2011 Endurance World Championship
The 2011 FIM Endurance World Championship concluded this past weekend with the 8 Hours of Doha at Losail International Circuit in Qatar.
Taking fifth at the season finale, round five of five, was the new-to-2011 team, the Honda TT Legends consisting of 17-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness, IOMTT star Keith Amor and stand-in rider Glen Richards.
After the fifth-place finish aboard the CBR1000 RR, the Honda TT Legends team ended up taking seventh overall in the Endurance World Championship behind the title-holder, Suzuki Endurance Race Team. Seventh for the Honda TT Legends is an achievement that will assist in strategies for next year’s EWC.
Honda TT Legends says: “This is the team’s third fifth-place finish of the year – it completed both the Bol d’Or and the Le Mans 24-hour in the same position to secure seventh in its first ever EWC season.”
Neil Tuxworth (Honda TT Legends Manager) says: “Our aim for this year was to finish sixth in the championship, but to be honest we are more than happy with seventh. It’s a great achievement in our development year and I think the whole team can be proud of what we have achieved. We have learned an incredible amount over the season and we will take all that into 2012 with the aim of becoming competitive enough to fight for the podium.”
John McGuinness (Honda TT Legends CBR1000RR) says: “We’ve finished three races this year with three fifths and I think that’s a fantastic achievement. Looking at the race results, you’ve got teams with massive experience and world championship titles above us so we’re the best of the rest if you like!
“We strung eight hours together no problem and as a team we bought the bike home. It was quite a experience to finish the race here and the 8 Hours of Qatar is another thing to tick off my list of things to do. I have to mention all the boys in the team – they’ve worked mega hard and there has been a lot going on behind the scenes with the ABS project amongst other things, so thank you to them.”
Keith Amor (Honda TT Legends CBR1000RR) says: “It was quite an eventful end to the championship in the end. I’m really happy that the team has been able to move up to the seventh in the championship as we’ve had a few unlucky breaks this year. Glen and John did really, really well. It’s was tough to learn this track but overall it’s been a good year. I feel privileged to be part of the official Honda outfit.”
Glen Richards (Honda TT Legends CBR1000RR) says: “I am really happy that I’ve been able to do a half decent job. It’s always the fear of the unknown when you haven’t ridden the bike before but it’s all worked very well. The team has been fantastic and the bike was really good. We managed to get fifth in the race and move up in the championship, which the team are very happy about so I’m happy.”
