KEVIN MANFREDI JUST MISSED THE PODIUM AT THE 2026 24 HOURS OF LE MANS

The 2026 World Endurance Championship season kicked off at the Bugatti Circuit with the 49th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

After last year's podium, Kevin Manfredi and the Rac41 Dafy Kaedear Honda team returned to the Sarthe track to confirm their position at the top of the Superstock category.

From the first practice sessions, the La Spezia native demonstrated exceptional speed aboard his No. 41 Honda CBR1000, being the team's fastest and achieving a third and second place in the two qualifying sessions.

These results allowed the team to start from fifth on the grid, earning its first championship points.

Precisely because of his performance, professionalism, and team spirit, Team Manager Julien Diguet wanted to reward Manfredi by entrusting him with the most difficult task: starting the race.

Aiming to stay close to the BMWs that dominated qualifying, Kevin got off to a perfect start, leading an incredible opening stint that put the Honda 41 in the Superstock lead at the end of the first hour, also posting the second-fastest lap of the race in the category.

The dominance continued in the following stints, with Manfredi consistently in the top three. At the stroke of the eighth hour, a decisive overtake secured the Rac41 team provisional second place and additional points for the world championship.

However, after more than 13 hours of racing as protagonists, bad luck struck in the form of a fuel pump failure.

As happened in 2025, Kevin didn't give up and pushed the bike to the pits on foot; the mechanics replaced the fuel tank, allowing the team to restart, albeit from seventh place.

During the night, a second turn of events due to a teammate's crash further dropped the team to ninth place. Once back in the saddle, Manfredi set an extraordinary pace, comparable to that of the leaders, leading the team on a frenetic comeback. Thanks to impeccable riding and the work of his teammates, the team climbed to fourth place in Superstock, finishing just two laps shy of the podium after recovering five. This feat earned them third place in the championship, tied with their rivals from TRT27.

Kevin: "Once again, the 24 Hours of Le Mans was unique. It's always a race that gives so much and takes so much away in the space of a few seconds. Nothing can ever be taken for granted, especially when the conditions are as difficult as those at Le Mans, where temperatures go from 20°C at the start to the cold and damp of the night, where your fingers freeze and the front seems to give way at every corner.

I'm satisfied with the great work done with the Team, Andreani Group, and Honda. We improved our qualifying lap by over a second compared to 2025 and our race pace by about 1.5 seconds.

During my stints, I felt good, strong, and confident. This allowed me to ride with ease, have fun, and lead the team for several hours.

We leave Le Mans with a significant haul of points. We know full well that finishing a race like this is already a feat, and even after some misfortunes, we still managed to finish just off the podium. "Morale is in high spirits ahead of the next round at Spa-Francorchamps, where we'll be competing in the 8 Hours."

For Kevin, however, there's no time to rest: this week he'll be back on track at the Misano World Circuit for his debut in the Italian Superbike Championship, where he'll make his debut aboard Team Atomico's Ducati V4.

Kevin thanks all the sponsors and technical partners for the 2026 season.