The Yamalube YART Yamama EWC Official Team of Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika, and Jason O’Halloran were crowned the 2025 FIM Endurance World Champions as they finished second at the title-deciding Bol d’Or in one of the most dramatic climaxes to a championship ever, securing the title by just one point after a sensational three-way battle, and in the process also ensured that Yamaha lifted the FIM Endurance World Championship for Manufacturers for the second year in a row.
YART arrived in France for the 88th edition of the legendary endurance race, leading the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) standings by one point from the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team (BMW). The Austrian squad qualified in fourth to secure another three points, but they conceded a point to BMW, who qualified in second, meaning they would start the race level on points in what would prove to be a thrilling EWC season finale.

Fritz took the first stint at Circuit Paul Ricard, and after a good start, settled into a superb rhythm. He handed over to Hanika in fourth, but it did not take long for the Czech rider to close the gap and get involved in a magnificent battle for third with BMW. O’Halloran took over, and the team continued to push, knowing every second counted. After two hours, they were third and had opened up a gap over BMW of over 40 seconds.

As the race progressed, YART started to fall back into the clutches of their rivals, and at the front, the Yoshimura SERT Motul team (SERT) were also bringing themselves into title contention. Showcasing just how close the racing was, Fritz and Hanika enjoyed some superb on-track battles, with less than half a second separating the YART and BMW teams at the 7-hour mark.
Unfortunately, an issue with a loose fairing saw YART have to spend extra time during three pit stops to try and fix it, conceding over a minute. This saw them drop back to fourth, but they never gave up. Hanika and Fritz went back-to-back for a few stints during the night, as their pace was slightly quicker than their teammate O’Halloran, due to the fact that the Australian had never ridden at the track before the Private Practice sessions on Tuesday.

At the eight-hour mark, YART were third, securing another eight points, but once again, they conceded a point to BMW, and two to SERT. It was the same result at the 16-hour mark, with the race turning into an enthralling three-way battle for the title, although YART knew they just needed to finish in second, ahead of BMW, even if SERT won, to be crowned champions.
YART kept pushing, showcasing their famous “never give up” attitude, and all three riders, despite suffering from a severe stomach bug, continued to push as hard as they could. As dawn broke on Sunday, Hanika was so sick that O’Halloran and Fritz went back-to-back for three hours to let him recover, with the trio showing remarkable fortitude to battle through the pain barrier.

As the hours ticked down, despite their best efforts, it looked like YART would have to settle for third in the race and second in the championship, but with the glorious sunshine at Circuit Paul Ricard replaced by threatening storm clouds on Sunday, adding an element of uncertainty to the mix. Then, with just 30 minutes to go in the race, the whole championship was thrown on its head.
In a dramatic turn of events, BMW suffered an engine failure, meaning that YART inherited second place, and were now heading the overall standings, but only by one point from race leaders SERT. Hanika handed over to O’Halloran for the final stint with just 20 minutes on the clock, two laps down on SERT, knowing they effectively just had to finish the race to be crowned champions, but just as he headed out, rain started to fall, adding to the pressure as they also knew that one mistake could cost them the title.
As the final seconds ticked down, the team watched on nervously from the garage, but the nerves turned to joy as O’Halloran brought the Bridgestone-shod R1 home in second after completing 725 laps to spark wild celebrations and deliver YART their third EWC title by the closest points margin in history, to add to their trophies from 2009 and 2023.

It also meant that Fritz, who had extra reason to celebrate after getting married a week before the race, and Hanika became double EWC champions, while O’Halloran secured his first title in his debut season with YART. Fuelling the celebrations even further was the fact that YART’s efforts also meant that Yamaha had claimed back-to-back FIM Endurance World Championships for Manufacturers.
It was an unfortunate race for the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/KM99 of Florian Marino, Alessandro Delbianco, and Jérémy Guarnoni, who were looking to secure back-to-back podiums at the Bol d’Or, and they were on course for a top-six finish after a strong start before unfortunately being forced to retire due to a technical issue.
In the FIM Endurance World Cup, Team 18 Pompiers Igol CMS Motorstore produced an incredible performance to finish in sixth overall and fourth in class, and there was more success for Yamaha in the FIM Endurance World Trophy as Team Moto Ain secured the class victory. However, the championship leaders, Team Supermoto Racing, unfortunately missed out on the title after having to retire from the race, but still finished in second, meaning Yamaha also won the FIM Endurance World Trophy for Manufacturers.