Yamaha Prepare for Title Fight at Le Mans World Endurance 2012 Finale This weekend will see a number of Yamaha YZF-R1 entrants competing in the final round of the 2012 World Endurance Championship, the Le Mans 24HR in France on the 8th and 9th September. The legendary Le Mans race is arguably the toughest challenge for bike and rider and provides the ultimate test with drastically changing riding conditions throughout daylight and night time hours. Machine reliability and incredible rider focus are essential to deal with the unexpected and mount a podium challenge. The Yamaha France GMT 94 Yamalube Michelin Team arrive in Le Mans having scored two successive podiums in Oschersleben and Suzuka and sitting fourth in the Championship standings with 74 points, 21 from the lead. A win in Le Mans would make a title victory a possibility. Riders David Checa and Kenny Foray will be re-joined by team member Matthieu Lagrive, now fully recovered from an elbow injury. The Monster Energy Yamaha YART Team prepare for the final race of the year determined to end on a high after a difficult season. Despite two DNFs at Qatar and Suzuka the team are still seventh in the Championship with 42 points and looking to move up the standings with a strong result this weekend. The team displayed strong potential in the last two rounds, taking pole in Suzuka and the overall fastest qualifying time in Oschersleben. A trouble-free race could see riders Steve Martin, Igor Jerman and Gwen Giabbani convert their typically fastest pace into success. The team has a strong record at Le Mans, consistently finishing on the podium with a victory in 2009 and second in 2010. The Yamalube Folch Endurance Team riders Daniel Ribalta Bosch and Arturo Tizon Ilbanez line up in France currently sitting sixth in the Championship despite not having participated in the Suzuka round. Consistently putting their YZF-R1 across the finish line has seen them amass 55 Championship points and puts them in contention for a possible top four position in the final standings. The Superstock class could also see a title victory for the Yamaha YZF-R1 with the DG Sport Herock Team in contention for the top spot. Riders Didier Van Keymeulen, Alex Cudlin, Gianluca Vizziello and Raymond Schouten have put in strong performances so far, finishing just off the podium in fourth at the last round in Oschersleben and coming into the final race just seven points adrift of the Championship leaders with everything to play for. “Our team is very confident after two consecutive podiums, including the magical Suzuka one,” said Yamaha France GMT94 Team Manager Christophe Guyot. “We are motivated and have all the elements for a good race. We will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary with Yamaha at Le Mans, so we’ve chosen to debut our new 2012 R1 with a new colour scheme there.” “We will try to leave the bad luck at home this time!” commented Monster Energy Yamaha YART Team Manager Mandy Kainz. “The last years we have always finished on the podium at Le Mans, the highlight being our win in 2009. The same rider line up we have now has always finished on the podium. As it’s the end of the season hopefully we have finished with all the difficulties we’ve experienced and can finish on a high. The last couple of race weekends we’ve always been the fastest but then run out of luck. We will take our normal endurance tactics for the race and hope for the best!” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Reigning World Champions and current series leaders Suzuki Endurance Racing Team has signed-up Japanese Superstock rider Takuya Tsuda to ride alongside Vincent Philippe and Anthony Delhalle at this weekend’s fifth and final round of the 2012 Endurance World Championship; the 24 Heures du Mans in France. Tsuda, who led the Suzuki SST Moto Map Team to fourth overall at the Suzuka 8-Hour race in July will be the third rider to join the French duo this season – Fabien Foret is riding at the Nurburgring World Supersport round and Yukio Kagayama is on Suzuki duties at the All Japan Superbike series at Okayama – as SERT bids for its 12th World title at the Bugatti circuit aboard the Le Mans-based team’s GSX-R1000. Suzuki leads the series by 19 points from BMW Motorrad France and Honda TT Legends (95 points to 76) with Yamaha GMT94 fourth on 74 points, followed by Bolliger Team Switzerland and Yamalube Folch Endurance in equal fifth on 55 points. And with 40 points being awarded to the winning team – the same amount that separates the top six teams – it’s building-up to be one of the most hotly-contested and exciting series finale in Endurance World Championship history. However, the French SRC Kawasaki Team, who won the opening round at Magny Cours in April – and who are only contesting the two French races – may throw a spanner in the works with the permanent teams after rider Julien da Costa set the fastest lap time during the August Le Mans tests. Monster Yamaha YART is also a contender, despite a season plagued with crashes and mechanical issues. Le Mans is one of the most famous race-tracks in the world and the SERT racers will challenge for honours on the Bugatti Circuit, a layout which only shares a short section of the 24-hour car track. The circuit is a real stop-and-go design which will certainly test the endurance of the team in more than one way: The track has an incredibly-fast first corner which is taken flat-out in top gear before braking hard for a chicane and is sure to be an exciting part of the circuit as daylight gives way to darkness. Le Mans is approximately 200kms south-west of Paris and a lively crowd will fill the camp-sites around the circuit, hoping to cheer SERT on to a French victory in the race and the championship. Suzuki is also in contention for honours in the Superstock (SST) class with Team Motors Events holding a narrow four-point lead over Kawasaki’s 3D Endurance Moto Center after three of four rounds (the Superstock Class did not participate at the Suzuka 8-Hour race in Japan). The first free practice sessions for the 35th edition of the 24 Heures du Mans start tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:00hrs local time (GMT +2) followed by evening Qualifying and further Qualifying on Friday. Saturday’s race is due to begin at 15:00hrs local time. Live Race Timing is available on www.fim-live.com with regular live updates on the FIM’s Twitter feed and also Team Suzuki Racing Facebook page. There is also a free live-stream during the race at the following link: www.youtube.com/user/tvfim.