Niccolo Canepa retired on Sunday ﷽at the conclꦫusion of the Endurance World Championship - but without winning the title.

Yamaha were beꦬaten by the Suzuki-powered Yoshimura team in the FIM En🌠durance World Championship finale at the Circuit Paul Ricard.

It me💛ant 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 champion🎐ship.

The Italian rider has f🐓eatured in MotoGP, WorldSBK, Moto2, WorldSSP, and MotoE over a 20-year care𝓡er.

But he found his true calling with endurance racing where he has won all three of the major events - Spa, Le Mans, an🌼d the Bol d’Or.

Bu♈t despite 𓄧winning 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 un💧fortunately we didn’t end the race like we wa🧜nted.

“It’s emotional to be here with my teammateꦯs aღnd my family here, as well.

“We shared a lot of amazing moments💟 and a lot of bad moments.”