2002 Bol d'Or - Magny Cours - Sep 15/16

The 65th running of the Bol d'Or 24 Hour race takes place at the 4.271 km Magny Cours circuit, close to Nevers France, this weekend. The gruelling French classic annually attracts Europe's finest endurance racing teams and most will be on the grid for the start on Saturday.

Proudest among them will be the Wim Motors Honda team, the newly crowned 2001 Endurance World Champions.

Team riders Laurent Naveau, Albert Aerts and Heinz Platacis and the Honda VTR1000-SP1 have been ultra-reliable and consistently fast at every round they have contested, taking points each time out.

The team have won three races from six starts and finished second in class at two other races. They clinched the title with a superb class victory at the last round, held at Oschersleben, on August 11/12.

Wim Motors three victories, plus the Valentino Rossi - Colin Edwards win at the Suzuka 8 Hours, aboard the Cabin Honda and the Honda France triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, gave Honda the Manufacturers World Championship. The sixth Constructors World Endurance crown Honda have won.

The formidable Honda France Elf VTR1000SP-1 returns to the fray at Magny Cours, for only the second race of the season. Again running with their favoured 111 number.

Having won their class at Le Mans, finishing second overall on the road, the three man team are determined to settle for nothing less than an outright win at the Bol d'Or.

Riders William Costes, Fabien Foret, Sebastien Charpentier and Sebastien Gimbert, have the skill and experience for the job. Under the stewardship of team manager Bernard Rigoni, they also have the tactical awareness required in modern day Endurance racing. Multiple night time accidents, and the pace car rule, can thwart even the most astute pre-race plans.

Honda face strong opposition from Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki teams at Magny Cours.

The Ducateam Ducati holds second place in the series, by just two points from Free Bike Performance Yamaha Team. Team Herman Verboven Suzuki hold third place with the Bolliger Team Kawasaki in fourth. With double points available at Magny Cours, and just 27 points separating the four teams, second and third place championship finishes will be hard fought for.

The main challenge to Honda at Magny Cours will, as so often before, be the Yamaha teams. With no chance of the title Yamaha are determined to end the Endurance season with a prestigious victory.

Yamaha France have entered Jean-Marc Delatang, Australian Mark Willis, Thierry Faillot and Adrien Morillas in a bid to restore home pride. The squad battled for the lead with Honda at Le Mans before crashing out of the race.

Yamaha Pons field Bernard Cazade, Eric Mizera and Christophe Cogan, and cannot be ruled out of a podium place on Sunday.

The French Police Nationale Kawasaki Team have clinched the FIM Stocksport Endurance Cup, like Wim Motors, clinching the title at Oschersleben last month.

Only the FIM Superproduction World Cup has yet to be decided. Three Suzuki teams dispute the top three positions.

Suzuki Castrol have the best credentials, and hold the series lead with 172 points. Riders Lavielle, Morrison, Brian and Dobe have built a 17 points lead over the GMT94 Suzuki of Scarnato, Van den Bossche, Protat and Morillion.

GMT94 are a further 23 clear of Zong Shen Suzuki Team of Mertens, Nowland and Fernando, favoured by many to win the race.

But the three front runners will not have things all their own way at Magny Cours. The Whirley Phase One Suzuki Team of Jerman, Ulmann, Ellison and Cortinovis, won at Oschersleben and will hope to end a disappointing season, by their high standards, on a winning note.