In an edition rich in twists and turns, Yamaha won the 85th Bol d’Or on Sunday at the Paul-Ricard circuit in Le Castellet (Var).
Third at an hour and a quarter from the finish, the Yamaha N.333, driven by the German Florian Alt and the French Erwan Nigon and Steven Odenhaal, benefited from the mechanical setbacks of the Ducati N.6 and the Yamaha N. 77 to take the lead at the end of the race and win after 718 laps. This is Yamaha’s fifth success on the Le Castellet circuit, after 1994, 2000, 2007 and 2017.
Ducati, on course to win its first Bol d’Or more than an hour from the finish, was overtaken by mechanical problems after its bike let out a veil of smoke on the Mistral long straight of 1.8 kilometers. This preceded by a few minutes another mechanical problem suffered by the Yamaha N.77, which had taken control.
On Saturday, the Suzuki N.1, defending champion, the BMW N.37, who started in pole position, and the Yamaha N.7, three of the favourites, had experienced similar mechanical misfortunes, and had been forced to retire due to mechanical problems. Only the Honda N.5, in the midst of these annoyances experienced by these contenders for the final victory, came out relatively well with a 4th place.
Honda wins the EWC World Endurance Championship. The Bol d’Or was the last round of the EWC championship after the 24 Hours of Spa (Belgium), the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 8 Hours of Suzuka (Japan).
The famous Bol d’Or, the oldest 24-hour motorcycle endurance race, celebrated its centenary.