Bol d’Or – Bol d’Or 2013: statements from drivers and team managers –

Bol d’Or 2013: statements from pilots and team managers

Bol d'Or - Bol d'Or 2013: statements from drivers and team managers -

Find the main statements of the drivers and team managers at the end of the Bol d’Or 2013, masterfully won by the Kawasaki SRC n ° 11 in the hands of Gregory Leblanc, Loris Baz and Jeremy Guarnoni.

Find the main statements of the drivers and team managers at the end of the Bol d’Or 2013, masterfully won by the Kawasaki SRC n ° 11 in the hands of Gregory Leblanc, Loris Baz and Jeremy Guarnoni.

Gilles Stafler, team manager of SRC Kawasaki n ° 11 (winner) : "Setting up the team was not easy. I had to do a little reframing after Thursday’s free practice session, but since midday Thursday my drivers have shown great professionalism. Our result is a reflection of their seriousness ".

Loris Baz, SRC Kawasaki rider n ° 11 (winner) : "the pressure was even stronger than in Superbike, because you ride for three riders and you have to think of three. But I had already realized this last year. Endurance is becoming more and more a problem. speed test. I was expecting a close fight between three or four, but quickly we ended up with two all night. It’s mentally draining. I think a lot of Jean-Claude Olivier after winning this Bol d ‘Now! He must be happy up there! It is also thanks to you that Bowl Jean-Claude, thank you! RIP ".

Jeremy Guarnoni, SRC Kawasaki rider n ° 11 (winner) : "This victory will be forever engraved in my memory! It is incredible and magical to win the Bol d’Or at 20 years old. I am in a great structure, the team made no mistakes. I am extremely tired. As soon as I wasted three or four seconds, I would go crazy in the helmet ".

Gregory Leblanc, SRC Kawasaki rider n ° 11 (winner) : "I took my leadership role to heart. Thank you to the leader (Gilles Stafler) for trusting me. We quickly got ahead and we took advantage of the errors of SERT, which is a tough opponent. We also had a little luck! I thank my teammates who made zero mistakes and did not shake. With ten laps in advance, we saved the material to take the machine to the end. It’s really a very nice We have shown since the practice that we are there for the win and we have assumed this status. My two young teammates also had a superb race, without making the slightest mistake, either in practice or in the race. The team was once again flawless and our Kawasaki ZX-10R demonstrated its reliability. This success is only a logical reward for all this hard work. Sincerely, I think we fully deserve it. I did the best absolute time of practice, Loris, Jeremy and I finished at the top of our qual respective ifications and I achieved the best time in the race. I think that does mean something! We also knew how to take risks when choosing tires at the right times and in the end this work paid off. I am very satisfied with this success which cannot stand criticism. It is also a very nice answer to all the people who thought that we had a much too young crew and that our lack of experience would be detrimental to us in the race ".

Igor Jerman, Yamaha YART rider n ° 7 (2nd) : "We were waiting for this result. We fulfilled our contract, but it was not easy. In qualifying, we did not have the right settings. The bike was very hard and physical to ride. We are happy with the podium. If there had been more rain it would have been even better for us ".

Broc Parkes, Yamaha YART rider n ° 7 (2nd) : "The Bol d’Or was my first test in endurance, a crazy race but a great experience. Sometimes in the night, I wondered a little what I was doing there on the bike … The race was very physically difficult ".

Sheridan Morais, Yamaha YART rider n ° 7 (2nd) : "I only arrived from South Africa on Wednesday. I feel a lot of stiffness, I’m chopped up a bit, but I’m very happy with the result. We were more competitive in the race than during practice".

Anthony Delhalle, SERT Suzuki driver n ° 1 (3rd) : "This comeback was very physically demanding! Between relays, it was very hard. On the bike, concentration helped me get better but it became hard in the middle of the relay. We had to grit our teeth".

Julien da Costa, SERT Suzuki driver n ° 1 (3rd) : "I am not satisfied because I wanted to win. We could fight for the victory. After the two mistakes made, it was unexpected to finish third. We went ahead and we benefited from the vagaries of the race Yamaha n ° 94. It’s our job. We grit our teeth, wring out the handle and brake from time to time ".

Vincent Philippe, SERT Suzuki driver n ° 1 (3rd) : "I thought I gave up when I fell … I thought I had my foot broken and my back blocked, I had trouble walking and getting on the bike. You have to be satisfied with third place and think about the championship. We had a nice comeback. At the start I was very tense on the wet track and I couldn’t break free. We made a mistake twice and made the wrong choice of tires. SRC! "

Christophe Guyot, Yamaha GMT94 team manager (4th) : "The fight with the 11 was good. 63 seconds separated us with less than 5 hours from the finish. I imagine the disappointment of all those who follow us, the pilots and all those who work to help us win like Yamaha, Michelin and all our partners. We had never had this failure on our Yamaha R1. This is why we took a long time to detect it before replacing the offending sensor. Let us retain our competitiveness on the track as in the pits, and that we score valuable points for the world championship ".

David Checa, Yamaha GMT94 rider (4th) : "Endurance is that too. We don’t have to be ashamed of being fourth. We could win and that is the most important. Our Yamaha R1 runs super strong. Everything was on top. My team too. I can’t wait to go to Suzuka now! "

Kenny Foray, Yamaha GMT94 rider (4th) : "My first feeling is disappointment. The race was difficult due to the weather conditions on Saturday with light rain. However, I was comfortable on the bike and I gave my maximum with my teammates. The whole team did a great job and the tires are on top. It’s a shame that bad luck spoiled us at the end of the race ".

Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha GMT94 rider (4th) : "We were stopped in our ascent to win a race that was within our reach. It’s a shame, but we have to accept all the spells that competition has in store".

Etienne Masson, Junior Team LMS Suzuki rider n ° 72 (Superstock winner) : "Thank you to the Junior Team LMS of Damien Saulnier, to the mechanics who did a crazy job, to my teammates who welded, to my Nono who provided for the paneling and so that I was operational at each stint, to Jose FP who motivated me during these 24 hours, thank you to Suzuki, Dunlop, Shark, Ixon, Monster Energy … and see you in Oshersleben! "

Herve Moineau, Suzuki team manager n ° 50 April Moto (3rd Superstock, 9th scratch) : "an endurance race is never over and we have proven it once again this year by coming back from nowhere! Of course, we can have regrets because without this gasoline failure we would have been in a fight for the victory, but with if … We took risks last night to get back to the front and it paid off. It’s always complicated to encounter boredom so early in the race, we run after time. But the drivers rode really well, they remained perfectly focused and the whole team evolved in a beautiful dynamic, real cohesion. We preserved all our chances for the world championship and it is nevertheless the most important ".

Guillaume Dietrich, Suzuki rider n ° 2 R2CL (7th) : "I have the honor to take the start and a first stint during which I fight with Broc Parkes! I finish my stint 5th in the middle of the official motorcycles: cool! We do superb stints, in the 4 best times in The bike runs really well in engine and chassis. Unfortunately technical problems put us down to 27th place, but we go up to 7th until the checkered flag. We are still a little disappointed because we were aiming for the top 5 , but I think we drove really well and set some nice lap times! I didn’t make any mistakes for 24 hours and my physical condition was at the top (thank you Nordine!) ".

Axel Maurin, Star-Team Suzuki rider n ° 67 (4th Superstock, 10th scratch) : "I am very satisfied with our race because we did not give up until the end. We had a problem on the bike at the start of the race which made us lose a lot of time. I did each of my relay by giving me 100% to make a rise in the standings. Helped by my teammates, our determination ended up paying off. On the track, my objective was to be in the best lap times in the Superstock category each time. day I was still in great shape and felt that we could get into the top 5. I gave everything I could when I was driving. This 4th place in Superstock and 10th in the general classification is a great reward for the whole Star-team 67 team. It confirms our potential to fight for victory in this same category. I thank the whole team and my teammates for this race, I also personally thank my friend Jessica and my friend Aurelien for to have been the "nanny" and to be mine tits care for 24 hours. Thank you also to my dad who motivated me and observed me from a distance, because when I was driving I said to myself that I shouldn’t drag myself, he is watching! By the way … I like endurance! "

Mathieu Charpin, Alexandre Praud and Olivier Depoorter, Yamaha RAC41 riders (16th scratch): "from the start of the race, Olivier climbed from 23rd to 15th place but at midnight, a water leak at the level of a forced hose the mechanics to intervene quickly. A pit stop of 14 minutes puts us back in 25th place but until the end of the race, the whole team is working hard for a spectacular comeback to 16th place, 55 seconds from 17th ! "

Nelson Major, Racing Team Sarazin Kawasaki rider n ° 66 (8th Superstock, 18th scratch) : "For me it was a discovery of endurance. I got to know a fantastic team and golden teammates! The week of practice and the race went well for us. My first objective was to finish the race, so done we finished 18th overall, 8th in stock and 1st Kawa stock so very happy! The best thing was to see the checkered flag, from that moment the emotion was very strong ".

Florian Marino, Louit Moto Kawasaki rider n ° 33 (10th Superstock, 20th scratch) : "It was a very good experience that I had at the Bol d’Or. The team was great and between us, the pilots, it worked well. Emeric Jonchière immediately shared his experience with us. During the race I crashed without really knowing how. The track conditions were really special with a fine and irregular rain. I left for my second stint, with a new tire as the drops intensified. watch out for a few laps and then I got to the brakes at the Nurburgring chicane. I barely took the brakes and found myself on the ground! The marshals intervened, my motorcycle was losing all its fuel because a tank valve was blocked by stones … They told me especially not to approach, that the machine could catch fire. The motorbike was brought back by van and that’s where I get a little angry. When we got to the pit, we got since I could have brought it back myself, which would have wasted much less time. from a lack of experience more than a mistake, but I am sincerely sorry for the team. My team-mate left, then he had to go back to the box. The night went well but we had a broken clutch and a radiator leak early in the morning. The team had to fix it and we wasted more time. Despite everything, we finished in 20th place and 10th in the Superstock category. I’m happy to have been at the end of 24 hours for a first Bol d’Or, even if the end result is not what we expected. The experience gained during this race has been enormous and will serve me well in the future. I really want to thank the entire Louit Moto team for their welcome, their professionalism and for having me participate in my first endurance race. I will rest and recover until Wednesday. Between the fatigue of the week, the race and the "big volume" that I took, I will recover for Assen. My focus is on next weekend and World Supersport now ".

Gregg Black, Honda rider n ° 20 FMA Assurances (21st scratch) : "I am very satisfied to finish the race, it had been two years since I had seen the checkered flag on this circuit! The place did not live up to my expectations and especially up to our times and all our work. I’m still satisfied with my new team and technical staff, who have worked hard to get there. We still have some improvements to do and hopefully our place in the top 6 is at our reach, I guarantee it! "

Michael Bartholemy, team manager BMW Motorrad France Thevent n ° 99 (retirement) : "This is the third time that we have had difficulties at the Bol d’Or, and each time it becomes more difficult to accept. I do not want to talk about an evil eye or a cursed circuit, when you want to be champion of the world we have to create our own luck and be competitive on each circuit. We have to learn from that and make sure not to start again a fourth time next year. We don’t know what caused Karl’s problem, but he couldn’t have picked a worse place to fall: you come out of the fastest part of the circuit for a big braking before the slowest corner, and I can’t even imagine what it feels like to suddenly have a brake problem at that point. It was a big crash and Karl was lucky to get out of it. The mechanics did their best to get the bike back in shape, but it was so damaged it could pose a threat to safety, so we had no choice but to give up ".

Olivier Aerts, Yamaha team manager n ° 9 DG Sport Herock (retirement) : "of course we are disappointed, how can we not be when we were in the top 10 overall and the Superstock podium was within our reach … But the human adventure of this weekend, the professionalism of each and the osmosis in the team allow me to think that we will be at the forefront from the next race at Oscherschleben ".

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