Reigning FIM Endurance World Champions F.C.C TSR Honda got its title defence off to the perfect start with a clear victory in the 2023 season-opening 24 Heures Motos event at Le Mans.

The factory supported outfit comprising Josh Hook, Mike di Meglio and Alan Techer largely stayed out of trouble in the gruelling round-the-clock encounter to see off the threat from YART Yamaha and BMW Motorrad WEC, taking the flag three laps clear of the competition.

Having snatched the 2022 FIM EWC title from under the nose of SERT Suzuki at the Bol d’Or finale, F.C.C TSR Honda couldn’t have enjoyed a more seamless start to its 2023 campaign.

Indeed, though YART and BMW enjoyed stints in the lead over the course of the race, it was F.C.C TSR’s fewer minutes in the pit-lane that ultimately allowed it the break it needed to carry it home for a clear victory.

It marks a third 24 Heures Moto victory for Hook and di Meglio, with Techer - who took over the seat held by Gino Rea when he was sidelined by his serious accident during the Suzuka 8 Hours in last August - topping the podium for the second time in his career.

In a race affected by a cocktail of thick fog at sunrise mixing with lingering smoke from spectator  campsites around Le Mans’ Circuit Bugatti, F.C.C TSR Honda led home Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART), the factory-backed squad putting up a strong fight for victory but ultimately lost touch when it encountered a brake caliper issue and Karel Hanika took a tumble on oil.

Nonetheless, the Czech rider was able to remount, with Hanika, Niccolo Canepa and Marvin Fritz holding onto second ahead of factory BMW trio Ilya Mikhalchyk, Markus Reiterberger and Jeremy Guarnoni. Mikhalchyk was another to fall during the race, but recovered the new BMW M 1000 RR to third and on same lap as YART.

Honda Vitalis Racing led during the initial stages, eventually finishing fourth, while ERC Endurance - which featured ex-WorldSBK rider Chaz Davies and current world championship contender Philipp Oettl - came home fifth after losing time changing the clutch on the Ducati Panigale V4 R.

Tati Team Beringer led the Kawasaki challenge in sixth position, nine laps down on the winners, but ahead of 2020 and 2021 EWC Champions Yoshimura Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT).

In its first EWC race as a privateer entry following the withdrawal of official support from Suzuki, SERT couldn’t recover from a disastrous start when contact with Hook’s Honda just seconds after the sprint at Turn 2 sent Gregg Black barrelling through the gravel trap.

Losing 18 laps in the process, though SERT battled to the end, it could only get back to seventh place. 

In Superstock, the Tecmas MRP Racing team of Kenny Foray, Jan Buhn and Loic Arbel took victory with its BMW, leading home the 3ART Best of Bike Yamaha in eighth and ninth overall.

Of the British contingent, Chris Walker’s ADSS97 squad scored a solid seventh in the Superstock class and 19th overall, the BSB and WorldSBK legend sharing the Kawasaki ZX-10RR entry alongside countrymen Stefan Hill and Chris Platt.

They finished just ahead of British trio Thomas Ward, David Shoubridge and Thomas Oliver on the TRT 27 Bazar Suzuki in 20th.

Former BSB rider Dan Linfoot was also classified 12th overall as part of the Wojcik Yamaha team alongside Kevin Manfredi and Kami Krzemien.

2023 24 Heures Motos Race Results | Le Mans