2023 24-Hour Spa EWC Motos Results
Cycle News Staff | June 20, 2023
The Yamaha Austria Racing Team (Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika, Nicolo Canepa) has taken victory in the 2023 24-Hour Spa EWC Motos, the first time the squad has taken a EWC 24-Hour win in 14 years.
The EWC field rush to their waiting bikes for the start of the 24-Hour Spa. It would be AYRT (7) that would come out on top.
Despite a sluggish start for team rider Marvin Fritz, YART Yamaha got into gear and took the fight to title rivals around the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
F.C.C. TSR Honda (Josh Hook, Alan Techer, Mike Di Meglio) led the Spa order after eight hours, with YART repaying the compliment after 16. But while YART largely stayed out of trouble, exhaust problems forced F.C.C. TSR Honda into the pits for five minutes just after the 16-hour mark.
The costly stoppage allowed YART to steal a lead they would not surrender, finishing one lap up on F.C.C TSR Honda with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team of Markus Reiterberger, Illya Mykhalchyk and Jeremy Guarnoni taking third.
“It has been a few years that we have been chasing this victory and I think it’s the first of many. We all deserve it, and I am so happy about that,” said YART’s Canepa. “It has been an amazing race. To be honest, it was really, really tough. It was not easy from the beginning to the end. Up until the last laps, there was a question mark.
“The team did an amazing job in every pit stop and my teammates, too. We pushed from the first lap to the last one. We never stopped believing. It’s a long time since we won a 24-hour race. But in our minds, there was only one goal—to win—no matter what.”
The next round of the FIM Endurance World Championship will be the Suzuka 8 Hours on August 4-6. CN
