had the pace to win this race and we had bad luck. But this motorsport and this can happen. So let’s take the positives from the performance and let’s keep pushing!”

Hannes Soomer (#37 BMW M 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “It was definitely not the Bol d’Or I was hoping for or what would have been possible. The beginning of the race was quite good, until the halfway point when I had a big crash during the night. It started with a small slide from the rear and I just could not save it and had a big highside. It was an unlucky incident, maybe I was pushing too hard in the night to keep the lead. I want to say sorry to the team and will learn from this. I dislocated my shoulder, suffered a fracture to my arm, and after that I was out and Markus and Ilya had to work really hard to finish the race. They are unbelievably strong and did an incredible job until the finish line to claim the best result they could get. I am disappointed about my crash but happy for the team to finish the season in the top 3 of the world championship.”