24 hours of endurance racing on a tough track: the 'Bol d'Or'

The Bol d'or is a motorcycle endurance race, held annually in France. Originally, it was an automobile as well as motorcycle race. The automobiles were limited to 1100cc engine capacity until the 1950s when the limit was raised to 1500cc, and later to 2000cc. The original organizer was Eugene Mauve.

The race, traditionally taking place on the second weekend of September, lasts for 24 hours and each motorcycle has a team of 3 riders taking turns. The teams originally comprised just 2 riders, with each rider having to do an exhausting 12 hours apiece; but in about 1977 (?), and in the interests of safety, the rules changed to 3 riders per team. Until 1970 the race was held at various circuits, mainly Montlhéry and Saint-Germain-en-Laye. From 1971-1977 the Bol D'Or was held at Le Mans. For the next 22 years the event took place at Paul Ricard, after which it moved to Magny-Cours. The Le Mans Bugatti Circuit is often reckoned to have been the finest venue of the Bol D'Or; and after the race moved south, a successor event was established, the "24 Heures Du Mans".

24-hour motorcycle endurance racing has a strong Francophone fan-base, with the three main events held in France (Le Mans & Magny-Cours) and French-speaking Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps). Not surprisingly, the most succesful teams and riders are French, but there are occasional British successes. In 1992 an all-British team of riders won the race; and British rider Terry Rymer has had consistent results. In the 1970s Phil Read famously took part; and the Hereford-based Mead & Tomkinson racing team made an impact with "Nessie", a revolutionary bike with hub-center steering. (Two other motorcycle endurance events are the Suzuka 8-hours and the Thruxton 8-hours).

[edit] History

• 1922: clay track located in Vaujours, Clichy-sous-Bois and Livry-Gargan, 5.126 km (3 mi) long. One rider per motorcycle.
• 1923-1936: Loges track in Saint-Germain-en-Laye
• 1927: Fontainebleau
• 1937-1939: Linas-Montlhéry
• 1938-1946: No race
• 1947-1948: Saint-Germain-en-Laye
• 1949-1950: Montlhéry
• 1951: Saint-Germain-en-Laye
• 1952-1960: Montlhéry
• 1961-1968: No race
• 1969-1970: Montlhéry
• 1971-1977: Le Mans
• 1978-1999: Paul Ricard
• 2000- : Magny-Cours

The race is part of the a part of the Endurance FIM World Championship. The 2006 edition was the 70th edition of the race.

The race is an opportunity for a giant motorcycle rally, a carnival, a motorcycle show, and other motorcycle related events.

The 2007 race saw Suzuki's supremacy (with Suzuki GSX-R1000 finishing 1st and 2nd) since 2001 coming to an end with the victory of GMT94 team with the Yamaha R1 and riders David Checa, Sébastien Gimbert and Olivier Four.

[edit] Results

Year	Riders	Manufacturer
1985	Alex Vieira Gérard Coudray Patrick Igoa	Honda
1986	Dominique Sarron Pierre Bolle Jean-Louis Battistini	Honda
1987	Dominique Sarron Jean-Michel Mattioli Jean-Louis Battistini	Honda
1988	Alex Vieira Dominique Sarron Christophe Bouheben	Honda
1989	Alex Vieira Jean-Michel Mattioli Roger Burnett	Honda
1990	Alex Vieira Jean-Michel Mattioli Stéphane Mertens	Honda
1991	Alex Vieira Miguel Duhamel Jean-Louis Battistini	Kawasaki
1992	Terry Rymer Carl Fogarty Steve Hislop	Kawasaki
1993	Dominique Sarron Jean-Marc Deletang Bruno Bonhuil	Suzuki
1994	Dominique Sarron Christian Sarron Yasutomo Nagai	Yamaha
1995	Terry Rymer Jean-Louis Battistini Jéhan D'Orgeix	Kawasaki
1996	Alex Vieira William Costes Christian Lavieille	Honda
1997	Terry Rymer Brian Morrisson Jéhan D'Orgeix	Kawasaki
1998	Terry Rymer Brian Morrisson Peter Goddard	Suzuki
1999	Terry Rymer Jéhan D'Orgeix Christian Lavieille	Suzuki
2000	Jean-Marc Deletang Fabien Foret Mark Willis	Yamaha
2001	Brian Morrisson Christian Lavieille Laurent Brian	Suzuki
2002	Jean-Michel Bayle Sébastien Gimbert Nicolas Dussauge	Suzuki
2003	Jean-Michel Bayle Sébastien Gimbert Nicolas Dussauge	Suzuki
2004	Vincent Philippe Keiichi Kitagawa Matthieu Lagrive	Suzuki
2005	Vincent Philippe Keiichi Kitagawa Matthieu Lagrive	Suzuki
2006	Vincent Philippe Keiichi Kitagawa Matthieu Lagrive	Suzuki
2007	David Checa Sébastien Gimbert Olivier Four	Yamaha
2008	Vincent Philippe Julien Da Costa Matthieu Lagrive	Suzuki
2009	Vincent Philippe Freddy Foray Olivier Four	Suzuki

[edit] Side races

• La tasse d'or (the golden cup), reserved for motorcycle of less than 50cc (known as the coffee cup: "tasses à café")
• Le bol d'or classic (the classic golden bowl): reserved for classic motorcycles
• Le bol d'argent (the silver bowl): amateur competition taking place before main competition.

[edit] External links

• boldor.fr Official website (French)

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.