Following the withdrawal of Mike Di Meglio, F.C.C. TSR Honda France revised its lineup to a two-rider entry with Josh Hook and Alan Techer for the 2024 Spa 8-Hour Endurance Race. The team secured 2nd place in qualifying and will take on the race starting Saturday, June 8 at 1:00 PM.

・Class / FORMULA EWC ・Machine / HONDA CBR1000RR-R Fireblade
・Spa-Francorchamps circuit (Belgium)
・Result / Overall Qualifying Classification / 2nd
・Blue Rider / HOOK Joshua / 02:19.176 　
・Red Rider / TECHER Alan / 02:19.278

F.C.C. TSR Honda France had been steadily preparing for Round 2 of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship. The Spa 8-Hour Race took place on June 7–8 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

Currently sitting 11th in the championship standings with 5 points, F.C.C. TSR Honda France arrived at Spa aiming for another podium finish after securing 2nd place there last season. Following the disappointment of retiring in the opening round, the team was eager to bounce back strongly at Spa. However, Mike Di Meglio was forced to withdraw due to injuries sustained during last weekend’s French Championship race. As a result, Josh Hook and Alan Techer took on the challenge of completing the eight-hour race as a two-rider lineup.

At the highly technical 6.985 km circuit located deep within Belgium’s Ardennes region, two qualifying sessions were held on Friday, June 7.

Under sunny and dry conditions, the first qualifying session began at 1:55 PM. Hook recorded a 2:19.176 aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade, securing 2nd place just two-tenths of a second behind the fastest rider. Techer also delivered an excellent performance, posting a close 2:19.482.

The second qualifying session, held later in the afternoon, also took place under dry conditions. Since Hook had already set a strong benchmark in the first session, he did not participate in the second outing. Techer, however, returned to the track and slightly improved his time, recording a session-fastest 2:19.379.

As a result, the combined average time of the two riders was 2:19.278, earning F.C.C. TSR Honda France 2nd place overall on the grid for the race start. The team also secured 4 championship points through qualifying.

Josh Hook

Yesterday morning, my partner gave birth to our first child, so I honestly didn’t get much sleep. That’s why qualifying in 2nd place feels especially exciting. Personally, I don’t think my qualifying was perfect — I believe I could have gone even faster. But together with Alan Techer, we achieved a very good result. Without Mike Di Meglio, this race will be a little more difficult for us, but the team has made huge progress since last year. Everyone is faster now, and the bike is also very stable. A two-rider race like Suzuka 8 Hours is extremely demanding, but here the physical strain is a little lighter, and the weather also looks good, so it should suit us better. I’m confident the team will do its very best and score strong points in this race.

Alan Techer

Both Josh and I are very satisfied with how this week has gone. We were able to find a good setup for the bike very quickly, and both of us feel comfortable riding it. That is extremely important when it comes to being fast. Unfortunately, Mike Di Meglio cannot race because of his injury, but he still calls me every hour to check on the team and see how things are going. Maybe we could have gone even faster in qualifying, but the real target is the race itself. Racing with only two riders means we spend more time on the bike, which can actually help us better understand the track conditions. I believe we can maintain a very strong pace throughout the race.

PDF Version Here　→　https://tsrjp.com/press/release/TSR_Press_Release-Jpn-20240607.pdf