Bol d’Or – Drivers and team managers explain themselves after a particularly chaotic Bol d’Or –

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Drivers and team managers explain themselves after a particularly chaotic Bol d’Or

Bol d'Or - Drivers and team managers explain themselves after a particularly chaotic Bol d'Or -

SERT’s official Suzuki n ° 2 wins the Bol d’Or 2019 while three of its main rivals retire and a crew is outright disqualified … Back on a strange event.

After a race shortened by half due to dangerous weather conditions (from 3:00 p.m. to 5:44 p.m. on Saturday, then from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday), the SERT Suzuki with Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson and Gregg Black won ahead of the Polish Yamaha no. ° 77 of the Wojcik Racing Team (Gino Rea, Christoffer Bergman and Axel Maurin) and the official BMW n ° 37 (Ilya Mikhalchik, Julian Puffe and Kenny Foray).

  • MNC special file :
  • MNC special file : Everything you need to know about the Bol d’Or
  • Full results :

The BMW n ° 6 of the ERC team in the hands of Mathieu Ginès, Julien da Costa and Louis Rossi, a time on the podium, was finally disqualified for, but the main blow of this Bol d’Or 2019 remains the abandonment of three teams competing for the world title: Honda n ° 5 (Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike di Meglio), Yamaha n ° 7 (Marvin Fritz, Niccolo Canepa and Loris Baz) and Kawasaki n ° 1 (Jeremy Guarnoni, Erwan Nigon and David Checa)…

Bol d’Or 2019 podium

 Vincent Philippe, SERT Suzuki n ° 2 pilot (winner) : "I was focused on the last stint and I really appreciated that Damien (Saulnier, the new team manager, Editor’s note) allowed me to finish the race. I thank the new SERT for their work and their daily progress, but I will never forget the old team without whom we wouldn’t be here ".

Bol d'Or - Drivers and team managers explain themselves after a particularly chaotic Bol d'Or -

Etienne Masson, SERT Suzuki n ° 2 pilot (winner) : "We couldn’t have dreamed of a better revenge on Suzuka! It just goes to show that perseverance and hard work pay off. The whole team did a good job but it is also the result of these last two years of work. It was not easy to get back on the track this morning (after a long break in the race, editor’s note) but the bike was working well and we quickly found the right pace. It was a special race because it was the last Bol d’Or with Vincent. We experienced very strong emotions as colleagues and I am very happy to end this story with a victory ".

Gregg Black, SERT Suzuki # 2 driver (winner) : "It was a very strange race. The track was very tricky and the race management made the right decision for the safety of the drivers. We were consistent throughout the race. The team worked really well and I thank them for this victory because it is my first in a 24 hour race ".

 Gino Rea, rider of Yamaha No. 77 of the Wojcik Racing Team (2nd) : "We did it! We are second in the world championship after the Bol d’Or, it’s incredible for a private team. The team did an incredible job. I still can’t believe it, we took control during the first two hours of the race and then again after the break and the second start. We kept up fast times to finish second in scratch and first in the Dunlop Cup of the independent teams ".

Bol d'Or - Drivers and team managers explain themselves after a particularly chaotic Bol d'Or -

Axel Maurin, rider of Yamaha No. 77 of the Wojcik Racing Team (2nd) : "It’s just amazing to be on the Bol d’Or podium, thanks to the determination of the entire Wójcik Racing Team and the frantic pace of my teammates".

Kenny Foray, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team driver n ° 37 (3rd) : "Finally we finish third, a big thank you to my team and my teammates and really sorry for you guys"…

Ilya Mikhalchik, driver of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team n ° 37 (3rd) : "We finished third in the race after everything that has happened in 24 hours, no word is necessary! The work pays off".

Superstock Category

Robin Mulhauser, rider of the Yamaha n ° 96 Moto Ain (Superstock winner, 6th scratch) : "We started on Saturday at 3pm in second position in our category, but bad weather very quickly disrupted the start of the race, until it was neutralized at around 5.44pm. We were at that time in 8th place in the general classification and 1st in our category! Sunday morning the start was given again on a soaked track, but as and when it became drying and finally totally dry. We then chain the perfect stints with my teammates Roberto Rolfo and Hugo Clère until the arrival 3pm in 6th position in the general classification and winner in the SST category. It was an almost perfect race where we relegated our closest competitors to more than 80 seconds. We even went to titillate the Superbike teams. We could not hope for a best start to the 2019-2020 season and we are leading the championship with a large lead ".

Pierre Chapuis, team manager of Yamaha n ° 96 Moto Ain (Superstock winner, 6th scratch) : "As usual, my team of volunteers and my drivers did a wonderful job and I would like to thank them once again for their investment. This race was technically perfect, although it was disrupted in its organization. At the hospitality, in the box, against the clock, on the track, everyone once again demonstrated all their professionalism and team spirit. We come out of these "24 hours" with a first place stock, stars in our eyes and back to full force for the continuation of the adventure. Thank you and bravo my friends! "

Julien Pilot, n ° 24 BMRT 3D Kawasaki rider (2nd Superstock, 9th scratch) : "What a joy to return to the podium after more than a year! It is a great reward for the BMRT 3D Endurance team who welcomed me and trusted me for this new 2019-2020 season. The world was at the top in an exceptional atmosphere! A very good first experience, strongly the next race in Malaysia in December ".

Bol d'Or - Drivers and team managers explain themselves after a particularly chaotic Bol d'Or -

 James Westmoreland, Suzuki n ° 50 Motors Events driver (3rd Superstock, 12th scratch) : "Back on the podium at the Bol d’Or, with very good points for the world championship. What a race! The conditions were really tough. I did six stints today in 9 hours. This weekend , it was the best we could do. We never had any luck every time we got out of the safety car, so much so that we felt like everything was against us. never quit and I’m proud of this race ".  

Withdrawals from the Bol d’Or 2019

 Freddy Foray, FCC TSR Honda France rider n ° 5 (engine failure and retirement) : "It wasn’t our day, but it’s endurance!"

Bol d'Or - Drivers and team managers explain themselves after a particularly chaotic Bol d'Or -

Masakazu Fujii, team manager of the FCC TSR Honda France n ° 5 (engine failure and abandonment) : "We are very sorry, we broke the engine and we could not fix it. Oil spilled on the track and it caused the fall of many teams and riders. We really care. I apologize to them. We are going to dismantle the engine after the race and carry out all the checks possible, in order to ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes again ".

Loris Baz, Yamaha rider n ° 7 (fall and abandonment) : "I am frustrated and incredibly disappointed as you can imagine, but at the same time relieved that the accident was not more serious for Erwan. My motorbike hit him very hard and our two machines caught fire then that he was still stuck in between. This is the scariest fall I have ever been involved in and I think the safety car could have intervened more quickly. It was impossible to see the oil because many parts of the circuit were still wet. I only realized that when I lost the front … It’s a shame to finish like this because the whole team had worked a lot. My two teammates were very strong from the start and we had a very good pace in qualifying and in the race. The second start this morning was complicated. Riding all night is one thing but having to sleep, wake up at 4 am and jump on the bike at 6 am for two relay like Niccolò did, it’s not easy My first stint in pn The slicks went well, I got back on the FCC TSR Honda, took the lead and kept pushing. Marvin was ready to replace me but I decided to double my stint. Because I had very good feelings despite extremely difficult track conditions. Everything was going perfectly, then … I’m really sad for the whole team because they are very good and we should have won here today ".

Bol d'Or - Drivers and team managers explain themselves after a particularly chaotic Bol d'Or -

Niccolò Canepa, Yamaha YART n ° 7 rider (crash and retirement) : "I’m really disappointed and a little angry too. This race was for us because we were very strong here. I tried to avoid making mistakes during my stint and I was very fast on the bike. I had a little problem with the electronics during my double stint this morning which limited my pace a bit when the track started to dry out on my second stint. Despite that, I was still able to claim the second place and it was the right choice to stop earlier than planned so that Loris could start again on slicks. He made the most of it to grab the Honda and take the lead. Everything was working fine, the bike was easy to ride and although it was not an easy race for us we certainly had the potential to win today. Then the crash happened which wasn’t too bad before the bike hit. ignited and took so long to go out that it was almost completely destroyed. t too bad, because I felt good. The team was strong and both of my teammates were fast, so to finish like this was unlucky and really disappointing. We have lost a lot of points in the championship, but we will continue to move forward and we will be ready for Sepang ".

Erwan Nigon, n ° 1 Kawasaki SRC rider (crash and retirement) : "I saw the smoke immediately, but the problem is that the pilot did not realize at the time that he was breaking his engine … Unfortunately, instead of deviating from the trajectory, he used the whole width of the track as if nothing had happened! The fall was inevitable. Barely after hitting the tires, I found myself stranded without being able to extract myself. Then it was the turn of a Another competitor crashed and his motorcycle hit me head-on. On the other hand, with the omnipresent oil and the two tanks which collided, the whole thing caught fire in a kind of explosion! got very, very hot, literally and figuratively (my leather suit started to catch fire!), but in the end I got through it without a scratch. I am very affected by what just happened because the motorcycle has completely burned down. It’s very damaging for Gilles Stafler and the whole team ".

Bol d'Or - Drivers and team managers explain themselves after a particularly chaotic Bol d'Or -

 Gilles Stafler, team manager of the Kawasaki SRC n ° 1 (fall and retirement) : "What to say? You can well imagine the disappointment in the box at the time. A fact of the race which thus puts an end to our hopes, it is very hard after such an eventful race".

Mathieu Gines, driver of the BMW ERC n ° 6 (third then disqualified for non-compliant tank) : "We gave everything on the bike to get this podium … But a mistake, a stupid mistake for 0.6 liters in excess, deprives us of all that … I am really devastated by this decision. my racing career is the first time that I have been disqualified. Even though there is nothing I can do about it, I want to apologize to all my partners and all the people who support me. Now I will take the time to digest and repair myself properly. But no one will be able to take away this end of the race where I had fun like never before! "

To be continued on MNC: stay connected !

Provisional calendar of the 2019/2020 EWC World Endurance Championship

  1. (24 h): September 21/22, 2019 – Le Castellet, France
  2. : December 14, 2019 – Malaysia (*)
  3. : April 18/19, 2020 – Le Mans, France
  4. : June 6, 2020 – Germany (*)
  5. : July 19, 2020 – Japan 

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