Strong start for Dunlop Superstock Trophy at Le Mans

• Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore win
• Two Dunlop Superstock teams feature in the Top Five overall
• Dunlop development results in faster Superstock pace

The 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans marked the debut of the Dunlop Superstock Trophy class in the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC). This category is for near-standard superbikes and the Dunlop partnership means that all riders will benefit from the brand’s tyre technology throughout the EWC season.

The Dunlop Superstock Trophy was the biggest class at Le Mans, contributing 34 of the 52 entries. It provided thrilling racing throughout the 24 hours with the Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore Yamaha of Hugo Clere, Baptiste Guittet and Philipp Steinmayr taking the inaugural Trophy win.

The winners staged an impressive fightback after mechanical issues forced a long pitstop after just five hours of racing. The Yamaha ‘fire brigade’ team battled back to the front as Dunlop Superstock Trophy fortunes swung between the Honda of National Motos, the Kawasaki of Team 33 Louit April Moto and the Suzuki of No Limits Motor Team. For Dunlop, this battle proved the suitability of the latest KR slick tyres on a wide variety of superbike models.

The latest Dunlop KR slicks made a major contribution to this Superstock performance. Dunlop chose to offer all teams the KR109 front (in MS3 & harder MS4 specs) and KR108 rear (in MS2 & harder MS3 specs) after extensive pre-event testing. The fastest lap in the Dunlop Superstock Trophy was 0.3 seconds faster than in the 2021 race.

The pace and consistency of the Dunlop Superstock Trophy bikes was underlined by six of the top ten finishers overall coming from the class, with the class fastest lap being less than two seconds off the overall winner’s best time. This is an impressive achievement, as the top Formula EWC class allows significant upgrades to the suspension, engine and brakes whereas the Dunlop Superstock Trophy modifications are limited to mapping, exhausts and other minor changes.

David Auerbacher, Event Leader EWC, Dunlop: “We showed great tyre performance in terms of consistency, pure performance and longevity. We had great feedback from teams and I’d like to thank our team for tackling an immense logistical challenge. We took 4000 tyres to Le Mans, supported by an expert team of sixteen fitters and seven track support engineers. The lap times and finishing positions of the Dunlop Superstock Trophy teams are very close to the top EWC class bikes, emphasising the professionalism and pace of the Trophy teams. Congratulations to Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore on a brilliant victory.”

In the Formula EWC category that features open tyre competition, Dunlop bikes were in contention for the overall podium with BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, VRD Igol Yamaha and Webike SRC Kawasaki France showing impressive speed before being affected by technical issues.

The next round of the FIM Endurance World Championship is the much-anticipated return of the Spa 24 hours on 4-5 June.