FIM EWC: Podium finish for BMW Motorrad at dramatic Le Mans season opener

The 2025 season opener of the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) will go down as one of the most dramatic 24-hour races in history. From start to finish, persistent rain during the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) created extremely treacherous conditions. In this eventful endurance marathon, the BMW teams demonstrated the potential of the BMW M 1000 RR. The private team ERC Endurance #6 celebrated a podium finish with third place. The factory team, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team (#37), was also among the top favourites and crossed the line in fourth place after 24 turbulent hours.

After dry weather up until Friday, rain began right on schedule on race day Saturday. The track became extremely slippery, resulting in numerous crashes throughout the field. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team with factory riders Sylvain Guintoli (FRA), Markus Reiterberger (GER), Steven Odendaal (GER), and reserve rider Hannes Soomer (EST) was not spared. The #37 BMW M 1000 RR led the field with a solid advantage during the chaotic early stages but over the following hours, the team – like nearly all others – suffered crashes and had to take a lengthy repair break. Nevertheless, Guintoli, Reiterberger, and Odendaal fought their way back, keeping their podium hopes alive.

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BMW Motorrad Motorsport was represented on the Le Mans podium by ERC Endurance #6, with riders Kenny Foray (FRA), Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR), and David Checa (ESP). The trio showed strong pace throughout race week with their #6 BMW M 1000 RR and rewarded themselves with third place.

In addition to these teams, four other private BMW squads competed at Le Mans. In the Superstock class, Team Étoile from Japan narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth. On the #25 BMW M 1000 RR, riders Hikari Okubo, Kazuki Watanabe, and Motoharu Ito (all JPN) shared duties. The Hungarian Endurance Racing Team by Moto Jungle claimed the celebrated pole position in the Superstock class with the #713 BMW M 1000 RR. However, the race also proved to be eventful for this Hungarian trio – Bálint Kovács, Máté Számado, and Soma Görbe. On Sunday morning, the #713 had to head into the pits but returned to the track for the final lap, crossing the finish line to the cheers of the team. Team LRP Poland, with riders Danny Webb, Michael Dunlop (both GBR), and Enzo Boulom (FRA) on the #90 BMW M 1000 RR, was forced to retire late in the evening. The French team T2C Racing (#2 BMW S 1000 RR) also retired early in the evening.

The second race of the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship, the 8 Hours of Spa Motos at Spa-Francorchamps (FRA), will take place on June 7.

Reactions after the 24h Le Mans:

Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport:
“This 24-hour race is one we’ll all remember for a long time. The challenge of riding a race like Le Mans under such conditions was immense for everyone involved. That makes the strong performance of the BMW teams and riders all the more impressive. Congratulations to the entire ERC Endurance #6 team who managed to reach the podium in their first race in this lineup. Our factory team also proved its podium potential right to the very end. Many thanks to the team and the riders for their hard work and strong performance. What we saw at Le Mans gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the FIM EWC season.”

Christian Gonschor, Technical Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “It was an absolutely emotional experience all around. Le Mans is always impressive, and endurance racing is full of passion. I think that passion was evident from the first to the last lap. The riders had to take big risks in extremely difficult conditions. By hour 22, there had already been more than 145 crashes – surely a record, but a sad one. Teams put in so much work and heart, and only a few got the reward. It was a real sporting challenge, and we’re very happy to have a BMW M 1000 RR on the podium. Congratulations to Uwe Reinhardt and the ERC crew. Our Werner Daemen-led factory team fought right to the last minute. We had crashes with all three riders; it was just that tough out there. Plus, we had a follow-up repair that cost us about 15 minutes, which was likely the small margin that kept us from the podium. We were a bit unlucky, but we’re happy with the many points we’re taking home. It’s a solid foundation for the rest of the season, and we’re looking forward to Spa, Werner Daemen’s home race. I think that track suits our BMW M 1000 RR well. You could already see its potential here.”

Kenny Foray, ERC Endurance #6: “The feeling is just incredible. It was an absolutely crazy race. I think it is not possible to imagine how we feel on the bike when you watch so many crashes like this. And when you go to your hospitality to take some rest and you see more crashes on TV, and you know that you soon have to be back on the bike again – this was really, really difficult. We had some problems but we did not crash, we stayed on the bike, and I think that was the key of the race. It is just an incredible moment. This is the first race for the team with the BMW M 1000 RR and we start with a podium. That is fantastic!”

Ilya Mikhalchik, ERC Endurance #6: “It feels nice because when you change the team you also want to have good results. Despite the fact that we did not ride or test a lot this winter we showed immediately, without any track time, our performance. It was great to be so competitive during the weekend and in the end, we were on the podium. I want to say a big thank you to BMW for the support and to Uwe Reinhardt, the Team Principal. It was a nice present for him and also for David, who has his birthday today.”

David Checa, ERC Endurance #6: “First of all, I am so happy to ride with BMW. It was my first experience with them and I was so excited because the engine is incredible. It has a lot of power from first to sixth gear and the bike is so easy to ride compared to the others I rode before. I just need to understand how to manage it but Ilya and Kenny have a lot of experience. They help me a lot to learn this bike. Step by step I will get to their rhythm because at the moment I am not yet on the level of Kenny and Ilya but I did my best. We did not expect to be on the podium as we did not test, but sometimes it happens! I am so happy to be back with Kenny and to be on the Le Mans podium with him.”

Markus Reiterberger, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “I’ve done a lot of 24-hour races, but I’ve never experienced one as chaotic and slippery as today. There were so many crashes, and unfortunately, we went down three times as well. My teammates did a fantastic job. They were both really fast at the beginning but each had a crash. I then tried to bring it home but also slipped once. We were definitely in the fight, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Finishing fourth is a bit frustrating because we really wanted and deserved that podium. But it’s clear we have the potential and we can fight for wins. Big thanks to my teammates and the entire team. It was an amazing week!”

Sylvain Guintoli, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “It was mad. It was really frantic from the very start because the track was very, very slippery. The 24 hours started really well. In the first one and a half hours, I felt really good and was leading. Then I got caught up with a backmarker and unfortunately crashed. The team did a fantastic job to repair the bike – and then again after Steven’s crash. They were really, really on point. Unfortunately we lost a bit too much time with the damage on the bike but I think everybody can be really proud of what we did today. It just wasn’t to be but we had speed, we were leading for quite a while and we were strong. There are still a lot of positives to take from this weekend and I think we are all very much looking forward to the next rounds.”

Steven Odendaal, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “To be honest, it has definitely been the most difficult race of my life. I’ve never had to experience such terrible conditions during the night and during the day. A wet track drying and a dry track getting wet again, but I think the team did really well. We had some really big crashes and the team prepared the bike phenomenally well to get it back to working order. I am really happy, it was just unfortunate. It would have been nice to end up on the podium after all the troubles we had.”

Facts and figures.

Qualifying (combined).

Race.

Current World Championship standings (R01/04).