News 12 Jun 2018

F.C.C. TSR Honda strengthens points lead with German EWC victory

Australian Hook stands atop the podium alongside Foray and Techer.

Source: Supplied.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France has won the 8 Hours of Oschersleben in Germany, strengthening its lead in the 2017-2018 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) after finishing an epic race ahead of Team SRC Kawasaki, who pipped GMT94 Yamaha to the runner-up spot.

F.C.C. TSR Honda France notched up their second win of the season and are now a serious contender for the world title with a 10-point lead over GMT94 Yamaha ahead of the grand finale.

After F.C.C. TSR Honda France took the lead halfway through the race, riders Freddy Foray, Australian Josh Hook and Alan Techer firmly retained command all the way to the finish. Foray and later Hook were the only two riders to add their names to the roll call of the fastest race laps in Germany.

The Japanese team also excelled in terms of fuel strategy. They were the last to refuel, making one less pit stop than their rivals. The race in Germany was truly epic from start to finish. The battle for runner-up position played out in the final few seconds of the race between Team SRC Kawasaki (Mathieu Gines, Randy de Puniet and Jérémy Guarnoni) and GMT94 Yamaha (David Checa, Mike Di Meglio and Niccolò Canepa).

Randy de Puniet in the saddle of the Kawasaki bested Mike Di Meglio, who crashed but still managed to finish in third place. GMT94 Yamaha had been delayed in the early part of the race by a stop-and-go penalty for non-compliant refuelling (lights on).

BMW-mounted NRT48 once again earned themselves a praiseworthy spot at the foot of the podium, with Kenny Foray, Stefan Kerschbaumer and Lucy Glöckner featuring among the front-runners throughout the race. They finished ahead of Maco Racing Team, who notched up their finest result this season with riders Anthony Dos Santos, Louis Bulle and Alex Plancassagne.

The race in Germany also saw YART Yamaha’s Marvin Fritz crash out spectacularly halfway through the race when the team were lapping in second place, forcing the outfit that includes Aussie Broc Parkes to withdraw. The next stop on the calendar is scheduled on 29 July for the Suzuka 8 Hours in Japan.

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