Review of the 2021 World Endurance Championships season

Review of the FIM EWC 2021 season

The 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship took place over a five-month season this year, from June to October, culminating with Yoshimura SERT Motul crowned FIM EWC 2021 champion. Here’s how it went:

With two victories, at the 24 Heures Motos and at the Bol d’Or, the new Franco-Japanese Suzuki Yoshimura SERT Motul factory team won the 2021 world title ahead of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. The BMW works team concluded its second season with a brilliant first victory in the final in Most after two podiums at Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Estoril.

Third in the general classification of the 2021 FIM World Endurance Championship, Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar had an exceptional season even though he did not win any of the races. Second in the 24 Heures Motos and the 12 Heures d’Estoril, the French Kawasaki team fought Yoshimura SERT Motul to the end for third place in the final in Most. At the Bol d’Or, Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar was fighting for a podium when an engine problem forced him to retire.

Fourth in the world rankings behind these factory teams, VRD Igol Experiences has completed its best season since arriving in EWC class. The independent team backed by Yamaha edged out the other private teams. They fought a memorable battle with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team for 3rd place on the podium in Estoril.

After finishing fourth in the EWC category at the 24 Heures Motos, fourth overall at the 12 Hours of Estoril and 3rd in the EWC category at the Bol d’Or, VRD Igol Experiences finally conceded defeat at the 6 Hours of Most following mechanical troubles. Winner of the 2016-2017 FIM Superstock World Cup, VRD Igol Experiences entered the FIM EWC Top 5 for the first time, ahead of two factory teams.

FCC TSR Honda France, 5th overall in 2021, has had an eventful season. At Le Mans, the Japanese Honda team was in 2nd place but fell to 9th after the finish line following an electrical problem followed by a crash. Their victory at the 12 Hours of Estoril put the Honda team back in the race for the title but a mechanical problem forced them to retire at the Bol d’Or and put an end to their hopes of winning the world crown. A crash in Most took them even further away from the 2021 overall podium.

Sixth place for the YART – Yamaha Official EWC Team in the 2021 FIM EWC Ranking belies the performance of the Austrian factory team. The No. 7 Yamaha took pole position in three of the season’s four races. Only Yoshimura SERT Motul was able to beat YART on the starting grid of the Bol d’Or. But the YART – Yamaha Official EWC Team almost never knew how to keep their chances of winning until the end: they gave up at the 24 Heures Motos and the Bol d’Or and fell at the end of the race at the 12 Hours of Estoril.

Their epic duel with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team for the victory at the 6 Hours of Most was their best performance. YART – Yamaha Official EWC Team finished second in Most, seven hundredths of a second behind the winner, with Marvin Fritz breaking the lap record four times in the final half hour of the race.

Seventh overall, Moto Ain made a big splash in the EWC category after winning the FIM Superstock World Cup twice in a row. The French private team supported by Yamaha started by retiring at the 24 Heures Motos but caught up and scored important points with a 5th place in Estoril and a 2nd place in the Bol d’Or. A fall in Most prevented them from entering the overall Top 5 in their very first season in EWC.

Eighth in the 2021 standings, the independent German team Motobox Kremer Racing had its best season since 2010, when it finished sixth. As is often the case, the orange Yamaha Motobox crossed the finish line in every race. The team achieved its best performance at the Bol d’Or, finishing 9th overall and gaining points to finish 4th in the EWC category.

ERC Endurance-Ducati has been working on the development of its Panigale V4R for endurance racing since last season. They start the 2021 season with a 5th place in the EWC category at the 24 Heures Motos. They finished in the Top 6 of the EWC category in Estoril and Most. At the Bol d’Or, like half of the peloton, ERC Endurance-Ducati was forced to retire. But the Ducati has earned its stripes as an Endurance machine this season.

Maco Racing Team, 10th overall in 2021, had a shortened season due to the pandemic in Slovakia. The Maco Racing Team were absent in Portugal, but scored points in the other three races.

After a brilliant fourth place last season, Wójcik Racing Team had a difficult 2021 season with crashes and mechanical problems and finished 11th overall. But the Polish team mounted on Yamaha won an excellent 5th place at the 6 Hours of Most.

Despite outstanding performances in practice and at the start of the races, Tati Team Beringer Racing failed to score big. The French team on Kawasaki finished 12th this season. Despite having been forced to retire several times, Tati Team Beringer Racing achieved the fastest laps in the race at the 24 Heures Motos and at the Bol d’Or thanks to Alan Techer.

13th overall, Team LRP Poland on BMW scores points at the finish of all races after retiring from the 24 Heures Motos.

Bolliger Team Switzerland finished 14th after a disrupted season by not being classified at the 24 Heures Motos due to a technical error. The historic Kawasaki team started the season with a new team led by the son of the team’s creator. They corrected things with an 8th place in Estoril.

17th and last in the standings after EMRT (6th EWC at the Bol d’Or) and GT Endurance (9th EWC at the 24 Heures Motos), 3ART Best of Bike had a particularly difficult year after a good 2019-2020 season. 3ART Best of Bike only scored 13 points thanks to its 10th place in the EWC category at the 12 Hours of Estoril.

2021 FIM Endurance World Championship points (Final)

2021 FIM Superstock World Cup (Final)