News 24 Hours of Barcelona - Marc Chevallier takes us through the race.

This weekend, at the Circuit de Catalunya north of Barcelona, the 24 Hours of Barcelona will take place—a team from Haute-Savoie will take the starting grid this Saturday at 12 p.m., with the unique distinction of being driven entirely by women.

The riders are Gaëlle and Natacha Remy, Murielle Simorre, and Julie Bernard, who hail from Isère and the two Savoie departments. Their motorcycle, a Kawasaki ZX10R, will bear the number 100.

First, we’re setting up…

Tuesday was devoted to setting up the pit and conducting a thorough inspection of both the race bike and the spare bike, all while Canadair water bombers flew overhead, fighting relentlessly against the wildfire raging just a stone’s throw from the circuit.

On Wednesday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., a free practice session took place, allowing the team to fine-tune the bike’s final settings but, above all, to help the girls get a feel for the extreme temperatures on the track. With the track surface made slippery by dust from the nearby fire, no lap times are being targeted for now.

No crashes, no mechanical issues, and valuable technical data gathered—the Team Thuy manager is more than satisfied with the day.
The scheduled 20-minute runs per rider allowed them to gauge the effort required for a one-hour race stint. It’s worth noting that the city of Barcelona has just announced the highest temperature ever recorded in the Catalan region.

In terms of performance, the No. 100 bike followed the instructions to not push too hard and not go for a “pendulum”—as they say in racing lingo. However, the average lap time was around 1:57—a far cry from Acosta’s 1:37 in MotoGP.

But how can we compare machines worth several million euros to the average person’s motorcycle? How can we compare an army of engineers to a handful of amateurs? how can you compare highly trained riders who cover thousands of kilometers a year on all kinds of two-wheelers to amateur riders who were still at their day jobs just two days ago and who are using a few days of their vacation time to come practice their favorite sports?

Then came the technical inspections

The first half-day on Thursday at the Circuit de Catalunya was devoted to various technical inspections.
First, the riders’ gear: helmet, racing suit, undersuit, airbag, gloves, and back protector. Then it was the bikes’ turn to go through the gauges for weight, noise, various mountings, category-specific regulatory modifications, lighting, brakes, etc. The technical commissioners are uncompromising; absolutely everything must meet the standards.
The pits—but especially the quick-fill towers used during pit stops—as well as the fire-resistant gear worn by the fuel attendant will be inspected with equal thoroughness on Friday, just before the first official practice sessions.

A human adventure to follow closely, under the sweltering heat of the Iberian Peninsula.
To learn more about the Thuy Racing #100 team, follow their updates on their Facebook and Instagram pages