KAWASAKI SRC NOTCHES UP A SPARKLING VICTORY
Team Kawasaki SRC was the uncontested winner of the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans. The Kawasaki #11 was ahead of Team April Moto Motors Events, which ran a superb race right from the start, and F.C.C. TSR Honda, the highly competitive Japanese newcomer to Le Mans.
Team Kawasaki SRC’s FIM EWC season has got off to a flying start. Gilles Stafler’s team wiped out the competition at the 39th edition of the 24 Heures Motos and swept the deck, pocketing the 40 winner’s points plus the 20 bonus points awarded to the leader at the 8-hour and 16-hour mark. Despite a minor crash at the start of the race on a treacherous track, the Kawasaki SRC coasted past the chequered flag with a 9-lap lead over Team April Moto Motors Events. This Suzuki with Gregg Black, Grégory Fastré and Alex Cudlin in the saddle was a real eye-opener, leading the race in the first 14 laps thanks to Gregg Black. Third at the finish line, F.C.C. TSR Honda also took the lead midway through the race, for 115 laps. Well-known in Japan, with three wins at the Suzuka 8 Hours, this Japanese team backed by Bridgestone made a dramatic entrance at the 24 Heures Motos. The Japanese Honda entrusted to Kazuma Watanabe, Alan Techer and Damian Cudlin ran a faultless race, but was unable to stand up to pressure from April Moto Motors Events in a final-stage duel.
Also in the leading pack, Team R2CL finished in third place on the podium after being held up by a rear wheel problem – which did not stop one of its riders, Lucas Mahias, posting the fastest lap time: 1’38.448.
The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team finished 5th, unusually for the reigning champion. Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and Etienne Masson did an amazing climb-back from the depths of the standings after two crashes. SERT was not the only favourite to bite the dust. Riding the YART Yamaha, Broc Parkes and Max Neurkirchner, manning the bike on their own after Ivan Silva’s fall, gave no quarter, and finished 11th. After a long spell battling for the podium, Honda Endurance Racing fell back because of electrical problems, and finished 19th.
Other teams were forced to retire. The Penz13.com BMW Motorrad withdrew from the race during the evening with an engine problem. GMT94 Yamaha threw in the towel after Louis Rossi’s three crashes, and so did Jackson Racing. Team Louit Moto 33 Traqueur also had to withdraw because of electrical problems.
A sparkling Superstock victory kept the Yamaha colours flying high: 3ART Yam’Avenue topped the class with riders Louis Bulle, Alex Plancassagne and Lukas Trautmann. They finished 6th overall after starting out 50th from the grid. They came in ahead of Superstock rivals AM Moto Racing Compétition (Kawasaki) and Völpker NRT48 Schubert Motors (BMW). Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki lost its stab at victory after a crash.
The next race of the FIM EWC will take place on Saturday 11 June, 12 Hours of Portimão, the second round of the 2016 season.
What they say…
Gilles Stafler, team manager of Kawasaki SRC
“This is Kawasaki’s 13th win at Le Mans, and the 5th win for our team. If you’d forecast it on Thursday, I wouldn’t have believed it. We really have to thank Pirelli for giving us the means to win despite the conditions.”
Greg Leblanc, Kawasaki SRC rider
“Now that I’ve equalled Alex Viera’s record of wins at the 24 Heures, I’ll have to beat it.”
Matthieu Lagrive, Kawasaki SRC rider
“This is my first win at Le Mans. I savoured it with a great deal of emotion in my father’s arms. He was the one who got me into motorcycle racing.”
Fabien Foret, Kawasaki SRC rider
“Two great teammates, a good bike and the right tyres: that was the recipe for this victory.”
Hervé Moineau, team manager of April Moto Motors Events
“The team ran its first race at Le Mans in 2009. We’ve had good and not-so-good seasons, but this year we’re aiming to field a winning trio of riders, with Gregg Black and Alex Cudlin alongside Grégory Fastré.”
Kazuma Watanabe, F.C.C. TSR Honda rider
“This is my first time at the 24 Heures. It’s a tough and physically demanding race, but I’m proud to have ended up on the podium, and I’d like to thank my teammates.”
More, from a press release issued by Penz13.com BMW Motorrad Team:
Penz13.com – BMW Motorrad Team retires from 24 heures Moto du Mans
Le Mans, France. Le Mans, France. The Penz13.com – BMW Motorrad Team had to retire from the 24 hours of Le Mans, the season opener of the 2016 FIM Endurance World Championship, after battling for the lead in the first seven-and-a-half hours. Riders Kenny Foray, Mathieu Gines and Lukas Pesek showed a great pace on their BMW S 1000 RR to fight for the podium or even the win, but the race ended prematurely after a combination of unforeseen circumstances.
Unfortunately Foray suffered a crash in the Chemin aux Beauf corner after a problem with the swing arm which subsequently had to be changed afterwards. Gines and Pesek went back out on track but had to enter the pits again.
At the crash of Foray the chain had snapped and in the sequel made some damage to the engine case so the team decided to retire for safety reasons, not risking another crash or losing oil on the track.
Kenny Foray
Rider
“I am very disappointed, because we had the speed, we have a good bike, we have a good team, we have a good tire. For me it was possible to make a podium for sure – and why not, maybe a victory. But after seven hours it is not possible to say anything. It is like it is and we now have to focus on the next race. I am sure we can make really good things before the end of the season.”
Mathieu Gines
Rider
“It is not a good way to start in the season, for everybody, the whole team, BMW and my team mates. But it is a race and we can not decide those things. I am happy for the race because we were on pace, fighting for the lead and could do the same lap times as Kawasaki, even quicker in places. I am happy because we had the target to have a good result and just had some bad luck. We now turn our heads to the next race and we will not give up.”
Lukas Pesek
Rider
“It is a pity what happened but we need to take the positives from this weekend. First it was a difficult weather situation but we proved with Pole Position and fighting for the top we have what it needs to be on the sharp end. Shame how it turned out but several top teams had problems here as well. We need to tick that off and focus on our next races.”
Rico Penzkofer
Team Principal
“What can I say, I am deeply disappointed – as are our riders, the whole team and all of our supporters. But in Endurance racing everything can happen and you can’t plan on certain things – only you can learn from them. And this is what we do for the future. We will analyse what happened deeply and come back stronger and even better prepared for the next one. The pole position was a relief and also our race pace looked very strong, so those are the positives to build on from here.“
More, from a press release issued by Honda:
Honda Endurance Racing take positives from tough Le Mans
24h Motos – Le Mans
Circuit des 24 Heures, France
After an heroic battle over 774 laps, the Honda Endurance Racing team has finished the 24 Heures Motos in 19th position scoring 11 Endurance World Championship points.
An action-packed 24-hour race unfolded for Honda’s endurance specialists Freddy Foray, Julien Da Costa and Sébastien Gimbert following the race start at 1500hrs on Saturday 9 April. Gimbert started the race for the team from sixth on the grid but after the opening laps was down in 13th place.
Riding hard aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP, Gimbert fought his way through the pack and by lap 17 was sitting in eighth position. The next few laps proved crucial and, after a safety car deployment and careful riding by Gimbert at the first pit stop, the team were sitting second.
With Foray and Da Costa taking their own turns on the CBR machine all three riders rode faultlessly over a 15-hour period to hold onto second position. However, at around 5am on Sunday morning Gimbert pitted early, reporting a possible issue with the machine.
The Honda crew got to work and Foray headed back on track, but returned immediately reporting the same problem. Over the next hour the team worked tirelessly but saw Foray heroically push the CBR back to the box several times reporting the same issue. An electrical problem was finally traced to a failed sensor and the team got Foray back on track as soon as possible.
Rejoining the action in 32nd position the remainder of the race ran smoothly for the squad with no further issues and it was down to the riders to make the time up on track. At 1500hrs Foray crossed the finish line in 19th place, after pulling back ten seconds on the final lap.
Fellow Honda supported F.C.C TSR Honda enjoyed a solid debut performance in the Endurance World Championship, putting in an impressive display to finish the 24-hours on the podium in third place.
Meanwhile Honda-supported Superstock team Jackson Racing, who were running in third place during the early stages, suffered a gear selection issue with their machine which brought their 24-hour race to a premature finish. The team retired just after 6am when in 21st place.
The Honda Endurance Racing team sits 11th overall in the championship standings and now heads to Portimao in Portugal for testing ahead of the next EWC round there, the Portimao 12-hours, on 11 June.
Neil Tuxworth
Team Manager
After what turned into quite a difficult race in the end the team were able to finish and have collected 11 points going into the championship. Freddy was able to pull ten seconds back on the final lap, but as we were running in second place during the eight-hour period we collected nine additional points at that stage, and the two from 19th place gives us overall 11 points. I know that the riders were disappointed that we had the problem during the race, but it is a credit to them for pushing so hard for the remainder of the race to move up the places and finish within the top 20. We will now head to Portimao for a test next week, where hopefully we can evaluate the race and work on some solutions to ironing out any potential issues ready for the 12 hours in June.
Freddy Foray 111
We had a small problem, which then turned into a big problem for us as it delayed us somewhat on track. We had a positive start and were running second for a long period, so to have lost the track time was disappointing. However, the team worked to get the problem fixed and us back racing quickly and for the rest of the race I did not see anymore issues. I pushed hard on the final lap and gained 10 seconds so was able to finish 19th.
Julien Da Costa 111
The 24-hour race is a difficult race as you have so many emotions throughout and it is very tiring on your body and also your mind. To finish the race is good for the team, but it is also bittersweet as we had that problem during the early morning. We all worked hard with our lap times and to push back up and finish in the top 20. I felt good on the bike and am confident going into testing next week in Portimao.
Sébastien Gimbert 111
Overall I am disappointed with the result. I have come here to win with Honda but luck wasn’t on our side today. However, we were able to finish the race and after the initial problem the rest of the race ran smoothly for us and we were able to move up the ranks to finish in the top 20. It is not ideal, but hopefully we can work on some solutions during the test next week to be fully prepared for the Portimao 12 hours in June.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
SERT FIGHTS BACK AT LE MANS AS GSX-R PODIUMS
In a drama-packed race, reigning World Endurance Champions Suzuki Endurance Racing Team staged a heroic comeback at the Le Mans 24-Hour season opener in France to finish in fifth position; as April Moto Motors Events took the second-step of the podium aboard their GSX-R1000.
The 39th edition of the ‘24 Heures Motos’ at the Circuit Bugatti saw SERT rider Vincent Philippe and his GSX-R1000 fastest off the grid from fourth position and led the pack through the first corner in front of 72,300 spectators, relinquished the lead later to April Moto Motors Events’ Gregg Black, who was teamed with Grégory Fastré and Alex Cudlin.
Track conditions deteriorated due to cold weather and high humidity as the race progressed and, like many other teams, SERT slid-off with Anthony Delhalle in the saddle, then a further fall. Following two lengthy pit stops the team rejoined the race in 53rd position, any hope of winning lost, but Dominique Méliand’s team of Philippe, Delhalle and Etienne Masson characteristically never gave-up hope: The 2015 Le Mans race winners began a heroic climb back through the field to collect 21 points, rode under damage limitation; and because of this remain in contention for the 2016 title.
Proving the reliability of the machine, from 15 GSX-R1000 Suzukis on the grid, 14 finished the gruelling 24 hours of racing, three of which featured in the top-five as Team R2CL Suzuki crossed the line in fourth.
The second round of the FIM Endurance World Championship will take place on June 11-12th for the Portimao 12 Hours in Portugal.
Le Mans 24 Hour Results: 1 SRC Kawasaki (Kawasaki) 819 laps, 2 Team April Moto Motors Events (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 810, 3 FCC TSR Honda (Honda) 808, 4 Team R2CL (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 804, 5 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 802, 6 Team 3ART YAM’AVENUE (Yamaha) 800, 7 AM Moto Racing Competition (Kawasaki) 792, 8 Voelpker NRT48 by Schuberth-Motos (BMW) 790, 9 Racing Team Sarazin (Kawasaki) 789, 10 MACO RACING Team (Yamaha) 786.