Le Castellet. A thrilling FIM Endurance World Championship
2023 season finale at Le Castellet (FRA) saw the BMW Motorrad World
Endurance Team claim another podium finish and secure third place in
the world championship standings. At the Bol dβOr, Markus
Reiterberger (GER), Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) and JΓ©rΓ©my Guarnoni (FRA)
crossed the line in third place after 709 race laps. The trio
reached the rostrum with the #37 BMW M 1000 RR in all three 24-hour
races this season. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team finished
third in the world championship standings, just one point away from
second place. The new world champions from the YART Yamaha Official
Β EWC Team were only 21 points ahead.
Β
The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team secured pole position with a
new lap record and the three BMW Motorrad factory riders and the team
proceeded to do an outstanding job throughout the 24 hours of racing.
Some problems with the electronics did knock the team back during the
night. However, Reiterberger, Mikhalchik and Guarnoni worked their way
back up through the standings to reach the podium positions.
Mikhalchik also claimed the fastest race lap, posting a time of
1:52.898 minutes with the #37 BMW M 1000 RR.
The 2023 season started with third place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
(FRA) for the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and the #37 BMW M 1000
RR. They followed this up with third place and another podium at the
24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL). At the 8-hour race at Suzuka, the
team secured an outstanding sixth place with the best performance of
any European team. The team featuring Reiterberger, Mikhalchik and
Guarnoni reached the rostrum again to round off the season β both in
the Bol dβOr and in the world championship.
The team at Le Castellet featured BMW Motorrad WorldSBK factory rider
Loris Baz (FRA), competing as the fourth rider for the BMW Motorrad
World Endurance Team in the finale, as well as in the practice
sessions and during qualifying.
The Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team had secured pole position in the
Superstock class with the #9 BMW M 1000 RR. As injuries prevented Jan
BΓΌhn (GER) and Nelson Major (FRA) from competing in the race, Baz was
able to join the team at short notice as the third rider alongside
Kenny Foray and LoΓ―c Arbel (FRA). However, the team that had
celebrated a hard-earned victory at the season-opener at Le Mans (FRA)
now experienced just how cruel endurance racing can be. The team was
forced to retire in the early stages of the race due to a technical failure.
Three privateer BMW teams were also racing at Le Castellet. The Team
LRP Poland claimed eleventh place overall with the #90 BMW S 1000 RR
and seventh place in the Formula EWC class. The Japanese TONE RT
SYNCEDGE 4413 BMW team crossed the finish line in 22th position
overall (eleventh place in the Superstock class). The French Seigneur
Motorsport Team Mont Blanc team finished the 24 hours in 30th place
(19th place in the Superstock class).
Reactions after the Bol dβOr.
Β
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: βWe
had prepared really well and our pace was great ahead of this race. We
were very competitive in all the practice sessions and we also secured
pole position, scoring our first five points in the process. We were
38 points behind and we still felt we had a good chance as there were
85 points up for grabs. We needed to win this race, and hope that the
others endured some bad luck. Unfortunately, we didnβt quite manage
it. During the night, we twice had a very similar problem with the
power supply in the motorbike. That cost us about eight laps in total,
which in turn definitely cost us second place and had an effect on the
race for the world championship title. It is hard to take when thereβs
just one point in it. I would like to congratulate Yamaha on the world
championship title and Suzuki on winning the race here. Nonetheless,
we were able to show the pace we have and I am very pleased that we
finished all four races this year, including three podiums in the
24-hour races. That was unthinkable last year and shows what potential
we have. I would like to thank the entire BMW Motorrad World Endurance
Team, our great riders and everyone in Munich and Berlin who made this
possible. We now have a long winter ahead of us. We need to continue
to improve and I am sure that we when we return, we will be well
equipped to challenge for the title.β
Β
Werner Daemen, Teammanager BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team:
βI have mixed feelings. To be honest, if you had told me
about that result before the season, I would have been quite happy.
But now we feel that the title was also possible and then you want
more. But this is a particular race and I think we have been strong.
In qualifying, we showed our potential by taking pole position. The
riders again did a tremendous job. In the race, we had some bad luck
and some technical issues that cost us several laps. If we could have
won maybe the world title would also been possible. That means that we
have some work to do and the title will be our goal for next year.
Thanks to BMW, to the riders and the entire team for their hard and
great work this season. There are so many people who have contributed
to the fact that we finished all races and been on the podium in all
24-hour races. Next year we will attack again!β
Markus Reiterberger: βI am certainly feeling very
happy. That was a tumultuous race here. We made a different tactical
choice and maybe we had some bad luck with the safety car. But the two
defects also cost us some time. However, we always managed to come
back. I think that was my best race performance. I was able to really
push in each stint, catching up on the bikes ahead, posting
consistently fast lap times and keeping pace with the fastest racers.
I completed the final two stints. I had been feeling good up to that
point, but the last one was really tough. We gave it everything as we
were still aiming to finish second and secure second place in the
world championship. However, it wasnβt possible as the gap was just
too large. I am still very pleased nonetheless. We completed every
race and it looks like we have solved the problems that we had last
year. And I think that if we continue to improve a bit, we can be
challenging for the world championship title next year. Thanks to
everyone at BMW Motorrad Motorsport and in the team, who all worked so
hard. I think that we can be proud of what we have achieved, and we
will manage to take the next step.β
Ilya Mikhalchik: βItβs like having mixed emotions. On
one side, I am really happy, for sure. On the other side we missed the
world championship title just narrowly and had some bad luck during
the races. But I am happy that we all made big steps since last year,
with the bike, with the ridersβ performance, with the lap times.
Everyone worked hard and you can see the results. I think that season
was one of the best because we finished all races, have been on the
podium on three of four occasions and have always been fighting for
the top. Even in Japan, we have been close to the podium. So for sure
we should be happy. I want to say thank you to all the BMW engineers
for the big steps on the bike. I hope itβs only the start and we can
be even stronger. A special thank you to my team-mates who push every
lap. Weβre learning from each other and that is great. Thanks to the
entire team for the work β and I hope one day we will win the title.β
JΓ©rΓ©my Guarnoni: βOf course we are happy because to
finish on the podium at a classic race like this is great. Also the
result in the championship has been important after the difficult
season we had last year, even if we had won at Spa. Now we are back,
fighting with the top teams. Thatβs the positive point. But obviously
we have been here for winning. We had some technical issues but even
without them we could not fight for the win because I think that
Suzuki was one step better than us. So we just have to keep working. I
think that BMW and the team are working more than everybody else but
endurance is like this and I think that our time will come. Letβs try
next year!β
Loris Baz: βIt has been a super nice experience and
great to be with the team. I was just trying to do a good fourth rider
job as I was asked to. I anyway love being at a race with my friend
JΓ©rΓ©my and trying to help him. BMW then also needed help on the
Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team side in the Superstock class to try to
catch the title for them because of injuries. So that was a last
minute call. I was going cycling and everything was packed in my car
and they called me and told me I am needed in Superstock. So I was
really looking forward to this because it would have been really great
to race with Kenny and LoΓ―c. But unfortunately there was the technical
issue early in the race. This week has been a rollercoaster of
emotions for me. I had finished my job on Friday, then I got a new job
but could not ride. Since then I had been supporting JΓ©rΓ©my and the
#37 as much as I could. Iβm really happy theyβve made it to the podium.β
