Yoshimura SERT Motul’s capture of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship was celebrated among the stars of international motorcycle sport on the Spanish island of Mallorca last night (7 December).
Riders Gregg Black, Dan Linfoot and Étienne Masson were joined at the FIM Awards, which took place at the Palma Convention Centre overlooking the Balearic island’s capital city, by Yoshimura SERT Motul Team Director Yohei Kato and Team Manager Damien Saulnier to accept their coveted gold medals from Ignacio Verneda, FIM Deputy President.
Taking place at the end of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ 10th season as promoter of the EWC and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM)’s 120th anniversary year, the 2024 FIM Awards was attended by 1000 guests. They included FIM MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin, FIM Superbike world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, Ana Carrasco, the winner of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, and Bartosz Zmarzlik, world champion in FIM Speedway Grand Prix, which is also promoted by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports under a long-term alliance with the FIM.
Yoshimura SERT Motul’s 13th EWC title triumph in its various incarnations came at the end of another action-packed EWC season. The Suzuki-powered squad, which also featured Albert Arenas and Cocoro Atsumi in its line-up, won twice during the season with Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team and Team HRC with Japan Postclaiming a victory apiece. Notably, Linfoot, a new Yoshimura SERT Motul recruit for 2024, finished on the podium in all four EWC races, a feat recognised by a selection of international media who voted him the Hero of the Year in the first EWC Expert Views.
The other EWC award winners of 2024 were National Motos Honda FMA, which won the FIM Endurance World Cup for Teams and the Dunlop Superstock Trophy, Yamaha, which topped the final standings in the FIM Endurance World Championship for Manufacturers, and Honda, the winner of the FIM Endurance World Cup for Manufacturers. KM99, meanwhile, completed the 2024 EWC season as the leading independent team.
Jean-Baptiste Ley, Motorsport Events Director at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, said: “It was a tremendous privilege to see our FIM EWC and FIM Speedway champions being recognised and celebrated for their standout achievements in 2024. And for this to happen among so many other greats of international motorcycle sport made the occasion even more special. Of course, there were many people who contributed so much to their success who couldn’t be at the FIM Awards last night. To them I also extend the congratulations of everyone at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and to all the other EWC award winners this year. I would also like to thank President Jorge Viegas and his colleagues at the FIM for all their support and professionalism in 2024 and for staging such a memorable ceremony in Mallorca. Our focus now shifts to 2025 and to our preparations for another season of unmissable action.”
Sixty-two FIM world title winners from six different arenas of motorcycle sport were honoured at the FIM Awards, which was overseen by Barbara Pedrotti, Matt Roberts and James Toseland and broadcast live on discovery+, Max and DAZN Spain as well as being streamed live for free on FIM-MOTO.TV.
Jorge Viegas, President of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), said: “Bringing together so many of our FIM world champions always ensures a very special occasion and the 2024 FIM Awards have provided the perfect conclusion to the FIM’s 120th anniversary year. Palma de Mallorca has proved to be a fantastic venue, made possible with the support of the RFME. I would like to thank every single person who has contributed in any way to making the 2024 season such a huge success. Tonight, it has been the perfect way to celebrate it and bring it to a close, though we are already looking ahead to 2025 and putting plans in place to make it even better.”
Yohei Kato, Yoshimura SERT Motul Team Director, said: “We owe this result to the people who work behind the scenes at Yoshimura; the designers and engineers. They built a very good bike, so I'd like to thank all those people behind us. And, of course, I'd like to thank the whole Yoshimura SERT Motul team. We fight for the title every season, and I'm very proud of the team and this result.”
Dan Linfoot, Yoshimura SERT Motul rider, said: “It was a fantastic season, great memories and great feelings. I’m super-proud of Yoshimura SERT Motul for delivering the results and the championship. To be able to call myself a world champion is special, I’m super-pleased.”
FIM Endurance World Championship 2025 calendar
Round 1: 24 Heures Motos, Le Mans, France: 17-20 April
Round 2: 8 Hours of Spa Motos, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium: 6-7 June
Round 3: 46th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race, Suzuka Circuit, Japan: 1-3 August
Round 4: Bol d’Or, Circuit Paul Ricard, France: 18-21 September