# Bol d'Or

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.
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. 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.

## Circuits

* 1922: clay track located in Vaujours, Clichy-sous-Bois and Livry-Gargan, 5.126 km (3.185 mi) 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 | - | - | Jonghi |
| 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 | - | - | Motobécane |
| 1940 - 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 | - | BMW |
| 1961 - 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 Black | Suzuki |
| 2020: 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 | Suzuki |
| 2024 | Gregg Black | Dan Linfoot | Etienne Masson | Suzuki |
| Manufacturer | No. of Wins | Wins |
| Suzuki | 20 | 1980, 1984, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 |
| Honda | 17 | 1969, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2018 |
| Kawasaki | 11 | 1974, 1975, 1982, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Norton | 9 | 1935, 1937, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1959 |
| Yamaha | 5 | 1994, 2000, 2007, 2017, 2022 |
| Gillet Herstal | 4 | 1927, 1928, 1929, 1936 |
| Triumph | 3 | 1958, 1970, 1971 |
| Velocette | 3 | 1931, 1933, 1934 |
| Sunbeam | 3 | 1924, 1925, 1926 |
| Motosacoche | 2 | 1922, 1923 |
| BMW | 2 | 1948, 1960 |
| Harley-Davidson | 1 | 1938 |
| Monet-Goyon | 1 | 1930 |
| Motobecane | 1 | 1939 |
| Moto Guzzi | 1 | 1952 |
| Jawa | 1 | 1955 |
| Puch | 1 | 1954 |
| Jonghi | 1 | 1932 |

## 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.