Dunlop 1-2-3 in championship standings heading into 24 Heures Motos

• Dunlop teams currently 1-2-3 in EWC championship
• Dunlop working closely with partner teams to prepare for Le Mans race
• 24 Heures Motos restarts EWC season after eight-month break

Dunlop teams occupy the top three positions in the FIM Endurance World Championship teams’ standings heading into the historic 24 Heures Motos this weekend, and Dunlop is ready to help them fight for a historic race win on the Le Mans Bugatti circuit. 

The FIM EWC season resumes with the 43rd edition of the 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans after a lengthy gap since the last round, the 8 Hours of Sepang in December. While the championship hasn’t raced for eight months, Dunlop has been working closely with its partner teams to head to Le Mans as prepared as possible. 

After the two races already held this season, the three leading motorcycle racing teams at the top of the championship standings are all running Dunlop tyres on different manufacturers’ bikes. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team leads the charge, ahead of BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and the Yamaha of Wojcik Racing Team.

A notable addition to the field is Wojcik Racing Team’s new rider Broc Parkes, who will share the No. 77 Yamaha YZF-R1 with Gino Rea, Axel Maurin and Marcelli Bezulski. Australian racer Parkes previously raced in MotoGP, Superbike World Championship and Supersport World Championship and is a proven addition to the Wojcik squad.

Wim Van Achter, Motorsport Manager, Dunlop, said: “I’m really excited about Le Mans, and Dunlop is in a great position with the top three bikes in the championship. The addition of Broc Parkes at Wojcik Racing Team is great to see, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do for them. We’ve been hard at work preparing for Le Mans and we tested at the track in July. We know the track very well and we’ve raced there for many years, so we’re confident that we can give the highest level of support to our teams.

“We’ve been working alongside our official partner teams to help them prepare for what is always a tough race. Suzuki and BMW have made important developments on their bikes and we’ve been in close contact with them and other teams to assist. I’m eager to see how these developments will help these leading teams have an edge over the competition.”

As always in the highly competitive FIM EWC, Dunlop will provide a combination of standard KR tyres and unique development tyres. The KR series of slicks, including the KR106 and KR109 fronts and the KR108 rear tyre, are proven race-winners, but Dunlop’s official partner teams in the top class will also have the opportunity to race unique development tyres. The data gathered from racing these tyres at the highest level of two-wheel endurance competition goes directly into producing the next generation of road and track tyres.

To supply the official partner teams and the 18 teams racing in the EWC Dunlop Independent Trophy, Dunlop will bring around 3,500 tyres to the track. The EWC Dunlop Independent Trophy has awarded prize money to privateer and amateur teams for four years, and will distribute a further €40,000 to independent teams at Le Mans, providing vital financial support to privateer teams competing on the world stage.

The 24 Heures Motos was initially set to be followed by another historic 24-hour race in France, the Bol d’Or, but that event has now been cancelled. The FIM EWC season will now conclude on 27 September with the new 12 Hours of Estoril in Portugal.