Along with World Superbike and MotoGP, the World Endurance championship has also started for 2016, with Kawasaki SRC winning the 24-hour Le Mans race on the weekend.
Kawasaki SRC led the race for 680 laps, beating April Moto Motors Events and F.C.C. TSR Honda by nine laps. They had a scare early in the race as rider Gregory Leblanc had a minor crash, but he remounted bike the bike and proceeded to beat the lap record 12 times. Not a bad way to handle that sort of incident! It was Leblanc’s fifth win at the event; his teammates were Mathieu Lagrive and Fabien Foret.
The next World Endurance race is Portimao on June 11.
As an example of the huge difference in European perceptions of roadracing versus Canadian ambivalence, the FIM says 72,300 fans attended the race — an event that doesn’t even feature the big names of MotoGP or World Superbike.
The event also shows that, when it comes to production-based roadracing, Kawasaki is the brand to beat. While BMW-mounted privateers have been dominating Canadian tracks in recent years, it’s a different story on the global scene, where Kawasaki has consistently placed two riders on each World Superbike podium, and also now holds the lead in the FIM’s endurance series. They also have the top two riders in WSB’s Supersport series right now as well.
