Bol d'Or 2026 - Hour 1 : #37 BMW leads early as #1 YART Yamaha recovers from slow start

BMW took early control of the 2026 Bol d’Or at Le Castellet during the opening hour, with the #37 BMW Motorrad team leading while YART Yamaha staged a rapid recovery after a problematic lights-out start. Early on, Gregg Black in the #12 Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki grabbed the lead into Turn 1, but the pole-sitting BMW steadied things with Michael van der Mark at the wheel. The #1 YART Yamaha dropped from seventh on the grid to 16th when the race began, then fought back to fourth within the first 30 minutes. The #12 Suzuki machine slipped to fifth as the hour passed. With 23 hours remaining and the Mistral Straight ahead, the race was still wide open. In Superstock, early drama saw Aprilia #49 Revo-M2 and BMW #25 Team Étoile collide but both rejoined, resulting in no DNFs in the first hour.