Last weekend at the Paul Ricard Circuit in Le Castellet, the 24 Hours of Bol d’Or was staged, the final race of the 2022 World Endurance World Championship, which celebrated 100 years of history precisely with this event.
At the start of the 2022 edition we also found our Kevin Manfredi who, after his absence in 2021 due to concurrent commitments in the European Supersport Championship, returned to the French Circuit with the Wojcik Racing Team 777 to assault the SuperStock World Title.
An incredible week that just ended which saw Kevin, as stated several times also by Eurosport commentators, once again being the fastest SuperStock rider on the track for years and the only one to worry the official Superbike teams.
The Spezzino recorded in qualifying the new record of the Circuit in the Stock category in 1: 54: 672 and beat the previous record held by him by 1: 54: 820, leading the pursuers by more than 0.5 tenths of a second.
Thanks to Kevin's qualifying time added to that of his partner, the English Danny Webb, Team 777 managed to get the second Pole Position of the season after the first obtained at the 24 Hours of SPA, the ninth Pole Position of the Superstock class for Lo Spezzino from 2017 to today.
Thanks to Kevin Manfredi and his teammates, the 777 also reached the top of the standings thanks to Kevin Manfredi and his teammates, but what impressed most in the same tests was the ease for Kevin to record fast times at each lap and in all conditions, this allowed the Team Manager Slawomir Kufel to once again entrust the start of the Saturday race to the Ligurian rider.
KEVIN: "After a perfect qualifying where we got the Pole Position and the circuit record, it was an honor for me to be in charge of the start again, it's a role that I love very much and that I have always felt mine.
At the start on Saturday I had the initial goal of being able to stay together with the EWC since the times of the previous days allowed it, so as to try to create an important gap on the category pursuers already in the first hour.
So it was, after completing 25 laps with a low 1.55 pace, 1.5 seconds faster than the second SuperStock in the race and finishing my first stint with Leon Haslam and Dan Linfoot, my advantage was over 30 seconds.
During the course of the race, together with my teammates, we continued to maintain the first position in the category and to fight for the 8th overall, until with the arrival of the evening a technical problem slowed us down and made us finish in 6th place in the category.
After this forced relegation, being the fastest driver, the Team asked me to perform double stints, this allowed us to reach 3rd place in the category in the morning, a few hours from the end.
However, I was not satisfied, my pace deserved the victory and I was determined to reach the top again, so I continued to push, finishing at 13:30 my 11th hour of the race out of 24 and bringing the 777 team back to second place in the category. .
Everything seemed perfect but just 15 minutes from the end, on my 12th entrance ... bad luck arrived!
On the long straight of the Mistral, I lost grip on the platform and smelled of oil, when I looked down I felt like crying, the engine oil filter had burst and with it our incredible race and our sweaty podium was gradually fading. "
After 23h and 45 minutes, the Wojcik racing team 777 saw the Spezzino come running into the Pit Lane with the pushed bike, despite the enormous problem that had arisen Kevin absolutely did not want to resign himself and abandon the race, but at least be able to conclude this exhausting 24h in any case.
This gave the right motivation to the whole team and to the mechanics who immediately fixed the bike with tears in their eyes, allowing Kevin to finish the race with the 10th place in the category.
A great defeat for the whole Team, not being able to make the podium after a weekend always in the lead and after a great comeback in the night that showed even more the tenacity and speed of the 777 guys, but there is also the taste of victory. in being able to cross the finish line of the 24 Hours.
Kevin after the Bol D'or will have three weeks to better prepare for the final round of the Italian Speed Championship in Imola and prepare all the new 2023 sports programs.
Kevin thanks all the sponsors and technical partners of the 2022 season.
Comments