YART Yamaha Triumphs at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans

Second consecutive victory for YART Yamaha at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Gamarino 3rd with Kawasaki TRICKSTAR, No Limits on the Stock podium.

The 2026 FIM EWC Endurance World Championship opens under the banner of the reigning World Champions. YART Yamaha, thanks to exemplary race management free of mistakes, secured victory in the 49th edition of the 24 Heures Motos. With the #1 R1 masterfully ridden by Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz, and Leandro Mercado, the flagship team of the House of the Three Tuning Forks repeated last year’s triumph at Le Mans’ Circuit Bugatti. Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki and Kawasaki Webike TRICKSTAR completed the podium.

For YART, short for Yamaha Austria Racing Team, this is their third hurrah at the Le Mans motorcycle 24 Hours after previous wins in 2009 and, more recently, 2025. Yamaha’s tally rises to 6 victories, in a special ranking still led by Suzuki, which remains on 15 wins. On that note, Suzuki’s factory squad finished second with the #12 GSX-R 1000R entrusted to Gregg Black, Etienne Masson, and Dan Linfoot, earning valuable points in the championship hunt.

Behind a solid Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki, Kawasaki Webike TRICKSTAR returned to the podium, with our Christian Gamarino impeccable in his stints. A podium that, 12 months later, gives back what had been taken from the Genoese rider, forced to watch in 2025 due to an injury suffered during the Pré-Tests with his team then finishing second. The #11 Ninja ZX-10RR benefited from the repeated misfortunes of BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. The assault on the lead was foiled by Michael van der Mark’s crash this morning, and a series of technical issues at the end of the race definitively derailed the #37 M 1000 RR.

Salvaging what they could with 23rd at the finish, BMW Motorrad can nonetheless take comfort in ERC Endurance’s fourth place and AutoRace Ube Racing Team’s fifth, in their first experience at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Not only that, the Bavarian marque secured the Superstock class victory with the MRP team ahead of the very Italian No Limits Motor Team and TRT27 AZ Honda. Moreno Codeluppi’s squad achieved a sensational second place with the black-and-yellow #44 Honda ridden by Gabriele Giannini, Miquel Pons, Ricardo Brink, and Doriano Vietti Ramus. Statistical nugget: Celestino’s brother thus celebrates his personal third consecutive podium at the 24 Heures Motos after the two earned with 3ART Best of Bike Yamaha. Italy shines in Endurance also with Kevin Manfredi, fourth in class with RAC41 Honda just ahead of REVO-M2 Racing’s #49 Aprilia. In Production, victory for LEGACY COMPETITION Yamaha, prevailing over GREENTEAM 42 Kawasaki and Mana-au COMPETITION Honda.

The FIM EWC Endurance World Championship will be back on track next June with the 8 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, scheduled for Saturday the 6th.