Kevin Bolliger has, naturally enough, taken command of the team created in the 1980s by his father Hanspeter. ‘Hämpu’ is still on the staff, but he handed over the reins to Kevin at the end of last season.
LH Racing will take part in their first FIM Endurance World Championship race, the 2021 24 Heures Motos. The independent French team’s Yamaha bears the number 94.
Despite the efforts of the FIM, Eurosport Events and the organizers of the 8 Hours of Oschersleben, it has not been possible to reschedule a new date for a German round of the 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship.
Kazuki Watanabe, the backup rider for the new Franco-Japanese Suzuki team Yoshimura SERT Motul, crashed this past weekend during the second round of the Japanese Superbike championship.
YART Yamaha, the FIM EWC runner-up last season, are chasing the world title in 2021 with an unchanged three-rider line-up – Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika and Niccolò Canepa. We caught up with Niccolò Canepa, who suffered an injury during testing in mid-February.
LRP Poland – FIM Endurance World Championship contenders since 2016 – had their best season last year. The BMW-mounted Polish team were 10th in the world standings, and are heading into 2021 with high aspirations.
The French rider – the 2014 Superbike world champion – is entering the FIM Endurance World Championship full-time for the very first time. Sylvain Guintoli already has a fair amount of Endurance experience, having won the 2010 8 Hours of Doha with SERT and claimed three Top 10 finishes in three different editions of the Suzuka 8 Hours with Yoshimura Suzuki.
He answered our questions during the 24 Heures Motos test at Le Mans last month.
The factory Ducati team have strengthened their line-up. Etienne Masson, a triple FIM EWC champion with SERT, has joined ERC Endurance-Ducati alongside Mathieu Gines, Louis Rossi and Sylvain Barrier.
FIM EWC and All Japan Superbike championship contenders Kazuki Watanabe and Yuki Takahashi stepped on the podiums at Motegi at the Japanese season opener.
