Matthieu Lagrive, rider designed by Honda France for the Superpole contest, broke once again his own lap record by covering the 4 185 meters of the Bugatti race track at Le Mans in 1’37.304. The Honda France will then start from pole position the 24 Hours of Le Mans, first round of the 2009 Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship tomorrow at 3 pm. The official Honda leads the Yamaha France GMT 94, which took the second place on the starting grid with Sébastien Gimbert in 1’37.462 and the Honda Michelin Power Research Team, third with Hugo Marchand in 1’37.468. Another rider below the 1’38 bar is Julien Da Costa. On the GSR Kawasaki, he did his hot lap in 1’37.708. The GSR Kawasaki is ahead the Yamaha Austria Racing Team, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team and the Kawasaki Bolliger Switzerland on the starting grid. The Yamaha Loïc Moto Racing is also very fast and takes seventh place with Patrick Piot in 1’39.184. This Superstock bike is ahead of Honda National Motos. On the Suzuki RT Racing Team, Ludovic Chèvre missed his Superpole as he nearly crashed. Knowing that he was the first ever rider to start the Superpole contest in Endurance will help him to feel better. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Reigning World Endurance Champions Suzuki Endurance Racing Team will start tomorrow’s opening round of the 2009 series at Le Mans in France in sixth position following today’s Superpole Qualification. Team riders Vincent Philippe, Guillaume Dietrich and new team member Barry Veneman shaved 300ths-of-a-second from their previous qualifying time on the SERT GSX-R1000 to finish with Philippe’s best time of 1:38.222. The fastest rider today was former SERT team member Mathieu Lagrive, riding for Honda France, with a pole-setting time of 1:37.304. Tomorrow’s 24-hour race starts at 3pm local time. Superpole Results: 1st: Honda France – EWC – Lagrive: 1:37.304 2nd: Yamaha France GMT94 – EWC – Gimbert: 1:37.462 3rd: Michelin Power Research – EWC – Marchand: 1:37.468 4th: Team GSR Kawasaki – EWC – Da Costa: 1:37.708 5th: Yamaha Austria Rt – EWC – Giabbani: 1:38.036 6th: Suzuki Endurance RT – EWC – Philippe: 1:38.222 7th: Bolliger Team – EWC – Muff: 1:38.958 8th: LMR Racing – STK – Piot: 1:39.060 9th: National Motos – EWC – Four: 1:39.184 10th: RT Racing Team – EWC – Chevre: 1:43.230 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Team Bolliger 20 Years on Kawasaki bikes in Endurance Racing Bolliger Team Switzerland reaches a milestone in their endurance racing career this weekend. The upcoming 24 hour race in Le Mans marks the team’s 20th year of World Endurance Championship racing. The legendary privateer team from Switzerland will have a milestone to celebrate during this weekend’s Le Mans 24 hour endurance race. The race, taking place on the 18th and 19th of April, marks 20 years of commitment of the team to endurance racing on Kawasaki motorcycles. The legendary privateer team has been competing on the highest level of endurance racing since 1989, and they have used many generations of only Kawasaki motorcycles to pile up their impressive achievements. The first World Endurance Championship race of the Bolliger team on a Kawasaki was the 1989 Le Mans 24 hour race. At that time the Kawasaki superbike ZXR750 was used. Until now, the team participated in the World Endurance Championship on 8 different Kawasaki models: 1989-1990: ZX750H 1991-1992: ZX750K 1993-1995: ZX750M 1996-2001: ZX750N 2002-2003: ZX900F 2004-2005: ZX1000C 2006-2007: ZX1000D 2008-2009: ZX1000E Team Manager Hanspeter Bolliger started his racing career on a Kawasaki H1, in 1975. Being more and more attracted to the concept of endurance racing, Bolliger entered his first endurance race in 1982. As the years passed by, the team became increasingly professional and focused, but never losing the personal touch and friendlyness that marks the sympathetic Swiss crew. The team is famous for its fast pit stops and they are one of the most successful private teams in the paddock, passing the chequered flag in the top ten most of the time. The biggest succes to date was the 2005 campaign, when the Bolliger team finished the World Endurance Championship in 2nd position, on a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R.