2024 FIM EWC Round 2 — 8 Hours of Spa | Private Test Report (June 3)
Yudai Kamei and Hikari Okubo ran Spa for the first time, while Kazuki Watanabe rejoined the team after a spell away. Repeated red flags limited the laps, but the team built familiarity with the track and bike without a single crash.
The second round of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), the 8 Hours of Spa, is approaching this weekend. Team Étoile fields its regular riders Yudai Kamei, Hikari Okubo and Kazuki Watanabe, and ran a private test at the track day on Monday June 3rd, before race week.
The Spa round has only three days of running: private practice on Thursday, free practice and two qualifying sessions on Friday, and the race on Saturday. On top of that, as Team Étoile riders, Kamei and Okubo had never ridden Spa, and Watanabe — unable to ride the season-opening Le Mans 24 Hours — was getting back on the BMW M1000RR for the first time in a while.
For that reason, the private test focused on learning the track and getting used to the bike, while also progressing the setup. There were five runs — the first 20 minutes, the remaining four 25 minutes — with the two bikes running at the same time to compare the team-mates’ riding.
However, red flags came out in almost every session, so the team couldn’t complete many laps; still, there were no crashes and it adapted smoothly to Spa-Francorchamps. After a rest on Tuesday, there was load-in in the evening, scrutineering and the parade on Wednesday, and the riders and the whole team continued preparing for Thursday’s running.
Rider comments
Rider
Yudai Kamei
“First, having ended Le Mans with a crash and not ridden for a while, plus it being a track I’d never seen, I couldn’t brake very hard. Partway through, thanks to Kazuki Watanabe running with me, I managed to break through and my times improved from there. The pace is good so far, and the chassis is around 70–80%, so I think we’ve built a good bike.”
“On Thursday we can run all day, so if the riders adjust well I think we can lap at a good pace. My two senior team-mates are fast too, so I want to keep up and run at a similar pace.”
Rider
Hikari Okubo
“I think the base setup is quite well sorted. It was a new track and my first time back on the BMW in a while, but I got on with it fairly easily. There was a change to the running plan so I only managed about ten laps, but even so I could improve my time. Of course I’m not fast yet at all, and with so many red flags we got the minimum testing done.”
“Kazuki Watanabe joined us this round, and being a veteran he’s a huge help with things like the bike setup, so I think it’ll be a week to look forward to. On Thursday, if we sharpen things a little more with long-run tests and so on, it looks like we can have a good race. I’m glad we finished day one on a positive note.”
Rider
Kazuki Watanabe
“I rode feeling the same kind of atmosphere as when I rode the bike at Motegi in February. What I was most concerned about was getting a handle on how communication would flow among the three riders and within the team, but it went without any major issues, so I think we’re coming along well. I’m the only rider who knows the track, so I’m one benchmark, but the other two aren’t running at an extremely bad pace either, so if everyone rides during Thursday’s long running while maintaining this growth curve, I think we can get to a good place.”
“There’s inevitably some concern as I’m just back from injury, and there’s a chance it could become a race that puts more strain on the body, so I’m keeping an eye on it; but so far nothing major has happened physically, so I hope it keeps going well. The impression is positive. I’m enjoying being back at Spa after a while, with a world-championship-level bike and track.”
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