YART Yamaha Seals Sensational Victory at 24 Heures Motos
The Yamalube YART EWC Official Team of Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika, and Jason O’Halloran made a dream start to the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) as they produced a stunning performance in Le Mans to win an incredibly dramatic 24 Heures Motos in a thrilling finish.
The 48th edition of the legendary 24 Heures Motos did not disappoint, providing thrills and spills right from the moment it began until the chequered flag waved. There was even drama before it started, with torrential rain forecasted for the entire weekend. While this would not turn out to be entirely accurate, with long periods where the track was completely dry, the weather still created havoc during a race that saw over 200 crashes.
The 2023 EWC title winners headed into the race full of confidence and ready to fight for the victory after securing pole position with a new lap record set by Fritz (1:34:489) on Friday, and it was the German rider who took the first stint in the wet. After a clean getaway at the start, he unfortunately crashed at the notoriously slippery final corner at the end of the first lap, which was made more treacherous after some oil was spilt there during a support race.
After rejoining in 21st, Fritz, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on Sunday, mounted a superb fightback, and by the end of his first stint, he had recovered to second. Hanika continued this momentum by setting a blistering pace before handing the Bridgestone-shod YART R1 over to Jason O’Halloran, who was making his first start for the Austrian squad and also taking part in his first 24-hour race. After two and a half hours, the Australian took the race lead and started opening up an advantage at the front.
When Fritz headed out for his second stint, YART led the race by over a minute, but then a rear puncture meant an unscheduled pit stop that meant they dropped back to second. Emerging from the pits 10 seconds behind the leaders, Fritz fought back and retook the lead. Another small crash from the German just before the 8-hour mark saw the team drop to second once more, this time rejoining two laps behind the leaders, but six laps ahead of the team in third, as the carnage that was erupting behind turned the race it into a two-way battle and sparked a mesmerising fight for the win.
As the night progressed, the rain departed, and the team switched to slicks, with YART also showing superb pace in the dry. Even a minor crash for O’Halloran when a return of the rain led to slippery track conditions, could not upset their rhythm. As morning broke, the gap between YART and the leaders was coming down every lap, and with two hours to go, it was under a minute as they piled the pressure on the bike in front.
The rain returned with one hour to go, and YART timed their pit stop to swap back to wet tyres to perfection. Almost immediately after they rejoined, the leaders crashed and were forced to stop for repairs, meaning YART took over at the front with a two-lap advantage. There was still more drama to come, though, as Hanika had to make an unscheduled pit stop to swap with Frits with just 45 minutes to go due a visor issue, but even this could not deny YART their first victory at Le Mans since 2009. As the race clock hit zero, Fritz crossed the line to complete 782 laps and win the race by a margin of 1:37.890.
Not only did the result mark a maiden EWC triumph for O’Halloran, it also allowed Fritz to become the first German winner at the 24 Heures Motos since his crew chief, Max Neukirchner, who was also celebrating his birthday on Sunday, won at Le Mans in 2007. Meanwhile, Hanika became the first Czech rider to win the iconic endurance race as YART rewrote the record books in France.
The victory saw YART secure 63 points out of a possible 65, with five points awarded for pole position, nine for being second at both the eight and 16-hour marks, and 40 for the win.
It was a more challenging race for Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99’s Florian Marino, Randy de Puniet, and Jérémy Guarnoni. After qualifying in eighth, they dropped down the order due to six crashes and some technical issues. Despite this, the Belgian-based squad showed incredible fortitude to fight back and secure a 13th-place finish.
There was more Yamaha success with 3ART Best of Bike finishing third in the Superstock class and 11th overall. At the same time, Team Supermoto Racing secured victory in the all-new Production category after finishing 31st overall.
24 Heures Motos Race Results
Marvin Fritz – P1 – 782 Laps
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team
“What an amazing feeling! It feels so good to win here, especially on my birthday. Talk about the best present ever. I want to thank my teammates, Karel, Jason, and Robin, as well as every single one of the team members. They work so hard, not just what you see at the races, but all through the winter. They all deserve so much credit, and this win is for them. We had to wait a long time to win here as a team, and have come very close in the past, but finally we have done it!”
Karel Hanika – P1 – 782 Laps
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team
“This is such a great feeling! This was my ninth start in an EWC race at Le Mans and sixth with YART, so it has been a long time coming. This win feels very special. We came close a few times before, so it was great to stand on the top step of the podium finally. Marvin was amazingly fast all week, and Jason did brilliantly, especially as it was his first race with the team and his first 24-hour race. He did an incredible job, especially considering the conditions and riding at night. All of my teammates did an amazing job, and thanks to Robin Mulhauser as well, not only for being our reserve rider, but for everything he does for the team. I am surprised I managed not to crash, because the conditions were so tricky, but I was happy with my pace. The biggest thanks must go to the team; they did an amazing job throughout the entire week and were awesome during the race. I also want to thank Mandy and my family for everything they have done for me. Bring on Spa!”
Jason O’Halloran – P1 – 782 Laps
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team
“My first race with YART, and my first 24-hour race…so to win here at Le Mans is incredible! The whole team has done an amazing job throughout the week. Due to the conditions, it is certainly the trickiest race I have ever been involved in. We had to think on our feet on the bike all the race, deciding whether you needed to pit to swap tyres, or what strategy we needed to adapt. It was a long race, but my teammates were incredible. I actually enjoyed riding during the night, because you can get your head down and work away at it, but when the sun comes up, you realise there is still a long way to go. The final ten minutes were probably the longest ten minutes of my life, but we did it. The whole team should be so proud, and I want to thank each and every one of them; they worked so hard, and we deserved the victory.”
Mandy Kainz
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team – Team Manager
“Le Mans is special. It is always the season opener. We won it in similar conditions in 2009, but didn’t expect it then. At the beginning of the race, we calculated that we could win, but for the last few years, this has been the case and is often the way in a 24-hour race, anything can happen. We have been agonisingly close before, but just missed out, so to win when we had three crashes and a puncture is incredible. There were 202 crashes in the race, which shows how tough it was. We have led here many times, but something always seems to happen. Last year, we crashed out of the lead at 7 am with a six-lap advantage, and in the years before, there was always some small mistake or bad luck that struck to stop us from winning. The race was like a movie; it had so much drama that it was unbelievable. If someone asks me in twenty years how we won this race, they would not believe my answer, but this is endurance. All of the riders were amazing, and every member of the team played their part, and I could not be prouder. It is a dream start to the season, and we are already looking forward to Spa.”
