After almost 21 hours and over 600 laps, the Honda Racing team and its trio of French riders, Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray and Sebastien Gimbert, were forced to retire from the Bol d’Or 24-hour today following a mechanical problem in the closing stages. However, in accordance with new regulations, the team leaves the opening round of the 2014 Endurance World Championship with 19 points under its belt. An eventful start to the race in wet conditions caused problems for many teams early on, however Honda Racing held steady in the top three well into the night, alongside 13-time EWC champions SERT and Team Yamaha GMT94. Following a crash for Da Costa aboard the Fireblade SP just before midnight, the crew were able to repair the minor damage and return the bike to the track – in third place – within minutes. In the early hours of Sunday morning, SERT crashed out of the lead and subsequently withdrew from the race. The Honda Racing team had made up significant time on then-second place contender Kawasaki SRC and was able to secure the top spot, leading the race for the next seven hours and establishing a five-lap margin. Unfortunately, with just three hours remaining and Gimbert on his penultimate stint, the gearbox sprocket on the bike broke causing irreparable engine damage and Honda Racing was forced to retire from the race. Despite the disappointment, the team leaves France having proven its race-leading capability and with 19 valuable championship points to its name - nine and ten points earned for placing second and first respectively at the eight and sixteen-hour intervals. The full standings will be available on completion of the race at 15.00 CEST. The EWC will resume with the legendary Suzuka 8-hour race in Japan in July.