The 49th edition of the 24 Hours brought together 76,700 spectators at the Le Mans circuit, once again consolidating its status as one of the toughest and most prestigious events in world motorcycling. In this epic setting, yamaha achieved his sixth historic victory with the R1 and the Austrian team YART He signed his second consecutive victory, the third of his career in resistance.
The key to success was practically perfect execution. Despite starting with a certain disadvantage in consumption compared to its rivals, the yamaha He compensated for this weakness with a very high race pace and, above all, without errors. A combination that allowed them to always remain in the fight for the lead and end up imposing their law during the last hours.
bmw He touched glory, but was left without a prize. He BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team He led the race until the 17th hour with his ambitious M1000RR #37, dreaming of becoming the first European manufacturer to win at Le Mans in the modern era. However, problems with traction control marked a turning point.
From there, everything went wrong. Michael van der Mark He suffered a fall while lapping a rival, truncating the team’s aspirations. The final blow came with less than 2 hours to go, with a new mechanical problem that relegated bmw to a discreet 23rd position, very far from what they had shown during a good part of the test.
suzukifor its part, faced the race with a desire for revenge after the harsh outcome of 2025. The team Yoshimura SERT Motul He opted for the solidity of his GSX-R1000but on this occasion the reliability was not enough to fight for victory. The lack of rhythm in key moments forced them to settle for second position, of course, adding valuable points for the championship here.
The podium closed it Kawasaki with the team Webike Trickstarwhich presented an evolution of the ZX-10R with aerodynamic improvements and geometry adjustments. Although they could not match the pace of yamaha nor the initial speed of bmwtheir consistency allowed them to secure a creditable 3rd place and confirm the potential of the new technical package.
One of the biggest disappointments was Sling. The team FCC TSR Honda Francewith the CBR1000RR-R #5, was in contention for the win during the early stages of the race, but a crash of Corentin Perolari After 21 hours of competition he ended his options. Finally, they crossed the finish line in 12th position, 40 laps behind the winners.
The best independent team finished at the doors of the podium, ERC Endurance #6, also with bmw. The formation composed of Marcel Schrötter, Kenny Foray and David Czech He signed a solid 4th place, confirming his consistency in this type of tests. In the Superstock category, the victory went to the team Champion-HERT Powered by MRP with the bmw #38, in one of the most competitive categories of the weekend.
10 teams fought for victory, in a battle marked by falls, breakdowns and constant changes in the classification. The abandonment of Sling #55 National Motorcycleswhen he was aiming for his third consecutive victory, definitively opened the way to victory for those of bmw.
There was also prominence for the Production category, in its second year in the championship. Here, yamaha stood out again with the victory of team #96 Legacy Competitionwhich took advantage of a mechanical problem in the Kawasaki leader to take first place in the last hours.
In total, 60 motorcycles took the start, but only 40 managed to cross the finish line. A figure that reflects, once again, the extreme toughness of a test where nights, fatigue and incidents push both drivers and mechanics to the limit.
After Le Mans, the World Endurance Championship heads to the next event on the calendar: the 8 Hours of Spa Motos, which will be held on June 6 and where yamaha He will come as the great rival to beat.
The 5 best in the EWC Le Mans 2026 category
- Yamaha #1 YART-Yamaha Official EWC Team – Karel Hanika / Marvin Fritz / Leandro Mercado – 859 laps
- Suzuki #12 Yoshimura SERT Motul – Gregg Black / Étienne Masson / Dan Linfoot – +5 laps
- Kawasaki #11 Kawasaki Webike Trickstar – Roman Ramos / Christian Gamarino / Grégory Leblanc – +11 laps
- BMW #6 ERC Endurance – Marcel Schrötter / Kenny Foray / David Checa – +12 laps
- BMW #76 AutoRace Ube Racing Team – Naomichi Uramoto / Sylvain Guintoli / Hannes Soomer – +12 laps
The 3 best of Superstock Le Mans 2026
- BMW #38 Champion-HERT Powered by MRP – Bálint Kovács / Jan Bühn / Loris Cresson / Máté Számadó – 838 laps
- Honda #44 Honda No Limits – Gabriele Giannini / Miquel Pons Payeras / Ricardo Brink / Doriano Vietti-Ramuss – +11 laps
- Honda #27 TRT27 AZ Moto – Thomas Ward / Thomas Oliver / Eemeli Lahti / Maiku Watanuki – +16 laps
The 3 main producers Le Mans 2026
- Yamaha #96 Legacy Compétition – Jordy Manneveau / Pierre Gelas / Ludovic Hauser / Jonathan Hugot – 774 laps
- Kawasaki #42 Green Team 42 Lycée Sainte-Claire – Julien Bonnet / Alexy Negrier / Jules Blanc / Corentin García – +4 laps
- Honda #531 MANA-AU Compétition – Baptiste Felgerolles / Maximilian Spitzer / Tony Jeuland / Olivier Garreau – +15 laps
Fastest lap Le Mans 2026
Honda #5 FCC TSR Honda France – 1:35.698
