The #37 BMW Motorrad team took control of the 2026 Bol d’Or opening hour at Le Castellet, while YART Yamaha mounted a rapid fightback following a dramatic lights-out delay in the EWC finale.
While the pole-sitting #37 BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team made a solid start with Michael van der Mark at the wheel, it was Gregg Black with the #12 Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki that snatched the early lead into Turn 1.
Further back, the #1 YART Yamaha suffered a nightmarish getaway, dropping from seventh on the grid down to 16th as the lights went out.
However, the defending champions launched a rapid fightback, slicing through the field to recover to fourth position within the first 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, the #12 SERT machine gradually slipped back to fifth after its early charge.
After the opening hour, #37 BMW thus leads ahead of AutoRace Ube Racing Team’s BMW #76 and F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Honda #5. With 23 hours remaining, the race remains wide open and anything can happen on the Circuit Paul Ricard.
In the Superstock class, the opening minutes brought instant championship drama. Key title contenders Aprilia #49 Revo-M2 and the BMW #25 Team Étoile collided early on, putting both bikes under immediate pressure, though no DNF has happened.
Fortunately, both machines were able to rejoin, leaving the entire grid intact with no DNFs overall in the first hour of the 2026 Bol d’Or.
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