Bol d’Or – Bol d’Or: a look back at the bad luck of the Yamaha n ° 5 X-One … –

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Bol d’Or: look back at the bad luck of the Yamaha n ° 5 X-One…

Bol d'Or - Bol d'Or: a look back at the bad luck of the Yamaha n ° 5 X-One ... -

We know that endurance races are extremely unpredictable, even a few seconds from the finish line. And it is precisely this incredible suspense that makes their charm and intensity, worthy of the greatest Greek tragedies – or, depending on your age, the best American series….

We know that endurance races are extremely unpredictable, even a few seconds from the finish line. And it is precisely this incredible suspense that makes their charm and intensity, worthy of the greatest Greek tragedies – or, depending on your age, the best American series….

Nothing is therefore ever acquired in motorcycle endurance until the lowering of the checkered flag, and the Italian team X-One has just checked it at its expense during the 74th Bol d’Or this weekend at Magny-Cours (read and our )…

A look back at a misadventure which illustrates well the specificities, the difficulties and the "injustices" – but also the incomparable flavor! – motorcycle endurance.

Sunday, 2:59 p.m. While the dream is becoming reality for the Yamaha n ° 199 Bikers’ Days masterfully led by Gregory Fastre, Raymond Schouten and Marc Fissette, who are about to win the Superstock category in less than a minute, two other R1s seem certain to climb on the podium: the R1 n ° 57 of the LTG 57 team with Kevin Denis, Bastie Mackels and David Perret, 8th scratch and 2nd Superstock, and the Yamaha n ° 5 of the X-One team in the hands of ‘Emiliano Bellucci, Jean-Louis Devoyon and Gianluca Vizziello, 10th scratch and 3rd Superstock.

The crazy thing that you can’t believe !!!

Except that on the last lap, at the entrance of the Adelaide bend, the Gods of Endurance had to be absent for a few moments: the R1 n ° 5, which had been showing signs of overheating for several hours but was still going on. dearly defend his skin, decides to suddenly throw in the towel…

"Indeed, the engine was heating up following the fall of Emiliano who cost us the first place in Superstock", confirms Jean-Louis Devoyon, the French driver of the team. "Emiliano was uncomfortable bringing the bike back and seemed to have a fracture, so we continued in two with Gianluca trying to defend our third place in Superstock and the top 10 scratch as best we could.".

"During all this time, we drove under revs everywhere to save the engine", continues Jean-Louis questioned by Site. "The temperature light was permanently in the red, but remained stable if we were gentle with the bike (no suction!), But on the last lap in Adelaide the engine went through, squirted oil on the tires and caused Gianluca to fall about 50 seconds before the flag … The crazy thing you can’t believe !!! "

Gianluca Vizziello then only had the possibility of returning the motorcycle to the stroller, hoping to make him cross the finish line before the Suzuki n ° 100 of Endurance Moto Racing 45, still in ambush with three laps….

Except that there again, the Gods of Endurance were still not ready … "The motorcycle pissed oil from everywhere and could not therefore go along the track", continues Jean-Louis: "Gianluca, who does not speak not a word of French, did not understand with the marshals who finally loaded the motorcycle into the truck to bring it back, but without going under the checkered flag "…

All this makes me doubt, and at the same time relativize…

"Of course I’m disappointed to be missing a podium at the Bol, but we all did our job as best we could and we couldn’t do anything against this parameter of bad luck", concludes Jean-Louis , philosopher. "A 24 hour race is terribly taxing both physically and nervously, but I remember no example of giving up so close to the goal! All those efforts for nothing, all those laps I thought about, looking at the wall at the exit of the 180 °, to William Costes (a talented and very nice guy that I really appreciate) and to Raphaël Chèvre (an ex-teammate and a close friend), who are in bad shape at the present time … All that makes me doubt, and at the same time relativize "…

In the final classification, the Suzuki n ° 100 Endurance Moto 45 of Frederic Bernon, Julien Diguet and Alexandre Lagrive thus takes a meritorious third place on the Superstock podium while the Yamaha n ° 5 of X-One fails in "unclassified" after a race. no less meritorious … Good luck for the future !

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