20
September
2018
|
09:09 AM
Europe/Amsterdam

FIM Endurance World Championship - Dunlop Independents Trophy 18/19 EWC season opening Bol d’Or battle

  • Five different DIT leaders
  • Top two DIT teams recover from 27th& 55thoverall to finish in points
  • Dunlop endurance tyre development continues with Bol d’Or data
     
35 of the 59 bikes ultimately raced on Dunlop tyres in the opening round of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) at the Bol d’Or, with LCR Endurance Racing making a late switch to Dunlop. Of those, 28 were registered in the Dunlop Independents Trophy (DIT) – the competition for prize money supporting independent teams.
The eventual DIT top-two worked hard to earn their cash prizes, recovering from mid and lower-field positions to finish on the DIT podium and also earn championship points. Topping Bol d’Or’s DIT was the Wójcik Racing Team #77 bike; the Polish team had dropped to 27thin the fourth hour of the race but mounted a recovery and crossed the Circuit Paul Ricard line in eleventh to win DIT and score ten championship points. DIT second-placed BMRT 3D Maccio Racing made an even bigger recovery, having completed the first hour in 55thyet finishing the race an impressive 13thoverall and fourth in the superstock class. Zuff Racing Team was the third DIT finisher, having made just 25 stops in the 24 hours. Five different bikes topped the DIT leaderboard during the 24 hours and 15 teams shared a prize fund of €30,000.
 
After leading the overall race for several hours and setting the fastest race lap in the night, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team overcame a series of mechanical issues to recover to fourth place and therefore lies fourth in the championship. Honda Endurance Racing also took its turn at the front, leading the race until a broken cylinder head bolt ended any chance of victory. In the FIM World Cup for superstock bikes, Webike Tati Team Trickstar took second place.
 
The EWC is an important part of Dunlop’s development programme for motorcycle racing tyres. The Bol d’Or showed continued performance improvements in Dunlop’s tyre range, with race-leads and strong pace in addition to excellent reports from the riders. The race saw the four Dunlop partner teams use the new generation front tyre and two specifications of rear tyre that performed as designed throughout the race, able to double and triple stint. While tyre restrictions were lifted for the newly-resurfaced Bol d’Or, limits on the number of tyres used will be back in place for the next round.
 
Roland Wozniak, International Event Manager, Dunlop Motorsport
“Firstly congratulations to our Dunlop Independents Trophy prize winners. It was a fantastic race that saw a lot of teams fighting to recover. Alas endurance racing can be cruel and we could easily have seen SERT or Honda Endurance Racing on that top step. The tyres that we brought delivered the performance that the teams were looking for but we don’t stop improving and will continue to work on tyre development using the data from this race. Let’s see how this new series continues to unfold at Le Mans in April.”
 
The next round of EWC takes place on 20th/21stApril 2019 at Le Mans.