F.C.C. TSR Honda France showed the endurance capability of the all-new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP in its debut outing in the FIM Endurance World Championship, winning the legendary 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans, completing 816 laps and holding the lead for the majority of the 24-hour race with Freddy Foray, Mike Di Meglio and Josh Hook.
Starting the race from fourth position yesterday (Saturday 29 August) in dry conditions, Di Meglio took the race lead on his second lap until the end of his first stint. The #5 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP was in second place after the first pit stop just before the weather turned and rain fell across the Bugatti circuit. However, not fazed by the changing conditions, the team stormed back to regain the lead.
At the end of the first eight hours of the 43rd edition of the 24 Heures Motos, F.C.C. TSR Honda France were still holding on to first place and scored the 10 bonus points awarded after the first third of the race. The team spent the whole night at the front of the pack, maintaining the lead over their rivals, to collect a further 10-point bonus at the end of the 16th hour. During the night, Di Meglio even set the race lap record with 1’36.985.
The trio of riders did not make any mistakes during this picture-perfect race and eventually crossed the line taking the chequered flag to win the 24-hour race aboard the extremely reliable brand-new, Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. The result sees the team collect valuable points which moves them into second position in the provisional FIM Endurance World Championship standings with a total of 87 points.
Freddy Foray, Josh Hook, Mike Di Meglio and the F.C.C. TSR Honda France team will now look forward to the last round of the 2019/2020 FIM-EWC Championship, which takes place on 26 September in Portugal, where they hope to win the title back.