24 Heures Motos: Kawasaki Webike Trickstar Make Podium At Le Mans

Over the Easter weekend, the  Bugatti circuit hosted the 48th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the opening round of the 2025 FIM EWC championship.

The extremely tricky wet track conditions in the opening hours of the race resulted in a record number of crashes and an ever-changing classification.

Starting from 7th on the grid, Grégory Leblanc, co-record holder for victories with 5 wins at Le Mans, doubled his first stint and put the #11 Kawasaki Njnja ZX-10RR firmly in 3rd position thanks to a solid pace. Roman Ramos Alvaro, who rode a very good race gaining another position despite particularly tricky track conditions. For his first stint aboard the Kawasaki ZX-10RR, Mike Di Meglio started from 2nd position and, after a few cautious laps, also set a very good pace which enabled him and the team to take the lead of the race at dusk.

There followed a fierce battle for the lead with his pursuer for a few laps, before Spanish rider Roman Ramos Alvaro managed to get the better of him and extend his lead during the night.

The Kawasaki team achieved maximum bonus of 10 vital intermediate points at the 8-hour mark. The #11 Kawasaki avoided the pitfalls of the night and was up to 4 laps ahead of the second placed team in the early hours thanks to the combined efforts of the three riders. A further 10 points were earned as the team passed the 16-hour mark in the lead.

While the Kawasaki Webike Trickstar team bike was the only official machine without a crash since the start of the race, Mike Di Meglio sadly went down with three and a half hours to go. The crash, which was not serious, led to minor repairs which reduced the team’s lead to less than two minutes.

Towards the end of the race, the rain intensified, forcing most of the field to change tyres. Thanks to an intelligent strategy, Roman Ramos Alvaro put on rain tyres at the right moment, but another incident sidelined the team with just over an hour to go. The experience and commitment of the technical team enabled the repairs to be carried out in just four minutes. Mike Di Meglio returned to the track just one lap behind the leader.
The riders and the team did not relax their concentration until the chequered flag, which the #11 Kawasaki crossed under in 2nd position. With a total of 53 points from qualifying and the race, the Kawasaki Webike Trickstar team is now placed second in the provisional world championship standings.

The players in the championship will meet again on June 7 for the 8 Hours of Spa (Belgium), the second round of the 2025 FIM EWC season.

Roman Ramos Alvaro – rider
“If someone had told me before arriving at Le Mans that I would finish on the podium in a race like this, I would have signed up straight away! Honestly, I’m happy, even if our performance over most of the race left us hoping for even better.”

Mike Di Meglio – rider
“It’s a cruel result because I think we did a very good job. We set a good pace. With all the tricky conditions we had, we managed to stay on our wheels. I got caught out in the early morning probably because the temperature rose and we continued on the soft tyres. Fortunately, the bike was OK but we lost a bit of time. We did a great job to try and hold on to first place. It’s good for the team to start the championship by taking the points for the lead at 8 and 16 hours of racing, plus the points for second place.”

Grégory Leblanc – rider
“It was my 15th time at Le Mans and the tenth year I’ve ridden this #11 bike. We rode a perfect race as I was coming back from far after my injury at Suzuka last year. To come back and win this legendary race for the sixth time and take the record for victories would, I think, have been the right moment to retire. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. The bike, the tyres, everything worked well. We were one of the only teams that didn’t crash and we got caught out. And as Roman said, if anyone had told me beforehand that we’d have this podium, we’d have signed up straight away. But after that race, we’re disappointed. Now, for the championship it’s good, we’ve scored some big points, it’s great to see Kawasaki back in front. And of course, it’s only the first race of the season.”

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