The penultimate round of the 2011 Endurance World Championship got underway today with the Honda TT Legends securing 12th place on the provisional grid for this weekend’s Le Mans 24-hour race.

Following a two-hour free practice this morning, John McGuinness, Keith Amor and Cameron Donald did one 30-minute stint each in the first qualifying session this afternoon. They took to the legendary French circuit along with 62 other teams, all competing to conquer the famous event. Donald was the quickest rider for the Honda TT Legends with a personal best lap time of 1:39.553.

In accordance with EWC rules, the combined average time of the three riders determines the provisional starting line-up. The final positions will be decided by the second and final qualifying session tomorrow. The Honda TT Legends will now take part in this evening’s night practice, which runs from 21.00-22.15.

John McGuinness

It’s tough out there. There are a lot of riders and everyone is pushing really hard. There are a lot of us doing similar speeds so when you look at the timesheets it can look disappointing when actually we are very consistent so I think we’ll be ok for the race. It’s a war not a battle and you’ve got to be there at the end. We’ll try a few different things on the bike and hopefully we’ll make a step forward tomorrow.

Keith Amor

I struggled a little bit to be honest. There was a lot of traffic out there and we had a few small issues but nothing we can’t sort out. There are some things to work on to see which direction we’re going to go in. Let’s wait and see what happens tomorrow.

Cameron Donald

I’m happy with that, I set my personal best for Le Mans which is fantastic and shows that the boys are making headway with the bike. Every time I go out we are changing something and moving forward so it’s exciting. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.


The 24-hour race will run from 3pm (Central European Summer Time) on Saturday 24 September until 3pm (CEST) on Sunday 25 September.

For live timing please visit www.lemans.org The race will also be shown live on Motors TV.

.