F.C.C. TSR Honda France are crowned 2017-2018 FIM Endurance World Champions

There are celebrations at Suzuka tonight as F.C.C. TSR Honda France have been crowned 2017-2018 FIM Endurance World Champions, alongside Honda Endurance Racing who took third place in the championship after a successful season aboard the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2.

The Suzuka 8 Hours hosted the fifth and final round of the EWC series and the Honda-owned circuit was the perfect backdrop as the Honda teams looked to finish the season on a high.

At the start of the eight-hour race the goal for F.C.C. TSR Honda France with riders Freddy Foray, Josh Hook and Alan Techer was to finish the race and become World Champions. With ten points separating the Honda squad and EWC rivals GMT94, the race got underway in challenging conditions at the 5.821km circuit.

After a near-perfect race in the changeable conditions and super-slick pit stops throughout, F.C.C. TSR Honda France crossed the finish line completing 196 laps in fifth place, where they were the highest placed permanent EWC European team. Taking the World Championship crown they also become the first ever-Japanese team to win the FIM Endurance World Championship.

The Honda Endurance Racing team finished the eight-hour race in ninth place after a confident race from Sébastien Gimbert, Yonny Hernandez and Erwan Nigon. Finishing third in the championship standings is the highest placing for the Honda team to date in the series.

Meanwhile the celebrations continued at the Suzuka 8 Hours with seven Honda teams in the top-20 and Red Bull Honda by Japan post on the podium in second place. Completing 199 laps over the eight-hours, the Red Bull Honda by Japan Post with riders PJ Jacobsen, Takaaki Nakagami and Takumi Takahashi, maintained a strong lead at the start of the race until the 18th lap.

In incredibly tricky and changeable conditions, they battled hard to never leave the top three throughout the race, taking second just 30.974s behind the leaders after eight-hours of close and competitive racing.

Freddy Foray - F.C.C. TSR Honda France:
I feel really great. The team has done its best since the start of the season, no matter what the circumstances. I am so glad that the whole team’s efforts are rewarded like this. I’m also glad we won the championship at Suzuka Circuit, the home track for Team Manager Fujii, Honda, and TSR, and in front of so many Japanese fans. We couldn’t have won the title at a better place.

Josh Hook - F.C.C. TSR Honda France:
We have done our best all season for this moment. We have raced in each event to win. All of our hard work has come together today, with us becoming the champions, so I’m so happy. I’d like to thank the whole team from the bottom of my heart. Team Manager Fujii and everyone at TSR have been so good to me since I started in the All Japan races, so I’m happy I could return the favor by winning the championship at TSR’s home track at Suzuka.

Alan Techer - F.C.C. TSR Honda France:
This is my first EWC title. I feel absolutely great! I’ve been in this series since Le Mans in 2016, and I couldn’t have imagined winning the championship in my third season. I’m grateful to Team Manager Fujii for giving me the opportunity to race for the team. It is really special that we were able to win the championship in front of all the wonderful Japanese fans at the Suzuka Circuit. I’ll never forget the sight from the podium tonight. Lastly, congratulations to F.C.C. TSR Honda France and Bridgestone!

Sébastien Gimbert - Honda Endurance Racing:
I am happy, third position is good for me, I work very hard with my teammates and ultimately I am happy for me and I am sorry to Greg that he’s not here to celebrate with us. I am happy as Erwan is my best friend and to share this experience with him this year has been perfect. A huge thank you to the Honda team, every time they work to the maximum and make sure we have the best bike we can possibly have. The race today was not easy, but it never is at the Suzuka 8 Hours, the conditions were also very bad and at one point I was riding with a slick tyre in the rain and everyone around me crashed, but I was very lucky and managed to ride through! But I am happy today at Suzuka is a good result and we finish the championship well.


Yonny Hernandez - Honda Endurance Racing:
I am very happy with the race result today, we finish well and we were safe, there were a lot of crashes today with the weather. I started for the team, which was a little nervous as it was the first time I start an endurance race, but I was happy with my start and I made up a lot of positions. We fight hard throughout to finish in the top-ten and it’s very positive. I think perhaps I could have done more, but I had a safety car for over one-hour and for me it was my first time behind the car for a long time, and I had to warm the tyres back, which had cooled and with the wet track it was difficult to get the heat back into them. It’s been a great experience, I have always wanted to race at the Suzuka 8 Hours, so thank you to Honda for giving me this opportunity.


Erwan Nigon - Honda Endurance Racing:
It’s a great feeling to be third in the endurance championship and it’s a great finish for the team. I joined Honda this year and each race we progress and we proved that we can have podiums and we can fight for the championship. Honestly we push to the max for this and the whole team worked so hard and I cannot thank them enough. For sure we don’t win, but the result is good for the team and compared to last year it’s one, maybe two-three steps forward and it’s a good sign for the team. The race here today was crazy, the conditions change so much and it was not easy! Every race of course isn’t easy, but we find a good way here and we finished in the top-ten, which at Suzuka is not easy as it is very competitive.