YART opens 2026 EWC title defence with Le Mans 24 Heures Motos win

Round One – 24 Heures Motos
4.185 km Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans

FIM EWC 2026 – Round One – 24 Heures Motos, Le Mans

YART opens title defence with Le Mans win

YART Yamaha Official EWC Team has won the opening round of the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship, taking victory in the 49th edition of the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans after 859 laps of the Bugatti Circuit. Yoshimura SERT Motul finished second, five laps behind, while Kawasaki Webike Trickstar completed the podium a further six laps back.

FIM EWC 2026 – Round One – 24 Heures Motos, Le Mans – BMW – Michael Van Der Mark

The final margin does not tell the full story. YART came into the race from pole position after Karel Hanika’s record-setting qualifying pace, but the defending champions dropped as low as eighth at the start before working back into contention. Marvin Fritz, Hanika and Leandro Mercado gradually forced their way into the fight and then managed the closing stages once BMW’s challenge began to unravel on Sunday morning.

FIM EWC 2026 – Round One – 24 Heures Motos, Le Mans – YART – Fritz comes in to hand over to Hanika

BMW led for two-thirds before late trouble

For much of the race, the team to beat was BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. The #37 M 1000 RR of Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal and Michael van der Mark had qualified just 0.032s off pole, then used strong race pace and a more efficient fuel strategy to control the race through the night. BMW banked bonus points by leading at both the eight-hour and 16-hour marks and looked on course for a breakthrough Le Mans result.

FIM EWC 2026 – Round One – 24 Heures Motos, Le Mans – BMW – Steven Odendaal

Instead, the race turned after dawn. BMW had technical issues in the final third of the race, and Van der Mark crashed, incurring a penalty after a collision and later a mechanical problem. The factory BMW eventually slipped to 23rd overall and 12th in the EWC class, finishing 72 laps down on the winners.

Sven Blusch – Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport

“Despite everything, we can be very proud of our performance at Le Mans. Of course, it wasn’t the ending we had hoped for. We had an extremely tough but very productive winter of preparation and were able to improve in every area – which I believe we demonstrated impressively up until hour 16. Our efficiency has increased. All three riders, Mickey, Markus and Steven, did a flawless job, and the pit stops worked very well. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough in the end. Nevertheless, we are all the more proud that we managed to get the bike across the finish line and score important points. We are also very proud of what our customer teams achieved. We secured fourth, fifth, and sixth places. ERC as the best BMW team showed an extremely strong race pace, with riders Kenny, David and Marcel in his 24-hour debut. The AutoRace Ube Racing Team also went straight into the top five in their first appearance – an absolutely top performance. There, we saw the potential that the very strong rider trio Naomichi, Sylvain, and Hannes can extract from the bike. We would like to thank James Bungo and Uwe Reinhardt for these performances. It is absolutely brilliant that, with Champion-HERT, we won the Superstock class by more than ten laps. Now, starting tomorrow, it’s time for hard work to begin preparations for Spa. The fight for the world championship continues there.”

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team dominated much of the contest before late problems saw them slip back – Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal and Michael Van Der Mark

That left YART clear to secure a second straight Le Mans victory and the best possible start to its title defence. YART came away from the weekend with 63 of the 65 available points; the Austrian squad leaves France leading the championship from SERT and Kawasaki Webike Trickstar.

Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team

Mandy Kainz – Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team Manager

“This is one of those rare endurance races where almost everything went perfectly. We made virtually no mistakes, the bike worked incredibly well, and the whole team performed at a very high level. Nothing came loose, nothing went wrong, and after all those laps the bike was still running as it had at the start. It was simply a perfect performance. To win the race and take all the points from qualifying, we can be very happy with how the championship has started.”

Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team

SERT and Kawasaki cash in

Yoshimura SERT Motul’s run to second was built on staying in the fight while others hit trouble. The Suzuki squad had to deal with electronic cut-outs early and a later shifter issue, but Gregg Black, Etienne Masson and Dan Linfoot still completed 854 laps and secured a valuable haul of points.

Yohei Kato – Yoshimura SERT Motul Team Director

“This second-place finish brings a mix of immense pride with a slight disappointment. Drawing on the lessons learned from last year, we opted to manage our pace in the opening stages. However, from the halfway point onwards, we were able to unleash our true potential and successfully hunt down the leaders. The riders, the machine, and the entire crew performed exceptionally well, executing our strategy to perfection. It is unfortunate that a few minor issues ultimately kept us from our goal. That said, a second-place finish is by no means a bad result. I want to express my deepest gratitude to our three riders for their outstanding efforts. Le Mans is essentially our team’s second home, so we will just have to save that victory for next year. Thank you to everyone for your incredible support.”

Kawasaki Webike Trickstar was similarly rewarded for consistency. Roman Ramos, Christian Gamarino and Grégory Leblanc completed 848 laps to take third overall, giving Kawasaki a strong opening score in a race where simply staying in contention proved as important as outright speed.

BMW still had reasons to leave Le Mans encouraged despite the factory squad’s late slide. ERC Endurance #6 finished fourth overall, AutoRace Ube Racing Team was fifth, and Champion-Hert Powered by MRP took sixth outright while also winning the Superstock class.

ERC Endurance #6 finished fourth overall – Kenny Foray pictured

Honda’s finishing position did not reflect its pace

F.C.C. TSR Honda France ended the race 12th overall and ninth in the EWC class, but that result only told part of the story. Corentin Perolari started from the second row, immediately moved the Fireblade into the fight and then into the lead, with Alan Techer and John McPhee also keeping the #5 in the leading group through the opening stages.

Corentin Perolari – F.C.C. TSR Honda France

“We started 4th on the grid; I got off to a great start and had a good first stint, building up a lead of 10–15 seconds. My stints were consistent and fast, with a race lap record. But during the night, I collided with another rider, so that cost us time. The mechanics did a brilliant job. In 15 minutes, the bike was fixed. As my elbow was hurting a bit, I skipped a stint and then got back into the pace until the end. We didn’t give up. My teammates did the job and were very fast and consistent too. I’m a bit disappointed about that crash, but it’s part of racing. We’re scoring points, that’s the main thing. There are still three races to go, so it was important not to give up.”

Corentin Perolari recorded the fastest lap of the race – F.C.C. TSR Honda France

The decisive setback came shortly after the sixth hour. While running third, Perolari was involved in a collision and had to return to the pit lane for repairs. The stop cost around 15 minutes, dropping the team to 30th overall and 28 laps down. From there, TSR Honda France spent the rest of the race recovering, climbing back to 12th overall by the flag.

Outright Fastest Riders

F.C.C TSR Honda’s Corentin Perolari set the outright fastest lap of the race by a handy margin on lap 638 with a 1:35.698, ahead of Gregg Black on 1:35.963 and Michael van der Mark on 1:36.018. Naomichi Uramoto was next on 1:36.086, followed by Sylvain Guintoli on 1:36.118, Etienne Masson on 1:36.184, Hugo Clère and Markus Reiterberger on 1:36.240, and Marvin Fritz on 1:36.257.

Corentin Perolari recorded the fastest lap of the race – F.C.C. TSR Honda France

Top 10 fastest riders

1. Corentin Perolari (F.C.C. TSR Honda France, Honda #5) – 1:35.698
2. Gregg Black (Yoshimura SERT Motul, Suzuki #12) – 1:35.963
3. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, BMW #37) – 1:36.018
4. Naomichi Uramoto (AutoRace Ube Racing Team, BMW #76) – 1:36.086
5. Sylvain Guintoli (AutoRace Ube Racing Team, BMW #76) – 1:36.118
6. Etienne Masson (Yoshimura SERT Motul, Suzuki #12) – 1:36.184
7. Hugo Clere (Tati Team AVA6 Honda #4) – 1:36.240
8. Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, BMW #37) – 1:36.240
9. Marvin Fritz (YART Yamaha Official EWC Team, Yamaha #1) – 1:36.257
10. Hannes Soomer (AutoRace Ube Racing Team, BMW #76) – 1:36.357

That list says plenty about the race. Honda, Suzuki and BMW all had riders near the top of the outright pace charts, but YART combined speed, consistency and execution better than anyone across the full 24 hours.

Superstock and Production winners

Champion-Hert Powered by MRP took Superstock honours for BMW, finishing 11 laps clear of Honda No Limits, with TRT27 AZ Moto completing the class podium.

Champion-Hert Powered by MRP took Superstock honours for BMW – Balint Kovacs, Jan Buhn, Loris Cresson and Mate Szamado

In Production, Legacy Competition gave Yamaha the class win, ahead of Greenteam 42 Lycée Sainte Claire’s Kawasaki and Mana-au Competition’s Honda.

Next Up – Spa

The next round of the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship is the 8 Hours of Spa Motos on June 5-6, with YART leading the standings on 63 points from Yoshimura SERT Motul on 48 and Kawasaki Webike Trickstar on 42.

24 Heures Motos Results

Pos

Team

Bike

Cat

Time/Gap

1	YART Yamaha Official EWC Team	Yam	EWC	24h01m09s.651
2	Yoshimura SERT Motul	Suz	EWC	+5 Laps
3	Kawasaki Webike Trickstar	Kaw	EWC	+11 Laps
4	ERC Endurance #6	BMW	EWC	+12 Laps
5	AutoRace Ube Racing Team	BMW	EWC	+12 Laps
6	Champion-Hert Powered by MRP 1	BMW	SST	+21 Laps
7	Team Bolliger Switzerland #8	Kaw	EWC	+30 Laps
8	Honda No Limits	Hon	SST	+32 Laps
9	Mana-au Competition	Hon	EWC	+35 Laps
10	TRT27 AZ moto	Hon	SST	+37 Laps
11	MAXXESS By BMRT3D	Kaw	EWC	+38 Laps
12	F.C.C. TSR Honda France	Hon	EWC	+40 Laps
13	Dafy-Kaedear-RAC41-Honda	Hon	SST	+40 Laps
14	Revo-M2	Apr	SST	+47 Laps
15	TEAM 18 POMPIERS IGOL CMS MOTOSTORE	Yam	SST	+49 Laps
16	TEAM RACING 85 by A2M2	Kaw	SST	+50 Laps
17	LRP Poland	BMW	EWC	+54 Laps
18	Junior Team le Mans Sud Suzuki	Suz	SST	+54 Laps
19	Wójcik Racing Team #77 SST	Hon	SST	+61 Laps
20	Aprilia le Mans 2 Roues	Apr	SST	+62 Laps
21	CAM RACING TEAM	Hon	SST	+65 Laps
22	Motobox Kremer Racing by 321	Yam	EWC	+68 Laps
23	BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM	BMW	SST	+72 Laps
24	Breiz motorsport	Yam	SST	+76 Laps
25	Team Étoile	BMW	SST	+78 Laps
26	LEGACY COMPETITION	Yam	PRD	+85 Laps
27	TEAM TECMAS – MINERVA OIL	BMW	SST	+86 Laps
28	WERC MOTORS EVENTS	Suz	SST	+86 Laps
29	GREENTEAM 42 LYCEE SAINTE CLAIRE	Kaw	PRD	+89 Laps
30	Mana-au Competition	Hon	PRD	+100 Laps
31	Kingtyre Fullgas Racing Team #116	Kaw	EWC	+117 Laps
32	Team HTC Racing	Yam	PRD	+118 Laps
33	MACO RACING Team	Yam	EWC	+118 Laps
34	ARTEC #199	Kaw	PRD	+128 Laps
35	T2C Racing	BMW	SST	+136 Laps
36	Flying Buffs M3 Racing	BMW	PRO	+143 Laps
37	TEAM 202	Yam	SST	+209 Laps
38	GRT 42 – KAWASAKI ORLEANS MOTO SPORT	Kaw	PRO	+209 Laps
Not Classified (Retired)
39	JNcompetition	Kaw	SST	+394 Laps
40	LF RACING MOTO ATTITUDE	Yam	PRO	+425 Laps
41	NATIONAL MOTOS HONDA FMA	Hon	SST	RET
42	Team Supermoto Racing	Yam	PRO	RET
43	Team ORS	Kaw	EWC	RET
44	GRILLINI RACING TEAM	Kaw	EWC	RET
45	BASOMBA RACING	Yam	SST	RET
46	Team Grip Attack	Hon	SST	RET
47	TPC – Moteur Actif	Yam	PRO	RET
48	TEAM SLA / HONDA TOULON	Hon	SST	RET
49	TEAM METISS	Met	SST	RET
50	Slider Endurance	Hon	EXP	RET
51	TMC 35-PMO	Yam	SST	RET
52	PITLANE ENDURANCE	Yam	SST	RET
53	INFINITEAM FLAM RACING	Yam	SST	RET
54	Tati Team AVA6 Racing	Hon	SST	RET
55	3ART Best Of Bike Hamaguchi	Yam	EWC	RET
56	ETH by 2V Racing	Hon	SST	RET
57	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99	Yam	PRO	RET
58	PLAYERS	Kaw	EWC	RET
59	TEAM PMS99 YAM SERVICE	Yam	SST	RET

2026 FIM Endurance World Championship Points

Pos	Team	Bike	Total	FRA	BEL	JPN	FRA
1	YART Yamaha Official EWC Team	Yamaha	63	63	–	–	–
2	Yoshimura SERT Motul	Suzuki	48	48	–	–	–
3	Kawasaki Webike Trickstar	Kawasaki	42	42	–	–	–
4	AutoRace Ube Racing Team	BMW	36	36	–	–	–
5	ERC Endurance #6	BMW	35	35	–	–	–
6	BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM	BMW	33	33	–	–	–
7	Team Bolliger Switzerland #8	Kawasaki	23	23	–	–	–
8	MAXXESS By BMRT3D	Kawasaki	21	21	–	–	–
9	Mana-au Competition	Honda	20	20	–	–	–
10	F.C.C. TSR Honda France	Honda	15	15	–	–	–
11	LRP Poland	BMW	15	15	–	–	–
12	Motobox Kremer Racing by 321	Yamaha	13	13	–	–	–
13	Kingtyre Fullgas Racing Team #116	Kawasaki	8	8	–	–	–
14	MACO RACING Team	Yamaha	7	7	–	–	–
15	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99	Yamaha	1	1	–	–	–