Yamaha stalwart retires - but without the dream ending
Fairytale finish denied to a unique career in motorcycle racing
Niccolo Canepa retired on Sunday at the conclusion of the Endurance World Championship - but without winning the title.
Yamaha were beaten by the Suzuki-powered Yoshimura team in the FIM Endurance World Championship finale at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
It meant Canepa was denied a fairytale finish to his unique career.
His Yamaha YART team were restricted to P3.
Canepa announced that he would bring his career to an end after the Bol d’Or in France, which would decide the 2024 EWC championship.
The Italian rider has featured in MotoGP, WorldSBK, Moto2, WorldSSP, and MotoE over a 20-year career.
But he found his true calling with endurance racing where he has won all three of the major events - Spa, Le Mans, and the Bol d’Or.
But despite winning last year’s EWC championship, his effort to become a back-to-back champion was thwarted.
“This was my last stint in the EWC,” Canepa said.
“It has been a nice journey but unfortunately we didn’t end the race like we wanted.
“It’s emotional to be here with my teammates and my family here, as well.
“We shared a lot of amazing moments and a lot of bad moments.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
