A successful test saw Yamaha’s YART EWC Team at the top of the times ahead of 2022’s Endurance season opener at Le Mans.

Two days on track at France’s Bugatti Circuit allowed Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika, and reserve rider Robin Mulhauser, to get fully up to speed with their #7 Yamaha YZF-R1. The quartet topping each of the four sessions available while racking up 264 laps in their preparation for 2022’s Le Mans 24 Heures Motos on 16-17 April.

While rain curtailed Tuesday’s action, YART completed 142 laps on its way to the top having set a
1’35.807 benchmark. Overnight the rain continued, providing ample opportunity to assess and refine the Yamaha’s wet set up for the morning session before the afternoon’s dry running saw them again improve overall with a 1’35.707.

Despite pleased with the programme undertaken the YART Yamaha squad will return to the Bugatti Circuit for another test just before the 45th edition of the Le Mans 24 Heures Motos in a fortnight’s time.

“It went very well, we were on top in every session, dry and wet, so we are really confident,” Canepa confirmed from Le Mans. “We had some improvements, trying new Brembo callipers and master cylinders that worked well. We worked a lot on the electronics and found some good engine brake settings. The lap times were really good, so I am looking forward to the first race of the season here.”

“Today and yesterday went well, despite the weather,” Fritz added. “Conditions got a little hotter in the afternoon and it made it a bit difficult, but today we found some ways to improve this. We were very fast in the end and the team did a fantastic job to prepare the bike, while we also made some big step forwards with the electronics. Each of the riders did a great job as well.

“It couldn’t have gone much better and now we have to look forward to the race. We are prepared for all conditions and our lap times show that we’re in a good position, it could have been even faster, but we’re really happy.”

A busy 2022 season sees Andrew Pitt in as crew chief for the four Endurance races alongside his Pata Yamaha WorldSBK duties.

“We had some mixed weather today, but yesterday in the better conditions the lap times were coming really easy, even with some issues we were working through,” the Australian explained. “We were trying to identify which were the right tyres for the track temperatures, plus some things we had to improve with the electronics on the engine brake side, and traction control.

“We started with a wet track today, and we had a good feeling straightaway. When we went into the dry conditions, we were able to make some good steps and the riders were happy with everything. The track never actually completely dried out today, so the pace was very good considering this.

“The only thing left to do is the one-hour stints on the Tuesday test before the event, but all-in-all the riders are very happy and the pace is coming quick. The boys were fastest in all conditions, so I think this was a really useful test overall. Bring on race week!”