Several Dunlop partner teams were among the front runners throughout the Bol d'Or's 24 hours of nonstop EWC racing on Saturday and Sunday, with three Dunlop teams finishing in the top six. Among them was Moto Ain, an independent team that finished second for the first time in its history.
Dunlop was the most well-represented tyre manufacturer on the grid for the 84th edition of the French endurance classic, with 27 out of 41 teams choosing Dunlop tyres. The FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) allows for open tyre racing, which means teams can use whatever brand of tyre they want. A majority of teams have decided to collaborate with Dunlop in this season of EWC as a consequence of considerable testing and race-winning experience.
The championship leaders BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar are two of such teams. After driving in the lead for the majority of the race, both factory-supported teams were forced to retire due to engine problems. Wojcik Racing Team, Superstock leaders National Motos, Team 33 Louit April Moto, and Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore all suffered from cruel poor luck in both classes. All of those teams were vying for podiums in their respective classes, and their Dunlop KR slicks and development tyres had been keeping them on track.
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While some of its competitors dropped out of the race, Moto Ain, a French Yamaha team, managed to stay on track. Randy de Puniet, Robin Mulhauser, and Roberto Rolfo were second overall as the race reached its final hours, outperforming practically all of the factory teams. Despite a brief setback later in the race due to an accident, the No. 96 Yamaha YZF-R1 finished second, giving the two-time FIM Superstock World Cup-winning squad its first Formula EWC class podium.
No Limits Racing Team was the highest-placed Dunlop team in the Superstock category, finishing third in class and fifth overall, much ahead of most Formula EWC teams. The Italian team had been dominating the class until they were beset by technical difficulties. Their first-place finish in the Dunlop Independent Trophy was sufficient.
Following a remarkable effort from Florian Alt, Florian Marino, and Nico Terol to climb back up the order after a crash that greatly slowed their progress, VRD Igol Experiences finished third in Formula EWC and sixth overall.
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David Auerbacher, Dunlop’s Event Leader for EWC, said: "We're proud of the all-round performance of the range of tyres we brought to the Bol d’Or. With changing weather and unpredictable conditions, our partner teams used slick, wet and intermediate tyres from our range throughout the race. We brought tyres for every situation, but the race challenged every team, and us too. Saturday afternoon was warmer than expected and teams had limited dry weather running under their belts because of the rain earlier in the week. The weather forecast during the nighttime part of the race was unpredictable but we made sure to support every one of our teams with a range of suitable tyres.
"It was clearly a race of attrition, with more teams retiring than finishing, so I offer my congratulations to every team that made it to the finish. Commiserations in particular to Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar and BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. Both teams were fighting at the front of the field and deserved a chance to fight for the podium. I have to congratulate Moto Ain for an impressive performance to finish on the EWC podium for the first time: a tremendous effort from that team. It is independent teams like Moto Ain and VRD Igol Experiences, who also finished strongly, that make EWC such a special championship, and they should be proud of their results."
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