2024 FIM EWC Round 1 — Le Mans 24 Hours | Private Test Report (April 16)
Debut week for the EWC newcomers. In the pre-race-week private test all four riders put in laps, and by the afternoon — 12th overall and near the top of the SST class — the setup had steadily moved forward.
The debut race of Team Étoile — a full new entry to the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) from the 2024 season — is finally drawing near. After completing load-in for the season-opening Le Mans 24 Hours on Monday April 15th, the team took part in the EWC entrants’ private test just before race week on Tuesday the 16th. Most EWC teams ran in this test, which was scheduled for two 2-hour-55-minute sessions in the morning and afternoon; the afternoon was extended by 30 minutes due to a rain-caused red flag.
Ikuhiro Enokido, who had crashed in Race 2 of the All Japan Road Race Championship Round 2 JSB1000 at Motegi on Sunday the 14th, underwent a detailed medical examination at a hospital after arriving in France on Monday the 15th; with the result of ‘no concussion and no abnormality in the brain,’ the decision was made to let him ride. In the morning Yudai Kamei, Ikuhiro Enokido and Kyosuke Okuda progressed the bike’s setup, and in the afternoon, after the three ran in the same flow, Shogo Kawasaki also rode the by-then dialled-in machine.
In the morning the team ran 75 laps in total, a 1:39.667 for 23rd overall; in the afternoon, with light rain falling a few times and a crash for Enokido, it ran 51 laps and recorded a 1:38.555 for 12th overall — high up in the SST class.
Although this is a new entry, the team had also run at the TRACKDAY (sport riding) on March 25–27 and the official test on April 2–3, so the setup of the BMW M1000RR advanced further; the bike will still be improved during race week, and the riders look to need yet more time to get used to the track and the machine.
Rider comments
Rider
Yudai Kamei
“At the official test, on dry tyres we still had a gap to the top teams in the SST class, but today I updated my personal best even on used tyres, and the setup is coming together nicely. The other members are updating their bests too, and we’re steadily improving and bunching our times together, so now we just need to focus on running steadily toward the race.”
“It’s going well so far, so I want to push without overdoing it in both qualifying and the race; we’ve reached a point where, without crashes, we can aim for a good result, so I want the riders to take responsibility and give our best.”
Rider
Ikuhiro Enokido
“There was more undulation than I expected and the course was harder than I’d imagined; after three runs I’ve got a rough handle on it. As for the bike, I’ve gained almost all my experience on Honda, so the BMW felt quite different from the image I had before riding it, and I felt it isn’t straightforward. There’s also the combination with the UK Dunlop tyres, so I had to work through the sessions choosing where to push and where to ride gently.”
“The race itself is also very different from a sprint and is long, and I think there’ll be things to learn and feel during the race, so first I want to keep checking through the sessions up to the final, absorb what I can, and keep riding to the last session while constantly updating.”
Rider
Kyosuke Okuda
“At the official test we set the bike up to gain rear-tyre grip, but in the end it became a bike with grip yet a braking problem. This time engineer Julian analysed the data and we changed the setup from what we brought; that gave a really good feel, and from the first laps I could immediately set the times I’d been working hard for at the official test, so it was a start with a good feeling.”
“From there we adjusted further and I soon updated my personal best to the low 1:40s. In the afternoon I fitted tyres in good condition, refined the setup, and got into the 1:39s, so I finished with a good feeling.”
Rider
Shogo Kawasaki
“There was quite a strong wind on the final run, but the bike had become far easier to ride than the setup I ran at the end of the track day. Because of the wind, in terms of feel I couldn’t attack as much as at the end of the track day, but my times beat it, so the bike has definitely got better and I could tell the setup is progressing.”
“That said, a big area for improvement in my riding that didn’t stand out on a 600cc has now become obvious on the 1000cc, so with not much time left I want to improve it and find a low-burden riding style that can run a whole stint. It’s my first endurance race so I don’t know how it’ll go, but I want to get through it with fighting spirit.”
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