24 Hours of Spa (motorcycle race)
 | |
| FIM Endurance World Championship | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps |
| Location | 50°26′14″N 5°58′17″E / 50.43722°N 5.97139°E |
| First race | 1971 |
| Duration | 24 hours |
| Previous names | 24 Heures de Liège, 8 Heures de Spa (2024) |
| Most wins (driver) |  Christian Lavieille (4) Jacques Luc (4) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) |  Honda (12) |
The 24 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps Motos (previously called 24 Heures de Liège moto) is a motorcycle endurance race held annually since 1971 on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium and is part of the Endurance FIM World Championship. In 2024 the race will be run in 8 hours format.[1]
History
[edit]The inaugural event took place on August 28 and 29, 1971 on the Zolder circuit. The competition took place on two different circuits:
- from 1971 to 1972: Circuit Zolder;
- from 1973 to 2003 and after 2022: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
When the Bol d'Or moved from Bugatti Circuit to Circuit Paul Ricard at the end of 1977, the ACO created the 24 Heures Moto. The race became one of "the classics" of endurance racing along with the 24 Hours of Liège, the 8 Hours Of Suzuka, and the Bol d'Or.
At the end of 2001, the three 24 Hour classic races (Le Mans, Liège and the Bol d'Or) withdrew from the Endurance World Championship to create the Master of Endurance (an Endurance competition consisting on the 3 races that was held between 2002 and 2005). Le Mans and Bol d'Or returned to the Endurance FIM World Championship in 2006, but 24 Hours of Liége didn't while the track had lost FIM homolgation.
After twenty years of interruption, the race returned renamed as 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and as part of the FIM Endurance World Championship calendar with a ten-year contract.[2]
-
Circuit Zolder circuit until 1972 -
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in the version used until 1978 -
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps after 1979
Winners
[edit]
By manufacturer
[edit]| Wins | Manufacturer |
|---|---|
| 12 | Honda
|
| 11 | Suzuki
|
| 6 | Kawasaki
|
| 3 | Yamaha
|
| 1 |  BMW
|
| Japauto[8]
| |
 BSA
|
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Spa's EWC eight will be great". fimewc.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
- ^ Delisse, Alexis (14 May 2018). "Endurance : les 24 Heures de Spa de retour en 2022". moto-station.com..
- ^ Glon, Vincent. "Les Courses d'endurance en Belgique - Les 24 Heures de Liège". racingmemo.free.fr..
- ^ Gauthier, Stéphane (6 June 2022). "EWC 2022 : 24 heures de Spa Motos". racingforever.com..
- ^ "RACE REPORT: JAPANESE JOY MADE IN FRANCE AS YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL WINS EWC 24 HEURES MOTOS". fimewc.com. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022..
- ^ Pascual, Nicolas (18 June 2023). "EWC 24H Spa-Francorchamps : le YART-Yamaha triomphe en Belgique !". paddock-gp.com..
- ^ "Spa EWC glory for YART and Aviobike". fim-moto.com. 8 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ "The history of Japauto". Retrieved 2024-04-22.