Motorsport · FIM Endurance World Championship · 2026

Date & time

18 Apr 2026, 15:00

Round

1

Venue

Circuit Bugatti

Location

Le Mans, France, France

The 49th edition of the 24 Heures Motos at the Circuit Bugatti in Le Mans served as the prestigious opening round of the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC). The primary challenge for the field was chasing down the defending champions, YART-Yamaha Official EWC Team, who entered the event on a streak of three consecutive pole positions. The objective for the factory teams from BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki was to break the Yamaha dominance in a race defined by razor-thin margins; the top five qualifiers were separated by only six-tenths of a second. Strategically, the goal for the 60-car grid—the first full entry list since 2019—was to balance outright pace with mechanical longevity over the 24-hour duration. The tactical focus for the EWC category was tire management and fuel efficiency, while the Superstock and Production classes aimed for error-free relays. With a record-breaking crowd of 76,700 spectators in attendance and actor Pio Marmaï serving as the official starter, the ultimate goal was to survive the grueling Sarthe classic and secure a historic victory for one of the five major manufacturers.