Endurance, the Big Four: motorcycling's great classics and a dream for 2028

The FIM ratified on October 2 the 2027 calendar of the FIM EWC Endurance World Championship, already known to insiders since the Friday of the Bol d'Or that closed the 2026 season. For the coming year there will be no changes, with the reconfirmation of the four great classics (Le Mans, Spa, Suzuka, and the Bol d'Or), with the organizers of these races themselves joining (with shares) the EMP, acronym for Endurance Moto Promoter.

Compared to the recent past, the only novelty concerns the 50th edition of the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans, brought forward by one week. It will in fact take place on the weekend of April 10–11, followed on Saturday, June 5 by the 8 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, then the “race of races” with the 8 Hours of Suzuka on July 4 (without clashes with MotoGP and World Superbike), and the grand finale with the Bol d'Or at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet on September 18–19.

Starting this year, the organizers of these four events are, together with Motul (with a 10% stake), also on the board of EMP, a company headed by Claude Michy (with his PHA promoting the French Grand Prix at Le Mans and the very 8 Hours of Spa). In effect, the stakeholders are focusing on promoting motorcycle Endurance without relying on an external entity, necessarily centering their efforts on improving the product to draw as many spectators to the track as possible. Even at the expense of media exposure.

It would seem everything is a “closed circle,” with the four partners (Automobile Club de l'Ouest, PHA Claude Michy, Honda Mobilityland, Éditions Larivière) not particularly inclined to welcome potential additions to the calendar. However, for 2028 it has been assured that there will (finally) be a fifth round, presumably in the Old Continent, but with a dream represented by Australia. On the occasion of the Suzuka 8 Hours, FIM Oceania delegates met with Claude Michy, with FIM President Jorge Viegas pushing for Phillip Island, which as is well known will be off not only the MotoGP calendar but also Superbike from 2028. A dream, today difficult (if not impossible) to realize due to organizational and, above all, economic reasons.

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