2024 FIM EWC Round 1 — 24 Hours of Le Mans | Race Report (20–21 April)

“With so many staff and riders experiencing 24 hours for the first time, up to about the 12-hour mark everyone's pace and the mood were good and things were going very smoothly. In the 4 a.m. hour I crashed as I began braking, the bike was damaged and we lost positions. After restarting I crashed again at the same spot in the same corner, and that ended in retirement.”

“Even after dark, visibility was better than at the Suzuka 8 Hours, but I really struggled with the speed differences, and my third stint dropped off a little on time. In the fourth stint, though, I addressed that and could keep running at a high pace. I lapped close to Kamei's average and focused purely on moving us up the order, so I think my four runs were full marks.”

“We hadn't done enough long-stint testing of how far the tyre life would hold, so I was trying it out during the race itself. The pace didn't come up, but since my average was good, I was the one running on the most worn tyres. Even so I kept a good average, handed over cleanly to the next rider, and finished my running with a good feeling.”

“Unfortunately there was a crash while we were running 3rd in the SST class; the machine was badly damaged and we retired — but I was able to ride steadily without overdoing it, keeping the gap to those behind, so I think I did well.”

“In my second stint I picked up things like a less tiring riding style than in the first, so there were gains I could only get by actually racing. It's a shame I couldn't ride from the third stint on and we retired, but I hope to put what I gained through the race week to use in my own racing and in the team's operations from round two onward.”

“Through qualifying we had no crashes at all, the setup progressed, the times improved and the riders were smiling a lot — we came into the race on a good flow. For the race I told each rider that ‘the job is to run steadily, not worry too much about lap times, and finish the full 24 hours,’ and by the half-way, 12-hour mark we had gradually moved up the order. At one point we were 10th overall, but we hadn't been able to test in the very cold deep-night conditions, so we didn't know how much grip the tyres would have — and there was a crash at 4:40, and another at 6:50.”

“We couldn't finish, but the riders were unhurt; and as our very first race — preparing properly from Japan, with the equipment and people all in place, and even running as high as 3rd in the SST class, within podium range, if only briefly — there are various issues left, but as a benchmark for having reached the start line, I think it was a good job. Using this as our baseline, we want to get stronger by dealing one by one with the issues that emerged here, on to the Spa 8 Hours, the Suzuka 8 Hours and the Bol d'Or 24 Hours.”