On September 18, 2025, the fourth and final round of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), the Bol d’Or 24-Hour Endurance Race, officially began.The race takes place at Circuit Paul Ricard, a 5.673 km track located in Le Castellet near Marseille in southern France. The circuit is also known for the strong northern wind called the “Mistral.” When riders receive a tailwind along the approximately 1.8 km-long Mistral Straight, even EWC machines can reach top speeds of around 350 km/h. This historic race, now in its 88th edition, features a total of 53 teams competing for victory.

Circuit Paul Ricard is a legendary track featuring a wide variety of corners as well as a long straight where riders remain at full throttle for nearly 20 seconds. In a 24-hour endurance race, not only pure speed but also machine reliability is put to the test, making it an extremely demanding event.

For this round, F.C.C. TSR Honda France fielded the same three regular riders as before, while also adding Spanish rider Isaac Viñales Mares as a reserve rider. From the beginning of the week through the first half of qualifying, the team focused on detailed race simulations and fine-tuning every aspect of preparation.

Then, during the second qualifying session held under ideal conditions from 11:00 AM on Friday, September 19, the team successfully unlocked the full performance potential of the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP (#5), significantly improving on the previous day’s lap times.

Alan Techer was the first rider on track and recorded a lap time of 1:51.445, placing second in his session. Corentin Perolari followed with a strong 1:51.630, securing third in his group. Taiga Hada also made major progress with a 1:53.871 lap time. In addition, Isaac Viñales Mares contributed to the team’s overall improvement by posting a 1:54.213.

Based on the official qualifying format, which uses the average of the two fastest riders’ best lap times, F.C.C. TSR Honda France achieved an average time of 1:51.538 and will start the final race from 4th on the grid. The team also earned an additional two championship points.

The final race will begin on Saturday, September 20, at 3:00 PM local time (10:00 PM Japan time). Armed with the strength of its riders and the overall capability of the team, F.C.C. TSR Honda France aims to climb even higher from its current provisional 6th place in the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) standings.

Thank you very much for your passionate support!

【Riders & Machine】

・Rider Blue / Alan TECHER
・Rider Yellow / Corentin PEROLARI
・Rider Red / Taiga HADA
・Rider Green/ Isaac Viñales Mares
・Machine / HONDA CBR1000RR-R Fireblade（#5）

【Team comments】

Alan Techer

Since Tuesday, we have been fully focused on improving our race pace.
Scoring points there and fighting for victory is what matters most.
Taiga is still lacking a little pace at the moment, but the team will continue to support him.
During the first qualifying session yesterday, we carried out race simulations and got a very positive feeling from them. Then today, thanks to the Bridgestone qualifying tires, we were able to make a significant improvement in lap times.
I recorded a 51.4, and Corentin achieved a 51.6, giving us a very strong average time.
I’m satisfied with our performance and highly motivated heading into the race. The weather also looks favorable, so we will stay fully focused and aim for the best possible result.

Corentin Perolari

Starting from 4th position is a very good result, and we were also able to gain two important points for the overall championship standings.
Our race pace is also very strong, so if we can maintain this pace consistently, I believe it will be a great race!

Taiga Hada

During yesterday’s and today’s qualifying sessions, we mainly focused on simulations using Bridgestone racing tires.
I still feel there is room for improvement, so we will analyze the data, identify the remaining issues, and aim to increase our pace for tomorrow’s final race.