Bol d’Or (5h): Mechanical fault causes Guintoli crash – Honda attacks BMW!

After three hours of racing, the works BMW and the F.C.C. TSR Honda remained within striking distance. Whilst Michael van der Mark was able to stay out on the track for longer thanks to the efficiency of his BMW, Alan Techer had to pit a few laps earlier to refuel his Honda. Corentin Perolari took over the Fireblade and immediately set lap times on a par with the leading BMWs.

YART had established itself in third place and had a cushion both ahead and behind. Behind them came AutoRace Ube and SERT.

BMW satellite team falls back after crash

After three and a half hours, the AutoRace Ube team, which had started from second on the grid, suffered a major setback. Sylvain Guintoli crashed the BMW, which subsequently had to be moved behind the track barriers by marshals.

Among other things, the rear wheel rim was damaged in the crash. The M1000RR was unable to continue under its own power and had to be transported back to the pits by a service vehicle. As a result, AutoRace Ube dropped out of the top 10.

Guintoli later explained that a mechanical fault had caused the crash. The experienced Frenchman was initially unable to provide further details, but reported that the problem had taken him completely by surprise. The BMW was badly damaged in the accident and subsequently had to undergo repairs in the pits for an extended period.

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F.C.C. TSR remain very aggressive, but the Honda is thirsty

Following the leading BMW’s fourth pit stop, the number 37 car and the number 5 Honda closed the gap on the track once again. Steven Odendaal was just a few seconds ahead of Corentin Perolari.

Whilst BMW were fighting for the World Championship title, F.C.C. TSR had nothing left to lose in the title race after a season marred by setbacks. For BMW, the Honda’s strong performance did have one positive side effect: as long as F.C.C. TSR remained ahead of YART, the Honda team was taking vital points away from the World Championship leaders in the title race.

After 3 hours and 40 minutes, Perolari had almost completely closed the gap on Odendaal. On lap 115, F.C.C. TSR retook the lead. On the Mistral straight, the Frenchman overtook the works BMW, but was subsequently unable to pull away. At this point, YART in third place was already just under a minute behind the leader. A further 20 seconds behind them came the SERT Suzuki.

Kenny Foray returned to the track in the repaired BMW from AutoRace Ube, but headed back into the pits again after just a few laps. The crew pushed the M1000RR back into the garage to continue the repair work. By this point, AutoRace Ube was already 25 laps down and had slipped to 49th place.

BMW continues to impress with efficiency and speed

Once all the top teams had completed their fifth pit stop, the works BMWs and the F.C.C. TSR Honda were once again neck and neck on the track. Markus Reiterberger led narrowly ahead of John McPhee. At the start of lap 142, the Scot braked past the BMW rider in Turn 1, putting F.C.C. TSR back in the lead.

However, McPhee did not hold onto the lead for long. After 4 hours and 38 minutes, the Honda returned to the pits following a comparatively short stint. F.C.C. TSR subsequently clarified that a mistake had been made during the previous refuelling stop, resulting in too little fuel being added to the tank.

Regardless of this, the Honda’s higher fuel consumption was becoming increasingly noticeable. This is likely to break up the close battle at the front as the race progresses. If the pace remains unchanged, BMW would save a pit stop before the crucial eight-hour mark.

The current standings after 5 hours of racing:

To follow shortly.