Bol d’Or (1h): BMW duo in the lead, strong comeback from YART rider Marvin Fritz!

Sunshine, summery temperatures and a few clouds greeted the teams at the start of the Bol d’Or, the season finale of the 2026 Endurance World Championship (EWC). The 24-hour race got underway at 3 pm sharp at the Circuit Paul Ricard. The BMW works team, featuring Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal and Michael van der Mark, started the race from pole position. Championship leaders and defending champions YART had to settle for seventh on the grid following what had been a difficult week leading up to the race.

At the traditional Le Mans-style start, Gregg Black in the SERT Suzuki got off to the best start and took the lead. However, the works BMW, which had started from pole, also got off to a good start. Michael van der Mark completed the opening stint this time and took the lead on the long back straight.

Strong comeback from Marvin Fritz

YART, by contrast, lost a lot of ground at the start. Marvin Fritz, on the R1, emerged from the first lap in 14th place. The differing strengths of the bikes quickly became apparent on the long Mistral straight. The teams with BMW and Honda machinery, in particular, were able to capitalise on their high top speed. After a strong start, SERT was pushed back to fifth position.

Meanwhile, Van der Mark held onto the lead, but was put under pressure by Alan Techer on the F.C.C. TSR Honda. Also putting in strong performances were Naomichi Uramoto for AutoRace Ube and Loris Baz on the ERC Endurance BMW.

Fritz quickly worked his way back up the field after a poor start. After just three laps, the YART rider was already in seventh place, having made up much of the ground he had lost early on. Fritz’s charge continued. The German fought his way towards the front in great strides and, after just a few laps, closed the gap on the top three after overtaking the SERT Suzuki and the ERC Endurance BMW.

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BMW one-two: Van der Mark ahead of Uramoto

After around 20 minutes, Michael van der Mark managed to pull slightly clear at the front for the first time. Alan Techer on the F.C.C. TSR Honda could no longer keep up with the fast pace and had to let both Naomichi Uramoto on the AutoRace-Ube BMW and YART rider Marvin Fritz pass him.

Uramoto then remained within striking distance of his BMW team-mate van der Mark for several laps. BMW race director Sven Blusch confirmed that there were no team orders between the two M1000RRs at the front and that the riders were free to race as they wished. After half an hour, van der Mark and Uramoto were leading the field and had already opened up a gap of a good three seconds over Fritz in the third-placed YART R1.

The early stages proved dramatic for the pole-setter in the Stock category: Kaito Toba from Team Etoile was caused to crash and consequently lost a lot of time. The incident was caused by Kevin Calia on the Revo M2 Aprilia. Both motorbikes subsequently had to return to the pits for repairs.

Towards the end of the first stint, the two BMWs held their own at the front, lapping in formation. Meanwhile, Marvin Fritz lost two positions to SERT and F.C.C. TSR.

Fast and economical: BMW with frightening efficiency

Even before the first 45 minutes were up, the first top team pulled into the pits for a scheduled refuelling stop: Alan Techer made way for Corentin Perolari on the F.C.C. TSR Honda. One lap later, AutoRace Ube followed suit, with Sylvain Guintoli taking over the BMW from Naomichi Uramoto.

YART and SERT stayed out on the track for another lap. Marvin Fritz took turns with Leandro Mercado on the YART R1, whilst Etienne Masson joined the race for SERT. The BMW works team made a clear statement regarding fuel consumption. Michael van der Mark was able to extend his first stint right up to the 52-minute mark. Only then did the M1000RR pull into the pits for a refuelling stop, and Steven Odendaal took over. In doing so, BMW demonstrated a potentially significant efficiency advantage over the competition right from the first stint.

After the first pit stop, the lead of the front-running works BMW had increased to four seconds. AutoRace Ube remained the closest challenger. Behind them came F.C.C. TSR Honda, YART and SERT.