24 Heures Moto Le Mans 2026
Words: ACO report and Fabrice Huet. Photos by Fabrice Huet
YART-Yamaha Official EWC Team has won the 49th edition of the 24 Heures Motos. At the conclusion of a thrilling race characterized by a very high pace and an attendance of 76,700 spectators, the #1 Yamaha YZF-R1 claimed victory. Ridden by Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz, and Leandro Mercado, it earned Yamaha its sixth success in the Le Mans classic. The Austrian squad secured its second consecutive victory and the third in its history.
The 24 Heures Motos has seen the birth of legends. Every edition has revealed champions; every racing incident has tested character. Here, competitors discover what they are truly capable of. To win this 49th edition of the 24 Heures Motos, Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz, and Leandro Mercado—the riders of the #1 Yamaha from YART-Yamaha Official EWC Team—had to deliver a perfect performance to beat Suzuki, BMW, Kawasaki, and Honda.
While the “Blue” bike started with a fuel consumption handicap compared to its rivals, its riders compensated for this disadvantage by setting a very high pace on track. Where these champions truly commanded respect was in their path to victory, which was entirely error-free and on pace for a distance record.
BMW dreamed of being the first European manufacturer to win the 24 Heures Motos with the #37 M1000RR of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. The Belgian team actually led the race until the 17th hour. It was at that moment that the machine derailed due to traction control issues. Then, Michael van der Mark (a four-time winner of the Suzuka 8 Hours) suffered a crash while overtaking a backmarker. The Dutch rider had hoped to follow in the footsteps of his father, Henk, winner in 1984 with Suzuki. It would have been a beautiful story! Finally, at 1 hour and 44 minutes before the finish, the Hypersport was again hit by a mechanical problem. The German brand ended up in 23rd place.
In the Suzuki camp, following a 2025 24 Heures Motos marked by six crashes and the loss of the World Endurance title by a single point (to YART-Yamaha), they approached this 49th edition with a spirit of revenge. Yoshimura SERT Motul relied on its proven GSX-R 1000 to make the difference. But reliability alone isn’t always enough. To aim higher, they also had to increase the pace and find those tenths of a second that swing a race. And that is precisely where things got complicated. Consequently, the Japanese team is already looking toward the future, satisfied with second place (five laps behind the winning Yamaha) for the championship standings. A new machine is in preparation for next year, with an intact ambition: to continue writing its legend and reinforce its status as the most successful manufacturer at the 24 Heures Motos by securing a 16th victory.As for Kawasaki, they are satisfied with third position. Kawasaki Webike Trickstar entered a new ZX-10R featuring a new aerodynamic package with large winglets. Simultaneously, the chassis geometry was revised. These evolutions didn’t allow the “Greens” to match the pace of Yamaha and BMW, but they offered a glimpse of interesting potential and a certain resilience. Special mention goes to Grégory Leblanc, a five-time winner of the 24 Heures Motos, who lost ten kilograms (22 lbs) to reduce the weight gap with his teammates, necessitated by the bike’s setup.
The great absentee from the podium of this 49th edition was Honda. The #5 CBR 1000 RR-R of F.C.C. TSR Honda France was clearly in the hunt early in the race before Corentin Perolari crashed after the 21-hour mark. The Japanese team finished in 12th place (40 laps behind the winners).
Mirroring 2025, the best independent team at the finish was the #6 BMW M1000RR of ERC Endurance #6. Ridden by Marcel Schrötter, Kenny Foray, and David Checa, this machine crossed the line in fourth position. The #76 BMW of AutoRace Ube Racing Team completed the top 5. This Japanese outfit was competing in its first 24-hour race and benefited from the experience of Sylvain Guintoli, a two-time winner of the 24 Heures Motos. We can bet they will return in 2027 with high ambitions.
Reactions from the Winners
Karel Hanika:”It was a superb race, harder than in 2025. The competition is getting stronger every year; it’s hard to make a difference. We always have to give our maximum, and this time, the team did a fantastic job. We didn’t have a single mechanical problem. At the start of the week, we had some trouble, and then we weren’t the fastest during the first few hours, but we improved throughout the race, especially during the night. This result gives us a lot of confidence for the next rounds. It’s also an excellent start to the championship: we’re collecting 63 points right away, which is more than last year. The season looks to be both thrilling and grueling. After Spa, where we are quite strong, Suzuka is on the schedule where we lacked luck in 2025; we need to get our revenge there. Then there will be the Bol d’Or, where we have never won—it’s hard to beat Yoshimura SERT Motul there. It will be difficult to maintain this pace, of course, and we suspect our rivals will be ready for the 8 Hours of Spa; I can’t wait to be there.”
Marvin Fritz: “This edition was harder to win than the previous one. Our start was complicated. We suffered early in the race. After that, we attacked every stint. All our rivals were extremely fast. After 14 hours of racing, we were within 30 seconds of each other. It was a fight until the end. I hope the fans enjoyed it. It’s a shame the #37 BMW ran into mechanical problems. Without that, they would have fought until the very end.”
Leandro Mercado: “We were really confident with the bike because the team did very extensive preparation work. The bike was perfect, as my teammates highlighted. The feeling was very good—not so much at the beginning of the race, but during the night, it was really, really good. Yamaha Austria Racing Team did an incredible job to get this result. For me, it’s like a dream. My first race with a World Champion team, I arrive and immediately feel at home. We got the pole position and the win: I couldn’t ask for more! I thank the team and my teammates. I am so happy; it’s an incredible feeling. Of course, I want to take this momentum into the next round and fight to win the championship.”
BMW Succeeds Honda in Superstock
In the **Superstock** category, no fewer than ten teams were contenders for the win. On paper, ambitions were high and the scenarios were open, but as the hours passed, the reality of the 24 Heures Motos set in—mercilessly reshuffling the deck based on incidents and the endurance of both men and machines.
National Motos Honda FMA aimed to achieve a historic performance: a third consecutive victory on the Bugatti circuit. However, the #55 Honda was forced to retire due to engine failure after 613 laps and 19 hours of racing.
The pole-sitter, the #25 BMW of Team Étoile, could have succeeded National Motos Honda FMA. But what can one hope for in such a competitive category when suffering at least three crashes? 13th place and a lot of regrets.
Ultimately, it was the #38 BMW of **Champion-HERT Powered by MRP** that stood on the top step of the podium. Bálint Kovács, Jan Bühn, Loris Cresson, and Máté Számadó won ahead of the #44 Honda of Honda No Limits and the #27 Honda of TRT27 AZ Moto. This third-place finish is a source of satisfaction for Eric Tanésie, the team manager celebrating 30 years in motorcycle endurance racing at this 49th edition.
Yamaha Also Wins the Production Category
The 2026 24 Heures Motos marked the second year for the Production category, which features machines closely resembling those available in dealerships. No fewer than 11 bikes were on the starting grid. The #96 Yamaha of **Legacy Compétition** and the #42 Kawasaki (Green Team 42 Lycée Sainte-Claire) and #199 Kawasaki (ARTEC 199) battled for the lead for a long time. The turning point occurred late in the morning. While the #42 Kawasaki was leading, the “Green” bike suffered a broken chain. This allowed the #96 Yamaha, entrusted to Jordy Manneveau, Pierre Gelas, Ludovic Hauser, and Jonathan Hugot, to take the lead and secure the win. The #42 Kawasaki finished second, while the #531 Honda of MANA-AU Compétition took the third spot on the podium.
Sixty machines were at the start. Twenty-four hours later, only 40 of them saw the checkered flag. In the meantime, as a reminder of the event’s harshness, the night, fatigue, and the unexpected took their toll. For many amateurs, simply being on the grid was an exploit in itself. Therefore, crossing the finish line—regardless of the ranking—takes on the feel of a victory: silent, but deeply deserved.
The next round of the **FIM EWC World Endurance Championship** will be the **8 Hours of Spa Motos**. See you on Saturday, June 6, for a new race that is predicted to be fiercely contested.
Top 5 – EWC Category:
- Yamaha #1 YART-Yamaha Official EWC Team – Karel Hanika / Marvin Fritz / Leandro Mercado – 859 laps
- Suzuki #12 Yoshimura SERT Motul – Gregg Black / Étienne Masson / Dan Linfoot + 5 laps
- Kawasaki #11 Kawasaki Webike Trickstar – Roman Ramos / Christian Gamarino / Grégory Leblanc + 11 laps
- BMW #6 ERC Endurance – Marcel Schrötter / Kenny Foray / David Checa + 12 laps
- BMW #76 Autorace Ube Racing Team – Naomichi Uramoto / Sylvain Guintoli / Hannes Soomer + 12 laps
Top 3 – Superstock Category:
- BMW #38 Champion-HERT Powered by MRP – Bálint Kovács / Jan Bühn / Loris Cresson / Máté Számadó – 838 laps
- Honda #44 Honda No Limits – Gabriele Giannini / Miquel Pons Payeras / Ricardo Brink / Doriano Vietti-Ramuss + 11 laps
- Honda #27 TRT27 AZ Moto – Thomas Ward / Thomas Oliver / Eemeli Lahti / Maiku Watanuki + 16 laps
Top 3 – Production Category:
- Yamaha #96 Legacy Compétition – Jordy Manneveau / Pierre Gelas / Ludovic Hauser / Jonathan Hugot – 774 laps
- Kawasaki #42 Green Team 42 Lycée Sainte-Claire – Julien Bonnet / Alexy Negrier / Jules Blanc / Corentin Garcia + 4 laps
- Honda #531 MANA-AU Compétition – Baptiste Felgerolles / Maximilian Spitzer / Tony Jeuland / Olivier Garreau – + 15 laps
- Fastest Lap: Honda #5 F.C.C. TSR Honda France – 1:35.698
Retirements:
- Honda #55 National Motos Honda FMA – Valentin Suchet / Guillaume Raymond / Johan Nigon / Philipp Steinmayr – 613 laps – Engine failure
- Yamaha #222 Team Supermoto Racing – Florian Pichon / Kenny Le Vern / Guillaume Bouty / Gabriel Queiros Ferreira – 504 laps – Crash
- Kawasaki #20 Team ORS – Alan Agogué / Adrien Rollet / Paul Dufour – 488 laps – No more riders available
- Kawasaki #62 Grillini Racing Team – Marek Szopek / Jef van Calster / Stefano Boselli – 475 laps
- Suzuki #34 JMA Racing Action Bike – Milan Merckelbagh / Charles Cortot / William Wallart / Enzo Dahmani – 458 laps – Mechanical failure after crash
- Yamaha #28 Basomba Racing – Wayne Bourgeais / Alexis Taillandier / Christian Gentil / Titouan Troadec – 445 laps
- Honda #210 Team Grip Attack – Raphaël Siboldi / Quentin Wisniewski / Quentin Schmidt / Léo Gibelin – 444 laps – Mechanical failure after crash
- Yamaha #153 TPC – Moteur Actif – Jordan Peltier / Cyriac Gevaux / Pierre-Jean Dufour / Maxime Roussillon – 343 laps – Blown engine
- Honda #183 Team SLA/Honda Toulon – Florian Réaux / Valentin Roedel / Yvan Laetzig / Grégory Monaya – 340 laps
- Metiss #45 Team Metiss – Ludovic Rizza / Clément Chevrier / Joe Akroyd / David Henriques – 316 laps
- Honda #119 Slider Endurance – Joan Diaz Corbella / Filippo Rovelli / Kevin Jacob / Jacopo Adriano Hosciuc – 286 laps – Blown engine
- Yamaha #35 TMC35-PMO – Jean-Edouard Aubry / Maxime Diard / John-Ross Billega / Anthony Despreaux – 257 laps – Blown engine
- Yamaha #86 Pitlane Endurance – Bartholome Perrin / Marc Miralles / Adrien Lepine / Damien Marmion – 243 laps – Blown engine
- Yamaha #10 Infiniteam Flam Racing – Garijs Rožkalns / Kay van Steenbergen / Felix Rodriguez / Ivan Romero Garcia – 219 laps – Blown engine
- Honda #4 Tati Team AVA6 Racing – Hugo Clere / Mike Di Meglio / Isaac Viñales – 196 laps – Blown engine
- Yamaha #36 3ART Best Of Bike Hamaguchi – Robin Mulhauser / Loïc Arbel / Jan Mohr / Luca De Vleeschauwer – 183 laps – Blown engine
- Honda #144 ETH by 2V Racing – Jérémy Hérault / François Noël / Anatole Beaupère / Lylian Fontaine – 178 laps – Blown engine
- Yamaha #99 KM99 – Randy De Puniet / Florian Marino / Alessandro Delbianco – 146 laps – Blown engine
- Kawasaki #56 Players – Camille Hedelin / Scott Deroue / Kevin Orgis / Léon Orgis – 95 laps – Cracked frame
- Yamaha #98 Team PMS99 Yam Service – Marcus Delestre / Fausto Mincione – 81 laps – Engine failure
Key Figures from the 49th Edition of the 24 Hours Motos
The final results are in for the 49th edition of the 24 Hours Motos, the opening round of the FIM EWC World Endurance Championship. From total laps completed to the number of lead changes and the fastest lap of the race—here are the key numbers to remember.
3,596
The #1 Yamaha YZF-R1 from YART-Yamaha Official EWC Team, the winner of this 49th edition, completed 859 laps of the Bugatti circuit in 24 hours. This represents 3,596 km (approx. 2,234 miles). The Austrian team fell just one lap short of tying the distance record of 3,599.1 km (860 laps).
290.4
This was the highest top speed recorded during this 49th edition in km/h (approx 180mph). It was achieved by the #5 Honda CBR 1000 RR-R of F.C.C. TSR Honda France during its 80th lap.
Top speeds for other factory machines:
Yamaha #1 (YART): 286.3 km/h – laps 443 and 452
Suzuki #12 (Yoshimura SERT Motul): 288 km/h – lap 539
Kawasaki #11 (Webike Trickstar): 284.7 km/h – lap 391
BMW #37 (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): 288 km/h – lap 434
6
One more for the books! Yamaha now has six victories at the 24 Hours Motos. Previous successes occurred in 1991, 2005, 2009, 2017, and 2025. This marks the second consecutive win for the YART-Yamaha Official EWC Team.
Suzuki remains the most successful manufacturer at the 24 Hours Motos with 15 wins. Kawasaki and Honda follow with 14 each.
1:35.698
This was the fastest lap of the race, set by Corentin Perolari, rider of the #5 Honda for F.C.C. TSR Honda France. This performance was clocked on his 638th lap. The Japanese team crossed the finish line in 12th place overall.
1:34.267
This is the new all-time lap record for the 24 Hours Motos. It was set by Karel Hanika, rider of the #1 Yamaha (YART), during Qualifying Session 2. The previous record (1:34.489) was set in 2025 by his teammate Marvin Fritz.
33 minutes, 55 seconds, and 310 milliseconds
This was the total time spent in the pits by the #1 Yamaha (YART), the leader in this category over the 24-hour race. This total accounts for 24 pit stops.
38
This is the number of machines that finished and were officially classified. Out of 60 starters, this represents a 63% finish rate. It should be noted that the #198 Kawasaki (JN Compétition) and the #89 Yamaha (LF Racing Moto Attitude) were not classified. The Kawasaki covered only 465 laps and the Yamaha only 434, compared to the 859 laps completed by the winners.
There were 20 retirements (compared to 14 last year).
Stats by Manufacturer:
Yamaha: 18 started, 8 finished
Honda: 14 started, 8 finished
Kawasaki: 12 started, 8 finished
BMW: 9 started, 9 finished
Suzuki: 4 started, 3 finished
Aprilia: 2 started, 2 finished
Metiss: The lone entry in the Experimental category was forced to retire.
36
This number represents the lead changes recorded in the overall standings. The #37 BMW (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team) spent the most time in front, completing 412 laps in the lead, compared to 381 for the victorious #1 Yamaha and 57 for the #5 Honda (F.C.C. TSR Honda France). The #12 Suzuki (Yoshimura SERT Motul) led for seven laps.
8
With the victory of the #1 Yamaha, Bridgestone secures its eighth win at the 24 Hours Motos.
4/10
For this 49th edition, ten teams were making their debut at the 24 Hours Motos. Four finished, while two were not classified.
BMW #13 Flying Buffs M3 Racing: 36th overall, 6th in Production
Yamaha #16 Team HTC Racing: 32nd overall, 4th in Production
Kawasaki #20 Team ORS: Retired
Yamaha #28 Basomba Racing: Retired
BMW #76 Autorace Ube Racing Team: 5th overall
Yamaha #89 LF Racing Moto Attitude: Not classified
Kawasaki #142 GRT42-Kawasaki Orléans Moto Sport: 38th overall, 7th in Production
Honda #183 Team SLA/Honda Toulon: Retired
Kawasaki #198 JN Compétition: Not classified
Honda #210 Team Grip Attack: Retired
Compare results with last year’s event here
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