Belgian motorcycle racer Xavier Siméon in the lead in Le Mans at three hours from finish

Belgian motorcycle racer Xavier Siméon leads the way with his Suzuki in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for motorcycles, at the start of the last quarter of the race on Sunday 17 April.

With three hours to go he is ahead of the Italian Niccolo Canepa and the French Mike Di Meglio. 

The Le Mans event marks the start of the 2022 season of the motorcycle endurance world championship (FIM EWC).

The first six hours were enlivened by three-way battle between the Honda of Josh Hook/Gino Rea/Mike Di Meglio (Aus/G-B/Fra), the Yamaha of Karel Hanika/Marvin Fritz/Niccolo Canepa (Tch/Ger/ Ita) and the Suzuki of Gregg Black/Xavier Siméon/Sylvain Guintoli (Fra/Bel/Fra). 

Xavier Siméon and his teammates had a great scare when they ran out of gas at the entrance to the pit lane. The loss of time was less because the incident took place during a neutralization period. 

After 6 hours, they were in 3rd place, just over a minute behind the leading Honda. As for the other Belgians, Bastien Mackels (Kawasaki) is 7th at four laps while Loris Cresson (Kawasaki) is 11th overall, but above all 3rd in the Superstock category, around forty seconds from the lead. 

Initially entered on a Honda, Grégory Fastré was forced to withdraw after a heavy fall in practice, caused by a technical problem. Conscious, he was hospitalized and suffered a broken pelvis, shoulder and head trauma.

Endurance 

The Endurance World Championship (EWC) is the main motorcycle endurance racing championship.

The championship season consists of a series of races held at dedicated permanent facilities. The results of each race are added together to determine two world championships each year, one for the teams and the other for the constructors.

(VIV)

© Belga photo (Jean-Francois MONIER / AFP) Suzuki GSXR 1000 Formula EWC N°1 Belgian rider Xavier Simeon compete in the lead during the 45th Le Mans 24-hours endurance moto race in France on April 17, 2022.