Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore insists it will head to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for round two of the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship firmly intent on hitting back from its 24 Heures Motos exit last month.

After winning the 2022 FIM Endurance World Cup, the Yamaha-powered French squad had high hopes of more EWC success when the 2023 season got under way in Le Mans.

But a crash for new recruit Enzo de la Vega in the fourth hour cost the outfit 18 laps in the pits while repairs were made. Although de la Vega, Axel Maurin and Philipp Steinmayr gave everything to recover the lost time, the team’s exit was confirmed after 349 laps of running.

“It's with a heavy heart that we leave Sarthe but we'll be back strong in the second round at Spa in June,” a Facebook post from the team read.

The 24H SPA EWC Motos takes place from 16-18 June.

The FIM Endurance World Championship’s Dunlop Superstock Trophy is go for a second time in 2023 with the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans hosting the first of three rounds this weekend.

Exclusively for teams competing in the EWC’s Superstock category (SST), the Dunlop Superstock Trophy began in 2022 as a joint initiative from EWC promoter Discovery Sports Events, tyre company Dunlop and the promoters of the individual EWC races. 

The Dunlop Superstock Trophy is contested over the EWC’s three Europe-based 24-hour races that also form the FIM Endurance World Cup, namely the 24 Heures Motos, 24H SPA EWC Motos and Bol d’Or. Its launch followed on from the appointment of Dunlop as the single tyre supplier to the Superstock category last season.

At each event, all Superstock teams are allocated the same range of Dunlop KR109 front and KR108 rear tyres. This family of Dunlop KR tyres won two EWC rounds outright last year, the 24H SPA EWC Motos and the Bol d’Or. 

In mixed weather conditions, Dunlop Superstock Trophy competitors race on the same range of slick, intermediate and wet tyres that are available to every Dunlop team on the grid. Teams in both Formula EWC and the Superstock class have access to similar specifications of tyres, which are also available for sale for track day and amateur usage. 

To support the Dunlop Superstock Trophy teams, a reward scheme exists with Superstock squads receiving free tyres based on their race result. For example, if a team is allocated 20 tyres and receives 15 tyres for winning the race, an invoice for five tyres is issued.

DUNLOP SUPERSTOCK TROPHY: BIG INTEREST AND BIG COMPETITION

Of the 37 EWC permanent teams contesting the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans this weekend, 22 will compete in the Dunlop Superstock Trophy. They include last season’s FIM Endurance World Cup-winning Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore, runner-up No Limits Motor Team (now Honda No Limits) and BMRT 3 D Maxxess Nevers, which placed third in the final Superstock order in 2022.

Chromeburner-RAC41-Honda, which won the 2022 season-deciding Bol d’Or, and category stalwart National Motos Honda are also entered along with newcomers Holland Motorstore Racing, Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team and Uniserv Moto82 Team. 

The full list of Dunlop Superstock Category entrants follows.

#9 Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team

#13 OG Motorsport World Endurance Team

#16 Holland Motorstore Racing

#18 Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore

#22 Team 202

#24 BMRT 3 D Maxxess Nevers

#27 TRT 27 Bazar la Bécane

#33 Team 33 Louit April Moto

#34 JMA Racing Action Bike

#36 3ART Best of Bike

#41 Chromeburner-RAC41-Honda

#44 Honda No Limits

#55 National Motos Honda

#56 Players

#82 Uniserv Moto82 Team

#86 Pit Lane Endurance - JP3

#91 Energie Endurance 91

#97 ADSS97 Kawasaki

#101 Aviobike

#119 Slider Endurance

#121 Falcon Racing

#777 Wójcik Racing Team

STEINMAYR READY TO FIGHT HARD TO DEFEND SUPERSTOCK CROWN

Philipp Steinmayr won’t be able to back off as he bids to win the FIM Endurance World Cup for Superstock teams for the second season running. 

The Yamaha-powered Austrian, who partners new recruits Enzo De La Vega and Axel Maurin at Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore, is expecting plenty of tough competition in 2023: “Superstock is very competitive to be honest,” said the 29-year-old. “Already last year you could see it was very close racing and also with the gaps in lap time. Having Dunlop as a mono-brand tyre supplier is a very good concept to make it as similar or as fair as possible for everyone. I expect this year it will even stronger because the championship is gaining momentum with more and more people and more and more riders entering. I can see from my colleagues in the IDM series that there are more and more riders coming to EWC and I expect it to be a really interesting season.” 

While Steinmayr is aiming for more Superstock category success, his 2022 team-mates Hugo Clere and Baptiste Guittet are graduating to Formula EWC with TATI Team Beringer Racing.

THEY SAID WHAT?

David Auerbacher, EWC Event Leader, Dunlop 

“This is our second year as the exclusive supplier to Superstock and it is exciting to see the class growing with new teams, and the level of professionalism and competition increasing with every year. Throughout the season we’ll be bringing a range of race-proven tyres, ensuring every team we service has the right tools for different weather and track conditions. Whereas the challenge in Formula EWC is outright pace versus competitor brands, in Superstock we still push for performance to help maintain such a high level of competition and close racing.”

Loris Cresson (Belgium): BMRT 3 D Maxxess Nevers

“We thought long and long about what was best for me and my career. With the BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers team we decided to extend our collaboration for the 2023 FIM Endurance World Cup and I am very happy to continue our journey together this year with Julien Pilot and Kevin Denis. This winter I've been focused on physical training and preparing for 2023 and we’re ready to rock it out and give 100 per cent of ourselves.”

Luca Grünwald (Germany): Pit Lane Endurance - JP3

“For me Le Mans is my first ever endurance race so I have to learn it and see what it’s like but there are a lot of teams and a lot of good riders I know through other championships and riders who have been doing really high-class racing so it’s going to be tough. The tyres are all the same for everyone so I like that and you cannot believe the consistency of the tyre. You could probably do your best lap time in lap 20 or lap 30, which is unusual but a really strong point. Endurance is definitely an extreme challenge but when you watch it at home growing up watching the people racing at night thinking how can this be but finally you get the chance to do it and you have to commit to it.”

Chris Leesch (Luxembourg): Chromeburner-RAC41-Honda

“The class is getting bigger and bigger every year and we have at least six teams that can go for the win. We have newcomers and new riders coming down from the EWC class so it’s going to be very, very tight for a very long time. We already saw that in the Bol d’Or last season and it’s going to be even better this year. We gained a lot of experience winning the Bol d’Or and we’re still on a high, we know the bike is working well, we know the team is working well, we know the riders are working well so everything is pointing up for this race. The biggest advantage of the Dunlop tyres is you don’t have to ask yourself the question whether they’re going to make the two stints. The tyre is consistent form the first lap to the last one, you can do good lap times even on old tyres that’s what we’re looking for in endurance.”

Rodi Pak (Turkey): Slider Endurance

“After my first season in the Endurance World Championship I saw a lot of people in Turkey started to watch my races and support me through my social media. I had a tough but good season in 2022, always in the top six in the races. Being on the FIM Endurance World Cup podium with P3 in the Bol d'Or was an incredible feeling because we were always very close to the podium with our consistent race pace, but with some small issues were costing us time. In the last race of the season we were able to overcome all of this and reach the podium.”

SUPERSTOCK CATEGORY REFRESHER

Superstock bikes are almost identical to production models although limited engine modifications are permitted (injector jets and fuel mapping, clutch reinforcement, a different exhaust silencer, etc.). Wheels must remain as homologated, so teams will require a good wheel change strategy during pit stops. Superstock bikes use a red number background, yellow-light headlamps and must also hit a minimum weight limit of 175 kilograms. The fuel tank is modified to a maximum capacity of 24 litres and fitted with a quick refuelling device.