2014 Bol d’Or 24-hour Qualifying Results
The 2014 FIM Endurance World Championship began this week with qualifying for round 1 of 6 – the Bol d’OR 24-Hour race at Magny Cours, France.
The Honda Racing team (CBR1000RR Fireblade) with its new rider lineup – Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray and Sebastien Gimbert – took the pole Friday ahead of Yamaha GMT94 (YZF-R1) and current world champions Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) (GSX-R 1000).
The second and final qualifying session Friday was held under damp conditions, leaving the riders no chances of improving on Thursday’s lap times. This resulted in Honda Racing taking the top time with its Thursday time.
On Friday, Honda Racing did participate, making good use of da Costa and Gimbert’s 20-minute sessions to carry out fuel and tire tests. As for Foray, he didn’t participate so he could rest his injured rib.
The Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin team of David Checa, Kenny Foray and Mathieu Gines were a mere 0.007 of a second off Honda Racing’s time.
As for SERT riders Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and Erwan Nigon, they finished 0.117 of a second back
The 78th Bol d’Or 24-hour race will begin at 15.00 CEST Saturday. Live timing and a live stream is available via the FIM website.