YART top Bol d’Or test with new lap record

As preparations for the historic Bol d’Or and 2022 FIM Endurance World Championship finale continue, Yamaha sets the pace with a new lap record.

The Yamalube YART Yamaha Official EWC Team look confident of being able to fight for victory at the 24-hour contest after ending the two-day test at Circuit Paul Ricard firmly at the top of the combined times with a dominating 1’51.921 lap, almost half a second faster than the previous record.

100 years on from it’s inaugural running, the Bol d’Or clocks up its 85th edition in 2022, with the legendary 24-hour endurance race providing the opportunity for front-running YART to bounce back from two DNFs in the last two races and get their title ambitions back on track.

Heading into the final round of the season, the Austrian squad sits third in the overall standings, 34 points behind leaders Yoshimura SERT, but with 96.5 up for grabs in France alongside all five EWC trophies, everything is still to play for.

The full YART Yamaha #7 line up of Niccolò Canepa, Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and reserve rider Robin Mulhauser were all on hand across the two-day test with two sessions on track each day. Ending Tuesday third overall with a 1’53.503 best, the improvement was clear to see on day two by claiming a new EWC lap record as Wednesday afternoon drew to a close. The 1’51.921 record-breaking pace set on race rubber while running over a second faster than last season’s best effort on a qualifying tyre.

After ending the two days on top of the combined timesheets, YART’s target for the race - scheduled for 15th-18th of September - is simple; win and score as many points as possible to give them the best chance of being crowned 2022 EWC champions.

“We have had another amazing test here in