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.
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.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.
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.The winners of Bol d’Or. 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.
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.Bonham's
Circuits 1922: clay track located in Vaujours, Clichy-sous-Bois and Livry-Gargan, 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 - - 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 - - Motobécane1940 - 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 - BMW1961 - 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 BlackSuzuki2020: 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 Suzuki2024 Gregg Black Dan Linfoot Etienne MassonSuzuki2025 Gregg Black Dan Linfoot Etienne MassonSuzuki2026 Markus Reiterberger Steven Odendaal Michael van der MarkBMW ManufacturerNo. of WinsWins Suzuki211980, 1984, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 Honda171969, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2018 Kawasaki111974, 1975, 1982, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Norton91935, 1937, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1959 Yamaha51994, 2000, 2007, 2017, 2022 Gillet Herstal41927, 1928, 1929, 1936 Triumph31958, 1970, 1971 Velocette31931, 1933, 1934 Sunbeam31924, 1925, 1926 BMW31948, 1960, 2026 Motosacoche21922, 1923 Harley-Davidson11938 Monet-Goyon11930 Motobecane11939 Moto Guzzi11952 Jawa11955 Puch11954 Jonghi11932
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 .
References