The 2013 FIM Endurance World Championship will draw to a close this weekend with one final epic battle – the ‘24 Heures Moto’ at Le Mans – and after a testing season, the Honda TT Legends team is determined to end the year on a high.

A four-strong squad of John McGuinness, Michael Rutter, Simon Andrews and Michael Dunlop are all in attendance at the French circuit, with the three-man race line-up due to be decided post-qualifying.

This will be McGuinness’s third time at the legendary race with the Honda TT Legends, so the 20-times Isle of Man TT winner is more than familiar with the 4.185km circuit. Andrews has tested at the track twice in the past but never competed in the race, while Rutter and Dunlop will be making their Le Mans debut.

The team will take part in two two-hour testing sessions today, giving all four riders a chance to get to grips with the circuit ahead of qualifying on Thursday and Friday and the 24-hour race itself, which will begin at 3pm CET on Saturday 21 September.

John McGuinness

There’s no denying that it’s been a tough season for us, but the aim this week is to put all that behind us and move on to end the year with a good result. At this stage last year we were in a great position, second in the standings and we had it all to play for. We’re no worse a team this year, in fact if anything we’re stronger, so there’s no reason why we can’t pull a result out of the bag. There’s a really positive feeling in the team and we’ll be pushing as hard as we can to make that happen.

Michael Rutter

I actually ended up doing the Bol d’Or 24-hour with National Motos after being drafted in at the last minute and despite all my nerves about it I actually really enjoyed it, so I’m looking forward to the race here at Le Mans. I’ve not ridden here before but we’ve got today and tomorrow to get familiarised before we get into qualifying. There’s a positive feeling in the team and we all just want to bring home a good result to end the year well.


Simon Andrews

It’s great to be back with the team and I’m really looking forward to the weekend. We obviously haven’t done a 24-hour race since the Bol d’Or so I’m definitely feeling a little nervous, but I just want to enjoy the experience and enjoy the race. I really like the circuit and we’ve got a good amount of track time before the race so overall we’re feeling pretty positive.

Michael Dunlop

The Bol d’Or was my first experience of endurance racing and it showed me how much effort goes into it from the whole team. The guys have had a rough season so we'll push hard to bring home a good result at this race. I’ll get my head down, do what I do and see where we end up.

Le Mans 24-hour schedule

Thursday 19 September

12.30 – 14.30 Free practice
17.00 – 17.20 First qualifying rider 1
17.30 – 17.50 First qualifying rider 2
18.00 – 18.20 First qualifying rider 3
18.30 – 18.50 First qualifying rider 4


Friday 20 September

11.20 – 11.40 Second qualifying rider 1
11.50 – 12.10 Second qualifying rider 2
12.20 – 12.40 Second qualifying rider 3
12.50 – 13.10 Second qualifying rider 4
18.45 – 20.00 Pit walk


Saturday 21 September

10.30 – 11.15 Warm up
15.00 Race start


Sunday 22 September

15.00 Race ends

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