YART loses EWC title – Max Neukirchner: “Of course it hurts!”

For YART, the Bol d’Or ended on a mixed note. After an extremely difficult week of racing, Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika and Leandro Mercado fought their way to third place in the season finale of the 2026 World Endurance Championship and finished the season as runners-up. The World Championship title went to the BMW works team, which scored four points more across the four race rounds.

“Looking back on this week at Paul Ricard, I have to say: this is definitely not how we had imagined the finale,” said YART crew chief Max Neukirchner in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com.

Even starting from seventh on the grid fell short of the Austrian Yamaha team’s expectations. “To be honest, I can’t remember YART ever starting so far back in a 24-hour race. But this result didn’t reflect the standard our riders and our team are actually capable of at all.”

YART-Crewchief Max Neukirchner mit Marvin Fritz

Foto: YART

A week full of setbacks

The list of problems was long. Karel Hanika had to be taken to hospital following his serious crash on Tuesday, but escaped without any broken bones. In qualifying, the Czech rider crashed again and sustained an additional injury to his right hand. Fritz and Mercado also went down during the practice week.

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For the mechanics, this meant extra work. Following Hanika’s crash, an R1 had to be practically rebuilt from scratch. After Mercado’s crash, an engine change was among the tasks required. “I can hardly remember a race week where so much happened at YART within the space of a few days,” admits Neukirchner. “And yet the team performed exceptionally well.”

YART muss die Startnummer 1 wieder abgeben

Foto: YART

The start of the race didn’t go to plan either, at first. Fritz returned to the track in 16th place after the first lap, but then quickly worked his way up the field. “What followed was, in my view, an absolutely top-class performance,” praises Neukirchner. “Marvin was fully on form right from the start. Fast, consistent, focused and without any crucial mistakes throughout the entire race.”

With Hanika and Mercado, Neukirchner initially opted for a cautious approach following their earlier crashes. Both needed to rebuild their confidence first, rather than pushing to the limit straight away. “After a crash, there’s always a lingering effect. That’s completely normal – both physically and mentally,” explains Neukirchner. “In a 24-hour race, there’s no point in trying to force the pace in the first hour.”

YART stepped up the pressure after twelve hours

As the race progressed, the situation stabilised. Around the twelve-hour mark, YART realised that the gap to F.C.C. TSR Honda was narrowing. “From that moment on, we turned up the pressure,” reports Neukirchner. “The Honda had been right up there in the first half of the race, battling for podium positions. But we could see from our lap times that we were getting stronger as the race went on.”

Following John McPhee’s crash and the subsequent repairs to the Honda, YART eventually moved up to third place. “That’s all part of endurance racing. We’d had more than our fair share of bad luck ourselves beforehand. At that moment, we were able to capitalise on a problem experienced by one of our rivals.”

Marvin Fritz auf der YART-R1

Foto: YART

In the closing stages, YART were even able to match the pace of Yoshimura SERT Motul again. But the gap from the first half of the race was already too great. “In the end, we were only one lap behind Suzuki,” explains Neukirchner. “At our pace, one lap at Paul Ricard is about two minutes. Over 24 hours, that’s virtually nothing.”

That one lap had enormous consequences. YART knew that, should the BMW works team win, second place was essential to defend the World Championship title. “And yet, that one lap can mean the difference between second and third place – and in our case, ultimately, between world champion and runner-up,” notes Neukirchner. “BMW deserve the title”

Despite the disappointment, the former Grand Prix rider expressly acknowledges the new world champion’s performance. “The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, with Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal and Michael van der Mark, rode a near-perfect final race. From practice right through to the end of the race, I didn’t see them make a single decisive mistake. They were fast, consistent and made the most of their opportunities. That’s why this World Championship title is well deserved.”

Platz 3 beim Bol d'Or: YART fuhr ein nahezu fehlerfreies Rennen

Foto: YART

Following a turbulent week, Neukirchner’s assessment of his own team is therefore a mixed one. “Of course we’re disappointed. Our goal was quite clearly to become world champions. That’s what this team works towards all year round,” he emphasises. “But you also have to assess a race week realistically. After everything that’s happened over the last few days, third place at the Bol d’Or was probably the best we could have managed.”

YART may have left Le Castellet without the World Championship trophy they’d hoped for, but with a great deal of respect for their own team. “Nobody gave up. Nobody lost their head. Right up until the final lap, we tried to make something happen.”

Neukirchner sums it up: “Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. And sometimes a team’s true strength isn’t shown by whether it ends up at the very top of the podium, but by how it reacts when an entire week doesn’t go to plan.”