Kawasaki France takes victory ahead of YART and SERT Team Kawasaki France took victory at the Oschersleben 8 Hours, fourth round of the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship, with a one-lap lead over Yamaha Austria Racing Team and two laps over Suzuki Endurance Racing Team. At last, Kawasaki France gets the victory that was running away from them since the beginning of the season. At Oschersleben, Erwan Nigon, Julian Mazuecos and Ivan Silva did the perfect race. That’s also the case for the trio Steve Plater, Igor Jerman and Steve Martin, who takes the first podium of the season for Yamaha Austria Racing Team. YART is confirming the good performance at Suzuka, where they finished as first permanent team and moved to the second place at the championship, still led by the SERT. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team comes back from far away. The drama happened just before mid-race when Matthieu Lagrive, then leading on the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, crashed. Back on track in tenth place, SERT riders Matthieu Lagrive, Julien Da Costa and Vincent Philippe, the latter still suffering from a broken ankle after a crash at Suzuka, all worked like mad to fetch a third position on the podium and score useful points for the 2008 crown. Three Yamaha had a fantastic race to finish in the top-six. Phase One Endurance is certainly the unluckier, though: while sticking strongly to the third place, Damian Cudlin, Graeme Gowland and Sébastien Scarnato could not resist to the official Suzuki’s comeback in the last hour and finish just next to the podium. YMES Folch Endurance is still making strong impression for their first full season of Endurance: Dani Ribalta and Pedro Vallcaneras finish in fifth place and move to fifth place as well in the championship standings. Maco Moto Racing takes its best result of the season so far: Warwick Nowland and Jason Pridmore finish sixth on the Slovak Yamaha. Tenth at Le Mans, the surprising Suzuki AM Moto Racing took seventh place in Germany with Sullivan Hernandez, Pierre Guersillon and Fabrice Auger. They lead a group of permanent teams: RMT 21, Diablo 666 Bolliger Kawasaki, La Fortezza Amadeus X-One and Qatar Endurance Racing Team IJT, first in the Superstock class, ahead of Team LTG 57 and ABG Performance who took its second podium this season. The top German teams could not reach the end of these 8 Hours of Oschersleben. Yamaha Motor Deutschland, who was leading the race on lap six after being a strong challenger of the early race, came back definitely to the pits after three hours, with a broken clutch. The Honda Holzhauer Racing, in good position at the beginning of the race, spent a lot of time in the pits due to some set-up problems. The machine, ridden by Martin Bauer, Matthias Von Hammerstein and Michael Schumacher didn’t finish the race. The Suzuki Yoshimura Germany of Werner Daemen, Olivier Depoorter and Didier Van Keymeulen, went the furthest. In the top-ten at the beginning of the race, the team had to retire following engine problems. Bad weekend for some of the permanent teams. Endurance Moto 38 was seriously delayed after the big crash of William Grarre and finished out of the points. Endurance Moto 45 lost any chance of a Superstock podium after some front-end problems. Some of the teams did not see the chequered flag: Bolliger Switzerland had to face an engine breakdown after the first hour, as they were in seventh place; Runner Bike, then in a battle for a Superstock podium, also had to retire after an engine breakdown. For Raffin Moto, it was an electronic problem. Engaged in the Open class, the two BMW Motorrad finished the race in twelfth and thirteenth position. The next round of the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship will take place in France at Nevers Magny-Cours for a 24 Hours race, the 13th and 14th of September. More, from a press release issued by Kel Edge: 2008 Qtel Endurance FIM Championship Round 4, Oschersleben 8 hours Circuit: 3.667 kms. Weather: Dry, cloudy/sunny SUPERB ONE-TWO CLASS WIN FOR TEAM BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT IN OSCHERSLEBEN Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport took a superb 1-2 in their class at the fourth round of this year’s Qtel Endurance FIM Championship at Oschersleben today. Twenty-two teams contested the Open Class in the 8 hour race, but BMW Motorrad Motorsport defeated them all, with Richard Cooper and Thomas Hinterreiter taking first place and Stéphane Mertens, Rico Penzkofer and Gregory Fastré taking runner-up spot. In the overall results, Cooper and Hinterreiter were heading for a tremendous ninth place until just forty-five minutes from the end. But Hinterreiter highsided when he went wide exiting an unlit turn and although he remounted, he lost three places and ended 12th overall, just ahead of Mertens, Penzkofer and Fastré. Team Kawasaki France (Ivan Silva, Julian Mazuecos, Erwan Nigon) won the race, with Yamaha Austria (Steve Plater, Steve Martin, Igor Jerman) second and Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive, Julien da Costa) third. Bike no 17 Richard Cooper I am a little disappointed because it would’ve been tremendous to have finished ninth in the race, but accidents happen and it was nobody’s fault – just one of those things. My goal today was to be the first BMW across the line and Thomas and I did that. Apart from the crash, we had no problems at all and the bike and the whole team worked very well. This was a much harder race than last year’s race. Firstly there were many more strong competitors in our class and secondly because this year the race was eight hours long instead of twenty-four. Eight hours is a sprint and that doesn’t really suit our bike, so, all things considered, I think we did pretty well. Thomas Hinterreiter The crash happened so fast, I couldn’t do anything about it. I think I ran a bit wide exiting the turn and went onto the white line and the dirt. The rear end just snapped round and I was highsided. Luckily I was able to get back on the bike and carry on, but the fall cost us three places and I am sorry for that. But apart from that, the bike worked better then last year and the tyres felt better as well. The team once again worked superbly and the pit-stops all went smoothly. I would’ve preferred a twenty-four race, as I think we would have had a much better chance of a higher finish, but eight hours was what we had to race and at least we were 1-2 in our class – despite there being many more strong teams then last year. Bike no 71 Stéphane Mertens Generally I am happy that we got 1-2 in our class, but I guess I was hoping that we’d also finish in the top ten. In an eight hour race that was always going to be a tough task – especially considering the strength of the opposition. I was happy with my first stint, but not so happy with my second because I had to use much more pressure on the brakes, so maybe I need more power in my hand. Because Gregory is good in the dark, we decided to let him finish the race and that worked out very well. I think that Richard did a great job and showed that this bike is a great bike and one that can cause a few surprises. Our pit-stops were very impressive and the whole team worked superbly all weekend. Rico Penzkofer That was a tough race today, because it was an eight hour sprint, not a twenty-four marathon. With all the extra competitors in our class, it was never going to be easy winning it, but we came home 1-2 and that’s all you can really ask for. We had no problems at all during the eight hours and although we didn’t get the top ten finish we would’ve liked, we showed that a twin can still compete with the big boys and give them a run for their money. Gregory Fastré I really enjoyed that, but I wish it could’ve gone on for twenty-four hours! I love riding in the dark and enjoyed myself a lot out there. The whole team were wonderful and it is thanks to all the great teamwork that we finished 1-2 in our class and that is no mean achievement when you consider how many strong competitors were in the race. The result is good for BMW and I hope that they think of me again when the next race comes up. Berti Hauser (Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport) First of all, I’m happy about the results. We could not do any better in our class then to get a 1-2 and that’s what we did. A eight hour sprint does not suit our bike, but everybody worked hard and the teamwork helped us get this good result. After our bad luck in Le Mans, it was great to finish on the podium. The crash by Thomas was unlucky, but at least he was uninjured and able to carry on and that was the only problem either of our two bikes had in the race. I am happy that we finished the first non-Japanese bike and the first twin. There were twenty-two competitors in our class today and many of them were strong teams from the German Championship, so to beat all of them is a great achievement and shows that the HP2 Sport is such a good bike. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: World Endurance Champions Suzuki Endurance Racing Team made a remarkable comeback to finish third at today’s World Endurance fourth round at Oschersleben in Germany after crashing out of the lead at the half-way point. After leading from the start – and then losing it for a few laps early on – team riders Mathieu Lagrive, Julien Da Costa and injured Vincent Philippe had regained control of the race until Lagrive crashed the SERT GSX-R1000. However, after limping back to the pits, the French squad repaired the machine and Philippe – hurt at the recent Suzuka round – took over in tenth position. Over the final four hours, the team clawed back into contention finishing just two laps behind winners Kawasaki France who recorded 305 circuits in eight hours. Seventh place overall went to the Suzuki-mounted AMA Moto Racing Competition Team with French riders Sullivan Hernandez, Pierre Guersillon and Fabrice Auger with a total of 300 laps. SERT’s podium keeps their strong lead in the series intact. They now head the Championship on 74 points ahead of Yamaha Austria (43) and Team Kawasaki France (39) with two rounds remaining. Results: 1 Kawasaki France – 305 laps, 2 Yamaha Austria – 304, 3 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Suzuki GSX-R1000) – 303, 4 Phase One Endurance – 303, 5 YMES Folch Endurance – 302, 6 Maco Moto Racing Team – 302, 7 AM Moto Racing Competition (Suzuki GSX-R1000) – 300, 8 RMT 21 Racing 298, 9 Diablo 666 Bolliger Kawasaki – 296, 10 La Fortezza Amadeus X One – 295. Championship points: http://www.suzuki-racing.com/championship_points.aspx?SRS_ID=8 More, from a press release issued by Honda: Results Oschersleben 8 Hours, Oschersleben, Germany Pos. / Team / Type / Laps / Total Time / Delay / Best / Riders 1 / Team Kawasaki France / Kawasaki ZX 10R / 305 / 8:00:04.577 / 1:28.912 / Silva Alberola Ivan / Mazuecos Julian / Nigon Erwan 2 / Yamaha Austria Racing Team / Yamaha R1 / 304 / 8:00:29.602 / 1 Lap / 1:28.636 / Jerman Igor / Martin Steve / Plater Steve 3 / Suzuki Endurance Racing Team / Suzuki GSX R 1000 / 303 / 8:00:25.143 / 2 Laps / 1:28.045 / Philippe Vincent / Lagrive Matthieu / da Costa Julien 4 / Phase One Endurance / Yamaha R1 / 303 / 8:01:19.159 / 2 Laps / 1:29.393 / Gowland Graeme / Cudlin Damian / Scarnato Sebastien 5 / YMES Folch Endurance / Yamaha R1 / 302 / 8:00:09.288 / 3 Laps / 1:29.291 / Ribalta Daniel / Valcaneras Pedro Luis / 6 / Maco Moto Racing Team / Yamaha R1 / 302 / 8:00:57.061 / 3 Laps / 1:29.810 / Nowland Warwick / Pridmore Jason / 7 / AM Moto Racing Competition / Suzuki GSX R 1000 / 300 / 8:01:23.679 / 5 Laps / 1:30.278 / Hernandez Sullivan / Guersillon Pierre / Auger Fabrice 8 / RMT 21 Racing / Honda CBR 1000 / 298 / 8:00:46.570 / 7 Laps / 1:31.052 / Seidel Matti / Mikskovsky Tomas / 9 / Diablo 666 Bolliger Kawasaki / Kawasaki ZX 10 / 296 / 8:00:30.682 / 9 Laps / 1:31.193 / Hutchins James / Cudlin Alexander / Weynand Michael 10 / La Fortezza Amadeus X One / Yamaha R1 / 295 / 8:00:45.953 / 10 Laps / 1:30.417 / Tessari Paolo / Holmes Gruy William / Aldrovandi Alessio 11 / Motobox Kremer Racing / Suzuki GSX R 1000 / 288 / 8:00:48.503 / 17 Laps / 1:33.273 / Heiler Anton / Bauer Florian / Scherrer Martin 12 / RT Racing Team & Moto Virus / Suzuki GSX R 1000 / 286 / 8:01:31.429 / 19 Laps / 1:31.609 / Devoyon Jean-Louis / Jond Frederic / Bitter Sandor 13 / Herman Verboven Racing / Suzuki GSX R 1000 / 281 / 8:00:24.845 / 24 Laps / 1:30.940 / Verboven Leroy / van den Broeck Wim / Barnes Michael 14 / Innodrom / Suzuki GSX R 1000 / 280 / 8:00:05.371 / 25 Laps /1:34.322 / Albrecht Lars / Spenner Frank / Schmassmann Niggi 15 / Endurance Moto 74 / Yamaha R1 / 277 / 8:01:05.157 / 28 Laps /1:33.611 / Guichon Stephane / Durieux Jean / Fontes Michel Championship standings after Oschersleben 1 SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM 1 74 2 YAMAHA AUSTRIA RACING TEAM 43 3 TEAM KAWASAKI FRANCE 39 4 SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM 2 35 5 YAMAHA FOLCH ENDURANCE 35 6 DREAM HONDA RACING 11 30 7 BOLLIGER TEAM SWITZERLAND 30 8 PHASE ONE ENDURANCE 28 9 RT RACING TEAM MOTOVIRUS 26 10 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI WITH DENSO 24 11 TEAM ACROPOLIS MOTO EXPERT 22 12 MACO MOTO RACING 22 13 AM MOTO RACING 22 14 RMT 21 RACING TEAM 21