The Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team of Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika, and Leandro Mercado extended their FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) lead after finishing second in a dramatic 8 Hours of Spa Motos at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
After qualifying second on Friday, YART added four points to their championship total and arrived on the grid with a 17-point advantage at the top of the standings. With dry conditions greeting the riders for the start of Saturday’s eight-hour race, the reigning champions were focused on building on their strong start to the season and continuing their impressive recent record at Spa.
The Belgian round has become a particularly strong venue for YART in recent seasons, with the team winning the 24-hour edition in 2023, taking victory again in 2024 when it switched to an eight-hour format, and finishing third last year in mixed conditions on their way to the 2025 EWC title. Their second-place finish this season made it four consecutive podiums for the Austrian squad at Spa.
After a tricky start that saw Hanika drop from second to tenth off the line, the Czech rider responded immediately, producing an excellent recovery ride to climb to sixth within the opening 20 minutes before moving up to fourth by the half-hour mark, just 1.9s from the lead.
Hanika continued to push hard throughout the opening stint before pitting from fourth after 45 minutes, with Fritz taking over the Bridgestone-shod #1 Yamaha R1 in fifth. The German quickly moved into the podium fight, and by the 75-minute mark, he was part of a superb four-bike battle for the lead, with the leading group separated by just over a second.
Fritz then climbed to second before handing the R1 over to "Tati" Mercado, who delivered a composed stint to keep YART firmly in the fight at the front. With conditions beginning to shift and the race developing into a strategic test, the Argentine kept the pressure on and made sure the team stayed firmly in the victory hunt before handing back to Hanika.
With the weather changing constantly, the second half of the race became increasingly unpredictable. Heavy rain arrived shortly after one of Fritz’s stops, forcing YART back into the pits just one lap later, while the team were later caught in another chaotic period when Hanika switched from wets to slicks on a drying track, only for the rain to return almost immediately.
At one stage, the constantly changing conditions triggered three pit stops in just 20 minutes, but YART remained calm and executed each stop cleanly, adapting to whatever the race threw at them. With Crashes, delays, and strategy calls all affecting others around them, Hanika, Fritz, Mercado, and the team focused on consistency, mistake-free riding, and making the best possible decisions in a rapidly changing situation.
Despite the difficulty of judging tyre choice and timing throughout the race, YART kept the pressure on while also managing the championship picture. They eventually crossed the line second after 192 laps, 1:16.079 behind the winners, securing 24 more points, extending their championship lead to 22 points, and securing a fourth consecutive podium at Spa. The result means YART leave Belgium with 91 points after two rounds, adding to their victory at Le Mans.
There was frustration for the Belgian-based Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99 squad at their home round. Randy de Puniet, Florian Marino, and Bo Bendsneyder made a strong start from sixth on the grid and were running well inside the top five before a technical issue cost them significant time. The #99 Yamaha R1 later lost further ground after a crash and eventually finished 29th overall, 22 laps down.
There was further success for Yamaha across the classes, as Team 18 Pompiers Igol CMS Motostore secured a Superstock podium by finishing ninth overall and third in SST on the #18 Yamaha, while Motobox Kremer Racing by 321 took victory in the Production category after finishing eighth overall on the #65 Yamaha.
The FIM Endurance World Championship now heads to Japan for Round 3, the Suzuka 8 Hours, which takes place from 3 to 5 July.
