Bol d'Or

For the endurance pedal cycle race, see Bol d'Or cycle race.

The Bol d’Or is a 24-hour endurance race for motorcycles, held annually in France. The race is part of the FIM Endurance World Championship. The riding of each bike is now shared by a team of three riders.

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

History

The Bol d’Or, first organized by Eugene Mauve, in 1922, was a race for motorcycles, and automobiles limited to 1100cc engine capacity (in the 1950s the limit was raised to 1500cc, and later to 2000cc). Today, the Bol d’Or is exclusively a race for motorcycles, although there are a number of side "attractions", such as races for amateur riders and for classic bikes.^[1][2]

Prior to 1953 only one rider per machine was permitted. The record holder with seven victories, Frenchman Gustave Lefèvre, won with an average speed of 107 kilometers/hour riding his Norton Manx for the whole 24 hours.^[3] From 1954 to 1977 the teams comprised two riders, and then, in the interests of safety, this was increased to three.

Until 1970 the race was held at various circuits, mainly Linas-Montlhéry and Saint-Germain-en-Laye. From 1971 to 1977 the Bol d’Or was held at the permanent Le Mans Bugatti circuit, which excludes the temporary street circuit section, exiting before the Tertre Rouge esses and rejoining at the Ford Chicane, excluding the section from the Tertre Rouge, Mulsanne, and Porsche Curves. For the next 22 years the event took place at Paul Ricard, after which it moved to Magny-Cours. When the race left Le Mans the 24 Heures du Mans was established, so that when the Bol d'Or returned to Le Mans, there were for a time two annual 24-hour motorcycle endurance events on the Bugatti circuit. Until 2015, the Bol d’Or was held in the spring, while the 24 Heures du Mans was in the early September slot formerly used by the Bol d’Or. In 2016 things changed again: the "24 Heures du Mans" moved to the spring, while the Bol d’Or moved to Circuit Paul Ricard In September.^[2]

24-hour motorcycle endurance racing has a strong Francophone base, with the three main events held in France (Le Mans & Magny-Cours) and French-speaking Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps), and the most successful teams and riders are French. In 1970, 1971 and 1992 all-British teams of riders won the races. British rider Terry Rymer has had consistent results. In the 1970s the competitors included Phil Read and Neil Tuxworth, who later headed Honda Racing UK. On occasion, the Mead & Tomkinson racing team fielded "Nessie", a revolutionary bike with hub-center steering.^[4]

Circuits

• 1922: clay track located in Vaujours, Clichy-sous-Bois and Livry-Gargan, 5.126 km (3.185 mi) long.
• 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: Linas-Montlhéry
• 1951: Saint-Germain-en-Laye
• 1952–1960: Linas-Montlhéry
• 1961–1968: No race
• 1969–1970: Linas-Montlhéry
• 1971–1977: Le Mans
• 1978–1999: Paul Ricard
• 2000–2014: Magny-Cours
• 2015–2019, 2021–present: Paul Ricard

The race is part of the Endurance FIM World Championship. The 2016 edition was the 80th edition of the race.

The race is accompanied by a motorcycle rally, carnival and other motorcycle related events.

Results

	Rider 1	Rider 2	Rider 3	Manufacturer
1922	Tony Zind	-	-	Motosacoche
1923	Tony Zind	-	-	Motosacoche
1924	René Francisquet	-	-	Sunbeam
1925	René Francisquet	-	-	Sunbeam
1926	Damitio	-	-	Sunbeam
1927	Lempereur	-	-	FN Herstal
1928	Victor Vroonen	-	-	Gillet Herstal
1929	Victor Vroonen	-	-	Gillet Herstal
1930	Paul Debaisieux	-	-	Monet-Goyon
1931	Patural	-	-	Velocette
1932	Louis Jeannin	-	-	Jonghi
1933	René Boura	-	-	Velocette
1934	Willing	-	-	Velocette
1935	René Boura	-	-	Norton
1936	Edgar Craët	-	-	Gillet Herstal
1937	Tabart	-	-	Norton
1938	Robert Tinoco	-	-	Harley-Davidson
1939	Edouard Hordelalay	-	-	Motobécane
1940 - 1946: not held - World War II
1947	Gustave Lefèvre	-	-	Norton
1948	Jacques Lenglet	-	-	BMW
1949	Gustave Lefèvre	-	-	Norton
1950	Gustave Lefèvre	-	-	Norton
1951	Gustave Lefèvre	-	-	Norton Manx
1952	Pierre Collignon	-	-	Moto Guzzi
1953	Gustave Lefèvre	-	-	Norton
1954	Johann Weingartmann	Helmut Volzwinkler	-	Puch
1955	Oldrich Hameršmid	Saša Klimt	-	Jawa
1956	Gustave Lefèvre	Georges Briand	-	Norton
1957	Gustave Lefèvre	Georges Briand	-	Norton
1958	Inizan	Mutel	-	Triumph Engineering
1959	Jean-Claude Bargetzi	Georges Briand	-	Norton
1960	René Maucherat	René Vasseur	-	BMW
1961 - 1968: Not held
1969	Michel Rougerie	Daniel Urdich		Honda
1970	Tom Dickie	Paul Smart	-	Triumph Trident
1971	Percy Tait	Ray Pickrell	-	Triumph Engineering
1972	Gérard Debrock	Roger Ruiz	-	Honda
1973	Gérard Debrock	Thierry Tchernine	-	Honda
1974	Alain Genoud	Georges Godier	-	Kawasaki
1975	Alain Genoud	Georges Godier	-	Kawasaki
1976	Alex George	Jean-Claude Chemarin	-	Honda
1977	Christian Léon	Jean-Claude Chemarin	-	Honda
1978	Christian Léon	Jean-Claude Chemarin	-	Honda
1979	Christian Léon	Jean-Claude Chemarin	-	Honda
1980	Pierre-Étienne Samin	Frank Gross	-	Suzuki
1981	Dominique Sarron	Jean-Claude Jaubert	-	Honda
1982	Jean Lafond	Hervé Guilleux	Patrick Igoa	Kawasaki
1983	Dominique Sarron	Raymond Roche	Guy Bertin	Honda
1984	Jean-Pierre Oudin	Patrick de Radiguès	-	Suzuki
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 Morrison	Jéhan D'Orgeix	Kawasaki
1998	Terry Rymer	Brian Morrison	Peter Goddard	Suzuki
1999	Terry Rymer	Jéhan D'Orgeix	Christian Lavieille	Suzuki
2000	Jean-Marc Deletang	Fabien Foret	Mark Willis	Yamaha
2001	Brian Morrison	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
2010	Vincent Philippe	Guillaume Dietrich	Freddy Foray	Suzuki
2011	Vincent Philippe	Freddy Foray	Anthony Delhalle	Suzuki
2012	Julien Da Costa	Gregory Leblanc	Olivier Four	Kawasaki
2013	Jeremy Guarnoni	Gregory Leblanc	Loris Baz	Kawasaki
2014	Gregory Leblanc	Matthieu Lagrive	Nicolas Salchaud	Kawasaki
2015	Gregory Leblanc	Matthieu Lagrive	Fabien Foret	Kawasaki SRC
2016	Anthony Delhalle	Vincent Philippe	Étienne Masson	Suzuki
2017	David Checa	Niccolò Canepa	Mike Di Meglio	Yamaha
2018	Freddy Foray	Josh Hook	Mike Di Meglio	Honda
2019	Vincent Philippe	Étienne Masson	Gregg Black	Suzuki
2020: not held - COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Gregg Black	Xavier Simeon	Sylvain Guintoli	Suzuki
2022	Florian Alt	Erwan Nigon	Steven Odendaal	Yamaha
2023	Gregg Black	Sylvain Guintoli	Etienne Masson	Suzuki
2024	Gregg Black	Dan Linfoot	Etienne Masson	Suzuki

Manufacturer	No. of Wins	Wins
Suzuki	20	1980, 1984, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
Honda	17	1969, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2018
Kawasaki	11	1974, 1975, 1982, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Norton	9	1935, 1937, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1959
Yamaha	5	1994, 2000, 2007, 2017, 2022
Gillet Herstal	4	1927, 1928, 1929, 1936
Triumph	3	1958, 1970, 1971
Velocette	3	1931, 1933, 1934
Sunbeam	3	1924, 1925, 1926
Motosacoche	2	1922, 1923
BMW	2	1948, 1960
Harley-Davidson	1	1938
Monet-Goyon	1	1930
Motobecane	1	1939
Moto Guzzi	1	1952
Jawa	1	1955
Puch	1	1954
Jonghi	1	1932

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.

External links

• Bol d’Or official website (in French).

References

1. Eugene Mauve was the president of a French Club, Association motocyclecariste de France, but also a driver. After, Maurice Vimont managed the race for motorcycles : Marcel Delaherche and Luc Melua were technical marshals. Today, if the AMCF Club is always existing, Larivière Editions leads the manifestation.
2. "Bol d'Or site". Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
3. The winners of Bol d’Or.
4. Bonham's

46°51′48″N 3°09′57″E