24 Hours of Catalunya July 5 and 6, 2008 Suzuki Catalá Wins 24 Hours of Catalunya for Fourth Time in Eight Years Suzuka Catalá seemed headed for an historic 1-2 in the 24 Hours of Catalunya, Spain´s most prestigious endurance race, but a crash put the Catala 1 bike out when holding a commanding lead at the end of the 18th hour. The other two top contenders, Floreal Ducati and Folch Yamaha had both expired earlier, the Ducati suffering a broken gearbox and the Folch machine sidelined due to crash damage. When Diego Lozano, only on his third flying lap after starting his sixth stint, crashed that left the Catalá 2 bike to take over the lead, eventually bringing the team its fourth victory in eight races on the full Grand Prix course. The win went to Javier Oliver, Quique Hernandez, Felipe Lopez Cordoba and Australian Martin Port with an advantage of 12 laps. Diego Lozano, who shared the number 1 Catala Suziuki with Kenny Noyes, David Bonache and Adrian Bonastre, suspects some kind of brake failure and TV footage of the crash supports this. Kenny Noyes, riding just eight days after compartment syndrome surgery, has finished second and third in the 24 Hours but was deprived of victory in the Barcelona marathon for the second time. In 2005 he was leading by four laps in the 20th hour when he hit an oil patch left by a blown engine and this year his teammate´s crash took place in the 19th hour. Earlier this year Noyes and Bernat Martinez finished second the Spanish round of World Endurance in Albacete. “We have won endurance nationals but I can´t seem to win here in Catalunya. The important thing is that the arm felt strong all the way and I´m ready for the next Spanish Championship Formula Extreme round in Albacete. This would have been a great 1-2 for Catalá, but Endurance is tough, especially these 24 Hours races. Final results 1. Oliver/Hernandez/Cordoba/Port Suzuki Catalá GSX-R 1000 720 laps 2. Casas/Cabana/Gomez/Olmos Bruno Performance Suzuki GSX-R 1000 708 laps 3. Cuzin/Gilles/Fastre T.E. 33 Yamaha YZR-R1 1000 702 laps 4. Garcia/Graciano/Marchan/Torras Mossos d´Esquadra Yamaha YZR-R1 700 laps 5. Busquets/Busquets/Lindner/Nion HP2 Sports BMW 1170 696 laps Starters: 57 Finishers: 35