Honda Racing Takes Provisional Pole for Bol d'Or 24-Hour Endurance World Championship Event

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bol d'Or 24 Hour - Magny-Cours 24.04.2014                           Provisional pole for Honda Racing at the Bol d’Or The opening round of the 2014 Endurance World Championship got underway today with the Honda Racing team qualifying in provisional pole position for the Bol d’Or 24-hour race, which will begin at 15.00 CEST this Saturday. The first of two qualifying sessions took place in warm and sunny conditions this afternoon with the all-new Honda Racing rider line-up of Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray and Sebastien Gimbert each completing a 20-minute stint aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP. Da Costa and Foray were second quickest in their respective sessions, while Gimbert topped the timesheet in his. Da Costa was the fastest rider of the Honda Racing trio with a time of 1:40.382. The combined average of all three riders’ lap times (1:40.802) places the team on provisional pole. Reserve rider Jason O’Halloran also completed a session today as part of the team’s fuel strategy development. The riders will now take part in night practice this evening before the second qualifying sessions tomorrow afternoon.  Neil Tuxworth     team manager To achieve provisional pole position at the first round of the championship shows both the effort the team have made over the winter to prepare the machine and the calibre of the riders we have competing for us this year. It’s not a done deal yet as we still have another session tomorrow, but it’s a great way to start the weekend.  Julien Da Costa     1:40.382 We didn’t expect to get pole position to be honest as we were working on race set-up so it’s a nice surprise. It’s a good opportunity to show how well the team is working together and we hope we can continue this and convert it into a podium on Sunday.  Freddy Foray     1:41.324 It is pretty good to have the pole position at this stage. I’m happy with my times, particularly with my physical condition caused by a crash I had at Brands Hatch last weekend. Now I need get the maximum amount of rest before the race to ensure I’m ready.  Sebastien Gimbert     1:40.702 I am happy with today. A 24-hour race is never easy and pole position does not mean so much, but I’m happy for Honda, for the team and for my team-mates because it was important to us to start well. For me, the biggest step we’ve made is with the bike. It is so easy to ride and it's fast. I did my best lap on a race tyre. As I say, you can be in pole position and not finish, but we have done a good job.    Copyright-free images Freddy Foray   Sebastien Gimbert     © 2014 Honda Racing