Dramatic finale for the BMW factory team at the FIM EWC Le Castellet season closer.

• Just 28 minutes separate BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team from a potential world championship title.

• BMW factory team finishes the season third in the championship standings.

Le Castellet. At the Bol d’Or at Le Castellet, BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team experienced just how tough and dramatic endurance racing can be. At the 2025 season finale of the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC), the team was only 28 minutes away from securing what would have been BMW’s historic first title in the series. Running second in the race, Markus Reiterberger (GER), Sylvain Guintoli (FRA), and Steven Odendaal (RSA) were on course for the world championship crown with the #37 BMW M 1000 RR. But after 23.5 of the 24 hours, a technical issue forced the bike into the pits and out of the race. That left the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team third in the final championship standings.

The final 24-hour race could hardly have been more thrilling. Starting from second place on the grid, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team went into the marathon tied on points with YART (Yamaha). After the first set of world championship points was awarded at the eight-hour mark, the BMW factory team moved into the lead and kept it with more points after 16 hours. The #37 machine remained on course for the title until less than half an hour from the checkered flag when retirement struck.

Markus Reiterberger, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “We managed to be fighting for the title in the final race. We did everything we could to make it happen. We were well on our way, matched on points with YART in qualifying, and by the eight-hour mark of the race we had already built up a points lead. That put us first in the world championship standings. We were then leading the standings. Second place in the race would have been enough for us to secure the title. We just wanted to bring it home – and then, so close to the end, the unthinkable happened. And yes, it just feels like a bad dream. I don’t think you can have worse luck than that. Honestly, I don’t even know what to say. But I am grateful to the whole team and everyone involved, because everyone gave their maximum. No one deserved an outcome like this. Above all, it was hard to stand on the podium afterwards. I think it will take some time before one can really come to terms with something like this.”