From a press release issued by FGSPORT GROUP:

11 of the top 15 were Suzuki !

Strategy and speed win the Brno race…and now the long night of the Albacete 12 Hours !

Suzuki Zongshen’s race win came out of a combination of fast consistent laps by Warwick Nowland and Stephane Mertens, and a refuelling strategy that began with Nowland almost running dry on the last lap of his first session but ended with the team making fewer stops than any of their rivals. It’s a long push up that last straight at Brno but the gamble paid off. Second place for Yamaha GMT94 shows that determination and experience will always win through in endurance, and that in the right hands the R1 can come up with the goods. Suzuki GB Phase One’s third place came at the end of a bad weekend for the team, and they will be happy to settle for the last step on the podium.

Top Ten

Ducati DRE’s fourth place earns them their first points of the year; Brno seems to be kind to the Italian team and their French riders. Suzuki Trackdaze 11 finished fifth, with good rides by the Junior riders sealed by Mike Edwards’ excellent performance. Suzuki Police Nationale scored sixth overall but were front runners for the whole of the second leg of the race and continue to improve race by race. Kawasaki Bolliger put in their usual calm and measured performance to finish seventh, while PS Schlesinger, Jet Endurance and Phase One Juniors round out the top ten. All three finished on the same lap of the race and were fighting for the maximum championship points.

In the Points, In the Pits

Two laps behind, Rookie Endurance and Hofmann Racing finished 11th and 12th and KFM Herber were 14th, the three German permanent teams locked in their own battle. Less fortunate were the remaining Yamaha teams; Maco Moto Slovakia and Fagersjo-el.se finished outside the points, Yamaha Austria blew another motor and Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 had gearbox and fuelling problems which plagued them for the whole race.

The long night of the “Albacete 12 Hours” is waiting for Endurance riders. Eleven of the top fifteen finishers were Suzuki GSX-R1000s, with only one bike from each of Yamaha, Ducati, Kawasaki and Honda scoring any points.

The 12 Hour Albacete race is twice as long as the Brno round, and run through the night in a single non-stop session. It will be a tougher and more challenging event, but with GSX-R1000s (Zongshen 1, Suzuki GB Phase One and Jet Team the only bikes to have scored points in all three rounds) remain favourites to dominate in Spain.

2003, June 19
2003 Championship Standing (after 3 races):

1. Zongshen 1, CHN, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 66 points

2. Suzuki GB – Phase One, GBR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 56 points

3. 22 Police Nationale, FRA, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 33 points

4. Yamaha GMT94, FRA, Yamaha YZF-R1, 30 points

5. Zongshen 2, CHN, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 25 points

6. Bolliger Team, SUI, Kawasaki ZX-9R, 20 points

6. Trackdaze 11, GBR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 20 points

8. Fabi Corse, ITA, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 16 points

8. Yamaha Austria Rac. Team, AUT, Yamaha YZF-R1, 16 points

10. Ducati DRE 5, ITA, Ducati 998, 13 points

10. Phase One Junior, GBR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 13 points