BMW Motorrad France 99 won the 8 Hours of Albacete and took their first victory in the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship. Sébastien Gimbert and Erwan Nigon won on the S1000RR with a 30 seconds gap from the Yamaha Racing France GMT 94 Ipone of David Checa, Kenny Foray and Matthieu Lagrive, and one lap from the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team of Vincent Philippe, Freddy Foray and Daisaku Sakai.

This unprecedented podium is also Michelin's revenge over the SERT partner Dunlop, as the French tyres were fitted on the first two machines for the 8 Hours of Albacete. If the BMW Motorrad France 99 and the Yamaha Racing France GMT 94 Ipone enjoyed some trouble-free races, the SERT lost a bit of ground as they had to obey a stop & go penalty for not having switched off the bike's lights during a pit stop. The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team remains the championship leader, with a two points advantage over the BMW Motorrad France 99.

The fourth place was promised to the team Honda TT Legends, who were racing with the leaders from the beginning of the race. But John McGuinness crash around 1 am was fatal for the British Honda. Honda TT Legends gave up their fourth place to another great contender of the race, Monster Yamaha YART, who also could have been on the podium spot if they had not been delayed by a fuel issue in the middle of the race.

The Yamaha of Maco Racing Team managed to kill the black cat at last! Jason Pridmore, Gregg Black and Grégory Junod took the fifth place ahead of the Yamaha YMES Folch Endurance of Dani Ribalta, Pedro Vallcaneras and Jose Manuel Luis Rita. The Honda National Motos was in the surroundings 25 minutes away from the chequered flag, but a technical problem made them lose any benefit from a great race.

BMW took victory in the Superstock class as well. The BMW Van Zon Boenig Motorsportschool Penz13 RT of Werner Daemen, Grégory Fastré and Michael Filla finished seventh overall and first in their class, ahead of a close group of Superstock machines. These included the Suzuki of Team Motor Events Bodyguard AMT, No Limits Motor Team, MCS Racing Ipone, team Atomic MotorSport and AM Moto Racing Compétition, who was leading the class for a while before being delayed with a faulty gearshift. In both classes, two challengers were quick to retire from the race.

In Formula EWC, the Kawasaki of Bolliger Team Switzerland had to give up with a broken gearbox, after their chassis setup problems had been solved. In the Superstock class, the Suzuki of Qatar Endurance Racing Team suffered a broken engine. The team DG Sport, another contender to a Superstock podium, and in fourth place until 11 pm, had to retire after Olivier Depoorter crashed.

Next round of the Qtel FIM World Endurance Championship is scheduled on 31st July for the 8 Hours of Suzuka reserved to the EWC Formula machines.

Alabacete Qualifying: Pole for SERT

The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team took the pole position for the 8 Hours of Albacete, second round of the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship, of which the start will be given later on at 6 pm. Vincent Philippe, Freddy Foray and Daisaku Sakai took everything in their hands this morning from the second qualifying session. Outperformed yesterday by their competitors, the ten times world champion team finally found the proper settings and the race now promises to be highly disputed.

The first three teams on the starting grid are only separated by a small margin. BMW Motorrad France 99 took the second place with Sébastien Gimbert, Erwan Nigon and Hugo Marchand, despite a few troubles with their rear wheel. The Monster YART Yamaha of Igor Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani will start the race from third position, but unfortunately, it will be on their spare bike since Gwen Giabbani crashed the first one this morning at the end of the qualifying session.

Yamaha Racing France GMT 94 Ipone stays in ambush behind the top three. David Checa, Kenny Foray and Matthieu Lagrive are also aiming a spot on the podium. On the Honda TT Legends, Steve Plater, John McGuinness and Keith Amor are nearly in the favourite's pace. With a fifth place on the starting grid, the newcomers are in the right rhythm.

The BMW Van Zon Boenig Motorsportschool Penz13 RT also made great progress. Werner Daemen, Grégory Fastré and Michael Filla took the sixth place on the starting grid. They lead the Superstock class and will start ahead of the Yamaha Maco Racing Team and the Honda National Motos. AM Moto Racing Compétition (Suzuki) improved their lap times during the second qualifying session and will start from ninth position (2nd Superstock), ahead of the Spanish Yamaha from YMES Folch Endurance, the Suzuki of Team Motor Events Bodyguard AMT, the Yamaha DG Sport and the BMW Mas. Outside of the top 10 is the Kawasaki Bolliger Team Switzerland, still struggling with some chassis setup.

The warm up, scheduled at 3 pm, will be the last opportunity for them to find the solution. The start of the 8 Horas Nocturnas of Albacete will be given at 6 pm.

Entry List

A list of all the teams competing can be found on the official circuit website, here: www.circuitoalbacete.com/ewc/.../entry.html.

Race Schedule

Friday 20th May, 10:00 - 12:00 - World Endurance Free Practice

Friday 20th May, 14:00 - 15:50 - World Endurance First Qualifying

Friday 20th May, 21:30 - 22:30 - World Endurance Night Practice

Saturday 21st May, 10:00 - 11:50 - World Endurance Second Qualifying

Saturday 21st May, 12:00 - 13:40 - Spanish Classic Cup Qualifying

Saturday 21st May, 15:00 - 15:45 - World Endurance Warm Up

Saturday 21st May, 16:00 - Spanish Classic Cup Race

Saturday 21st May, 17:15 - World Endurance Start Preparation

Saturday 21st May, 17:15 - World Endurance Race Start

Sunday 22nd May, 02:00 - World Endurance Race Finish

Spectator List

Full details of all the spectators who will be watching the race have been made available by the championsihp organisers for the first time: www.fim.ch/.../ crowd_albacete.html

2010 Albacete 8H...

2010 Albacete 8 Hour
Alabacete 8H Live Timing | Alabacete 8H Live Action Web Cam | Alabacete 8H Timing Sheets

The second round of the 2010 FIM World Endurance Championship takes place at Albacete this weekend. Forty two teams have entered the race, which starts at 6:00pm CET, 5:00pm BST, on Saturday and runs into the night until 2:00am CET, 1:00am BST.

A round of the FIM e-Power Championship will be held on Saturday afternoon, the nine lap race giving a total distance of 32kms for the electric bikes. The only other support race will be an outing for the International Classic GP circus.

Qualifying and free practice for the endurance teams will be held on Friday, with Superpole taking place on Saturday morning. Track action starts at 09:00am CET on Fridayand 09:30 CET on Saturday. Live timing should be available via the links at the top of this article.

It's unclear at the time of writing whether the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud will affect travel to the race. 50% of the spectators expected at the race will travel to the circuit by car, while the other one is hoping to cadge a lift.

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