FIM Endurance World Championship
Le Mans, France
April 16, 2015
Provisional Combined Practice Results:
1. SRC Kawasaki (Gregory Leblanc 1:37.637/Matthieu Lagrive 1:37.125/Fabien Foret 1:36.900), Kaw ZX-10R, 1:37.220
2. Monster Energy Yamaha – YART (Max Neukirchner 1:37.789/Ivan Silva 1:38.518/Sheridan Morais 1:37.129), Yam YZF-R1, 1:37.812
3. Honda Racing (Julian Da Costa 1:37.594/Sebastien Gimbert 1:38.706/Freddy Foray 1:37.832), Hon CBR1000RR SP, 1:38.044
4. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Philippe 1:38.489/Anthony Delhalle 1:38.423/Etienne Masson 1:38.476), Suz GSX-R1000, 1:38.462
5. BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com (Markus Reiterberger 1:37.149/Gareth Jones 1:39.117/Pedro Valcaneras 1:39.885), BMW S1000RR, 1:38.717
6. Qatar Endurance Racing Team (Alex Cudlin 1:38.637/Mashel Al Naimi 1:39.015/Arturo Tizon 1:39.165), Kaw ZX-10R, 1:38.939
7. Tati Team Beaujolais Racing (Julien Enjolras 1:38.604/Cedric Tangre 1:38.657/Michael Savary 1:39.687), Kaw ZX-10R, 1:38.982
8. Team Bolliger Switzerland (Horst Saiger 1:38.328/Roman Stamm 1:38.547/Daniel Sutter 1:40.171), Kaw ZX-10R, 1:39.015
9. GMT94 Yamaha (David Checa 1:38.971/Kenny Foray 1:39.293/Mathieu Gines 1:39.433), Yam YZF-R1, 1:39.232
10. National Motos (Valentin Debise 1:37.903/Greg Junod 1:40.286/Louis Bulle 1:39.647), Hon CBR1000RR SP, 1:39.278
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:
Honda Racing qualifies on provisional front row in Le Mans
Honda Racing took part in positive free practice and first qualifying sessions in Le Mans ahead of the 24h Motos this weekend.
The result of the combined qualifying times gave Honda Racing an averge lap time of 1:38.044 and the team qualified on provisional third place for the 24h Motos race.
The first rider to get out on track for qualifying was Julien Da Costa who got the second best time in 1:37.594. Then, he was followed by Sébastien Gimbert who finished in sixth position, with a best lap time in 1:38.706. Freddy Foray made his best lap time in 1:37.832 and finished third in his session. Finally, Keith Amor finished his session in 13th position with a best lap time in 1:44.642.
Earlier in the day, Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray, Sébastien Gimbert and Keith Amor managed to finish fourth out of 59 teams in free practice with a best lap time in 1:38.209.
Tonight, these first qualifying sessions will be followed by a night practice session between 21:00 and 22:30 that will allow the team to perfect the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP’s set-up for the race.
The second qualifying session will take place tomorrow from 11:20 to 13:10 and will be followed by a press conference. The rest of the day will be more relaxed and all racing fans will have the opportunity to meet Honda Racing riders at the pit walk between 18:00 and 20:00, at garage number four.
On the media side, today’s schedule started with a class photograph with all the EWC teams reunited in front of the starting line. This was the occasion for the riders to share a nice moment of conviviality before the serious things started.
Honda Racing was also happy to welcome its reserve rider Keith Amor in Le Mans today.
The riders have been allocated a coloured reflective armband in order to be recognised during the 24 hours race. Honda Racing riders’ armbands will be as follows:
Julien Da Costa: blue armband
Freddy Foray: red armband
Sébastien Gimbert: yellow armband
Keith Amor: green armband
For all the latest news on the team follow @HondaRacingCBR on Twitter.
Julien Da Costa 1:37.594
We decided to do a small race simulation during the session. The track was clear during my first two laps so it allowed me to make a good lap time. Then I settled myself on an endurance race rhythm in order to get ready for the race. Everything is going well for the team, we are definitely in on it, we are relaxed and this is really important before the race start.
Sebastien Gimbert 1:38.706
I would have liked to ride in the same lap times as my teammates; unfortunately, we had a small issue with the bike on which I did my qualifying session. But the most important was to work on the race configuration. If we can keep the same pace than in the qualifying sessions, then it should go well for the race.
I am slightly disappointed as a rider because we all like to stand out from the crowd, but I am very happy with the Honda team and with my teammates. Tonight the only thing to remember is that if the 24h Motos start was tomorrow, I would still be very confident.
Freddy Foray 1:37.832
I am very satisfied because we did not use a qualifying tyre, we went out on track on a race set-up and I succeeded in riding in 1’37. I am happy, the bike is easy to ride, we work all the week long in a race configuration, we kept the same set-up for the qualifying and we are still competitive. This makes me feel very confident.
Keith Amor 1:44.642
It’s nice to be back with all the people from Honda. I’ve been here a few years ago, I know quite a lot of people in the paddock so this is nice to come back here and see everyone again. I am happy to get back on the Honda bike and do a few laps on it, unfortunately we had a little problem in qualifying and I only did one lap. I am looking forward to tomorrow to do a few more laps on the bike.
More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com:
BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com on provisional 5th for the 24 hours of Le Mans
Le Mans, France. The BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com secured the provisional fifth starting place for the 2015 season opener of the FIM World Endurance Championship. Markus Reiterberger (GER), Gareth Jones (AUS) and Pedro Vallcaneras (ESP) qualified with a combined average time of 1:38.717. Also former MotoGP™ rider Lukas Pesek proved to be quick.
Top spot in the first free practice
At the end of the first free practice session the new BMW Motorrad France Team Penz13.com landed a highlight by posting the fastest time of 1:37,418 and taking over the lead. The squad ranked 0.122 seconds in front of the factory SRC Kawasaki and 0.294 seconds in front of the Yamaha YART factory squad.
Reiterberger, IDM Superbike champion 2013, posted the best qualifying time for the Rider 1 group today. With his best effort of 1:37,149 he placed himself half a second in front of the factory bikes of Honda and Kawasaki. Jones did a 1:39,117, team mate Vallcaneras a 1:39,885.
Former MotoGP™ rider Lukas Pesek, who is taking part as fourth and reserve rider, showed a strong performance. His qualifying session ended with a 1:39,587.
Markus Reiterberger
Rider
“Awesome! Well, while riding on the limit I missed a bit feel for the front, that was a bit dangerous. But in Endurance racing you have to set the bike up suitable for all riders and you have to have compromises. My first time riding in the night was more than fun. At the beginning it took me a while to get used to it, but after a couple of laps it was like normal day time. The grip level had decreased a bit as it was cooler and we had some more humidity.”
Gareth Jones
Rider
“I hope for another dry qualifying tomorrow. Today it took me a while until the qualifying mode clicked in. But if its dry tomorrow there is some more to come. The BMW S 1000 RR worked brilliantly and I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”
Pedro Vallcaneras
Rider
“I am happy and satisfied. I did a very good time during my qualifying session, riding on race tires. Also the night practice went well and I was quick.”
Lukas Pesek
Rider
“It’s been good and step by step we have improved. In the qualifying I had some bad luck due to lots of traffic on the road and in the fourth group there are quite some slow riders on the run. That has been a bit dangerous. It was also my first time in the night and I didn’t know what to expect. It’s been fun and not as bad as I firstly thought it would be. But you have to be very careful with the slower riders, that’s even more dangerous in the dark.”
Rico Penzkofer
Team Principal
“I am more than satisfied. Due to the injury of Bastien we had to re-structure a bit. Pedro, Gareth and Lukas rode very similar times, but Reiti did a blast of a job, in the free practice as well as in qualifying. Until now everything went smoothly, we didn’t have any technical problems nor crashes and the riders improved session by session. We have a good race setup and that is more important than the qualifying.”