Bol d’Or – No Bol for GMT … –

Posted on by admin

No Bowl for GMT…

Bol d'Or - No Bol for GMT ... -

66,000 spectators attended the 68th edition of the Bol d’Or on the Magny Cours circuit this weekend. A 2004 cuvee alternately rainy and sunny, which saw the SERT brilliantly win for the 9th time. Color report.

66,000 spectators attended the 68th edition of the Bol d’Or on the Magny Cours circuit this weekend. A 2004 cuvee alternately rainy and sunny, which sees the SERT brilliantly assert itself for the 9th time. Color report.

Friday

12:40. It was the Suzuki n ° 1 which took pole in 1: 43.465, a bit ahead of the Yamaha n ° 94 (1: 43.571) which preferred "focus on settings", explains Christophe Guyot. The Suzuki n ° 2 occupies the 3rd place in 1: 44,200 ahead of the Kawasaki n ° 11 and the Yamaha n ° 12 and 41. Of the three girls entered this year, only Fabienne Migout qualifies for the handlebars of Suzuki Genous Team n ° 14, alongside twin brothers Ludo and Yvan Genestier. "Seeing that we were not qualified, I had tears until then", says Magalï Langlois of the 3A Racing Team….

Saturday

10h00. A few minutes before the warm-up, change of driver on one of the favorites, the Suzuki No. 1 from SERT. For diplomatic and media reasons, Dominique Meliand prefers to place a Japanese pilot on each of the two machines. The n ° 1 will therefore be led by Vincent Philippe, Keiichi Kitagawa and Mathieu Lagrive, and the n ° 2 by Christophe Cogan, Olivier Four and Atsushi Watanabe.

11:30. Congratulated for his brand new title of world endurance champion, Christophe Guyot prefers to stay focused on the start of this 68th Bol d’Or. "Thank you, but you will say bravo to me afterwards, if we win this Bowl! And it’s not because we’re world champion that we’re going to win, even if like every year we take the start for victory"…

12:30 p.m.. The animations in the pit straight are increasing the pressure among spectators in the packed main stand.

1:30 p.m.. Rebound for the girls: the three entries will finally all take the start! Magalï Langlois (Yamaha n ° 67) and Christelle Orsi (Suzuki n ° 55) will respectively take the handlebars of the Yamaha n ° 57 of Team Moto LTG (Les Temeraires du Galet, in reference to their debut in solex races) and of the Yamaha n ° 37 of Team Deletang. "I was adopted by the 57", explains Magalï, visibly very relieved,"because they broke two drivers and Team LTG was kind enough to welcome me alongside Cyril Huvier and Herve Gilly !".

3:00 p.m.. Departure ! It is David Checa on the Yamaha n ° 94 of the GMT who makes the hole shot in front of David Morillon on the Kawasaki n ° 8 of the Bolliger Team, followed by the Suzuki n ° 1 of the SERT in the hands of the bisontin Vincent Philippe. Relegated to 5th place following a small error in the turn of the Water Tower, the Kawasaki n ° 8 was immediately replaced in the leading trio by its official big sister, the Kawasaki n ° 11 led by Julien Da Costa, who gasps and passes David Checa in the fourth lap. The ZX-10 then chased the two official Suzuki, and managed to pass the No. 2 while the No. 1 mercilessly widens the gap.

3:36 p.m.. Kawasaki n ° 8, victim of a fall without gravity, returns to the pits for rear wheel problems. It starts again but will have to stop again a few minutes later for a rear brake problem.

3:35 p.m.. minor fall of Yam n ° 38 in the Adelaide hairpin.

3:40 p.m.. Big crash at high speed by Christelle Orsi in the Estoril curve but the Yamaha n ° 37 of Team Deletang is rolling and Christelle returns to the pits via the safety lane to leave 17 minutes later.

3:58 p.m.. Appearance of rain … Thierry Traccan on the Suzuki # 34 of Team Moto Revue falls in the 180 degree turn.

4:22 p.m.. Violent fall of Gwen Giabbani on the Yamaha n ° 12 of Freebike Performance, which will take almost an hour to bring his machine back to the pits.

4:24 p.m.. Victim of a slow puncture at the front, the Suzuki n ° 2 returned to the pits and lost ten places.

4:27 p.m.. Abandonment of Suzuki n ° 21. Suzuki n ° 44 also gave up at 5:02 pm due to gearbox failure.

5:06 p.m.. A heavy downpour fell on the Magny Cours circuit while the Suzuki n ° 1 was still one lap ahead of the Yamaha n ° 94, which retained its second place ahead of the Kawasaki n ° 11 and the Suzuki n ° 2.

5:09 p.m.. William Costes set off after putting on his rain tires, but fell at the exit of the Grande Courbe and had to return to the pits at reduced speed under a downpour, while the safety car made its first intervention. GMT 94 downgrades to 15th place…

5:16 p.m.. The race is still neutralized by the safety car.

5:30 p.m.. After 2h30 of racing, while a heavy rain still soaking the track, the Yamaha n ° 94 struggled to find the right settings and occupied 13th place behind the Suzuki n ° 1 which still leads the race, one lap ahead of the Kawasaki n ° 11. Next come Suzuki n ° 2, Yamaha n ° 41 from Team Deletang, Honda n ° 91 from DAP Moto, Kawasaki n ° 49 from Scratch Moto, Honda n ° 6 from National Moto, Suzuki n ° 72 from Junior Team Endurance, the Honda n ° 5 of National Moto, the Suzuki n ° 30 of Zone Rouge and the Yamaha n ° 38 of Endurance Moto 38.

17:31. Fall of Yamaha n ° 90 and 68 and Suzuki n ° 61 and n ° 1. Mathieu Lagrive on Suzuki n ° 1 returned to the pits. Mauro Sanchini in the n ° 11 Kawasaki takes the lead at 17:34.

5:41 p.m.. Vincent Philippe relaunches Suzuki n ° 1 which leaves the pits in 10th position. The rain seems to calm down a bit … but redoubled in violence a few minutes later.

6:00 p.m.. The Suzuki n ° 72 passed 4th and took the lead in the Stocksport category. Kawasaki n ° 11 retains the lead ahead of Suzuki n ° 2 and Yamaha n ° 41. The Yamaha n ° 94, which was four laps behind, moved up to 9th place. Following its crash, Suzuki n ° 1 is in 11th position.

6:06 p.m.. The # 11 Kawasaki, still in the lead, gets a stop and go for excessive speed in the pit lane.

6:20 p.m.. Fall of Emmanuel Lentaigne on the Kawasaki n ° 90. At the head of the race, 44 small seconds separate the Kawasaki n ° 11 from the Suzuki n ° 2. Nice comeback of Suzuki n ° 1 which takes 6th place ahead of Yamaha n ° 38.

6:24 p.m.. Suzuki n ° 2 and Kawasaki n ° 11 stopped. Stephane Duterne leaves the handlebars of the head machine to Julien Da Costa.

6:28 p.m.. Kawasaki n ° 11 makes its stop and go and leaves with a lead of 44 seconds on Suzuki n ° 2.

6.30 p.m.. Second crash for GMT 94, at the hands of David Checa. Sebastien Gimbert takes over by starting 15th, 8 laps behind the leaders.

6:38 p.m.. The No. 141 Yamaha is idling on the circuit and the struggling No. 110 Suzuki returns to the pits. The # 11 Kawasaki is now one lap ahead of the # 2 Suzuki. Suzuki n ° 1 relegated to 15th position following its fall makes a magnificent comeback and takes 4th place.

6:45 p.m.. Fall of the Yamaha n ° 141 which will have to spend a long time at the stand for a change of fairing and several broken parts.

6:50 p.m.. Second neutralization of the race by the safety car, following oil spilled on the track. The GMT in 15th place seems to have a hard time getting back on the leaders. Suzuki n ° 47 gives up on engine failure.

19:19. The safety car left the track, Vincent Philippe stopped to refuel and doubled his stint in an attempt to continue his good ascent. Suzuki n ° 1 was then 5th four laps behind the leading Kawasaki, just behind Suzuki n ° 72 of the Junior Team, provisional 1st in the Stocksports category..

19:25. Kevin Schwantz crashed into the # 34 Suzuki of the Moto Revue team. A change of fairing later, he took to the track again at 19:47 and signed a lap in 2: 07.698, that is to say a tenth less than the best time set by Vincent Philippe on Suzuki n ° 1 !

7:35 p.m.. Suzuki n ° 1 moved up to 4th position ahead of n ° 72.

19:39. Chalon Moto Yamaha n ° 33 fell to 12th position.

19:46. Suzuki n ° 34 returns to 52nd position with Kevin Schwantz on the handlebars.

7:50 p.m.. Akira Watanabe on Suzuki n ° 2. hands over to Christophe Cogan.

19h54. GMT # 94 Yamaha climbs back to 10th place after overtaking # 16 and 84 Suzuki # 16 and 84 in the same lap.

8:16 p.m.. Suzuki Genous Team n ° 14 is stopped in the gravel trap following a mechanical problem.

8:32 p.m.. Scratch Moto Angers’ Kawasaki n ° 49 returns to the pits following a slight crash by Bertand Sebileau.

8:35 p.m.. New neutralization by the safety car following a fall of the Yamaha n ° 33 of Team Chalon Moto which remains in the middle of the track, but the pilot is unharmed. The race resumes a few minutes later.

8:54 p.m.. The No. 11 Kawasaki still held the lead with two laps ahead of the No. 1 Suzuki and three laps over the No. 2, but it crashed in the water tower. More fear than harm for Frederic Moreira but the Kawa must return to the pits to replace the entire right flank.

9:00 p.m.. Fall of Suzuki n ° 2 at the hands of Chrisophe Cogan, when he was going to take the lead following the stoppage of Kawasaki n ° 11! New intervention of the safety car. The two machines remain immobilized in the pits. Suzuki n ° 1 also stops at the pit. The three lead machines are immobilized. GMT is 9th with 3 minutes behind the leaders.

9:07 p.m.. Fall of Suzuki n ° 1 at the hands of Keiichi Kitagawa during neutralization! The three leaders are immobilized in the pits! Kawasaki n ° 11 starts again in 3rd position.

9:10 p.m.. The No.72 Suzuki took the lead when the No.1 returned to Keiichi Kitagawa and took 2nd place. It is a Stocksport which leads this 68th Bol !

9:18 p.m.. Suzuki n ° 2 in turn started again in 5th place. Safety always neutralizes the race.

9:39 p.m.. Honda n ° 5 occupies 4th place behind Kawasaki n ° 11 and Suzuki n ° 1 and 72, while Honda n ° 6, victim of major electrical problems, stagnates in 53rd place with 80 laps behind the leader … N ° 14 of the Genous Team is 30th, n ° 57 of LTG 37th and n ° 37 of Deletang 46th. Bolliger’s # 8 Kawasaki is 13th. For its part, the Suzuki n ° 34 of Kevin Schwantz Moto Revue is 50th with 31 laps behind the leaders.

9:46 p.m.. End of neutralization, the race finally resumes! The # 72 Suzuki still holds the lead, followed at 1: 36.382 by the # 2. Kawasaki n ° 11 is 3rd at 2: 4.860 behind the leader.

9:48 p.m.. Suzuki n ° 1 returned to the lead while Yamaha n ° 94 progressed to 8th position, 5 laps behind the leader. Abandonment of Honda n ° 91.

22:21. Magalï Langlois fell without gravity on the Yamaha # 57 of LTG when she was 36th at 17 laps behind the leaders. The 3A Racing Team driver leaves immediately.

22:23. The Suzuki n ° 2 takes 4th place ahead of the Honda n ° 5 of National Moto, then of the 3rd in front of the n ° 72 of Junior Team Suzuki, still in front of Stocksports.

10:58 p.m.. At 2 minutes to a third of the race, the GMT Yamaha turns in 2:07 and continues its ascent, 5 laps from Suzuki n ° 1 which turns in 2:12. The Kawasaki n ° 11 in 2nd position also reduced its delay and was only 39 seconds behind the Suzuki n ° 1 when it suddenly returned to the pit, victim of an oil leak. She leaves two minutes later in the hands of Julien Da Costa…

11:00 p.m.. Honda n ° 5 takes 4th place ahead of Suzuki n ° 72 and Suzuki n ° 2 takes 2nd place following the pit stop of Kawasaki n ° 11. The two SERT machines took control again, while the GMT was only 5 laps behind the leader. The night is announced in the image of this 68th Bowl: agitated and bitterly fought !

11:10 p.m.. Like metronomes, Suzuki n ° 2 and Yamaha n ° 94 run in 2:06 and n ° 1 in 2:12.

11:16 p.m.. Suzuki n ° 10 passes 10th in front of Kawasaki n ° 199.

11:22 p.m.. Bolliger team’s Kawasaki n ° 8 abandoned, engine broken.

11:25 p.m.. 30 small seconds separate the Kawasaki n ° 11 in 3rd position which turns in 2:03 and the Suzuki n ° 2 in 2nd place. Abandonment of Suzuki n ° 27, engine tight. Yamaha n ° 38 passed 12th ahead of Yamaha n ° 99.

23:37. Another short-lived downpour hit Magny-Cours. Giovanni Legname fell on Suzuki n ° 20.

11:54 p.m.. The Kawasaki n ° 11 takes the 2nd place in front of the Suzuki n ° 2 which stops at the pits.

Sunday

00:16. Abandonment of the Yamaha n ° 41 on electrical problems.

00:22. Patrick Vieira fell on the Yamaha n ° 68.

00:26. Suzuki n ° 1 resumes a lap of Kawasaki n ° 11 which has just changed rider, Da Costa having passed the baton to Moreira.

12:59 am. The # 72 Junior Team Suzuki takes 4th place ahead of the # 5 National Moto Honda.

01:21. Magalï Langlois on Yamaha n ° 57 crashed in Adelaide and returned to the pits at 1:49 am. The bike returns to the track at 2:15 am after the radiator and fairing have been changed.

01:30. Jean-Philippe Genetay fell on the handlebars of Yamaha n ° 37, which set off again a quarter of an hour later after changing the left plate and fairing.

01:35. The Kawasaki n ° 29 of MC Cagnes-sur-Mer in the hands of Laurent Zanetto breaks its chain. Pit stop until 2:05 am.

01:58. Emmanuel Cheron fell in the 180 with Suzuki n ° 45. He sets off again by rolling to reach the stand from where the motorcycle comes out 6 minutes later.

02:10. The No. 11 Kawasaki, in second position, clings with another competitor who stays on his wheels. Stephane Duterne fell heavily and injured his shoulder but continued his race. The fairing, rim, steering and triple trees are damaged but the Green will resume the track at 2:17 am.

02:20. Kawasaki n ° 29 fell into the 180. Eric Bigoni returned to the pits at 02:25 and left 4 minutes later.

02:22. The Honda National Moto n ° 5 stops at the pits, broken shock absorber, and starts again at 02:30.

02:26. Keiichi Kitagawa in the lead in the Suzuki n ° 1 goes out in Golf but avoids the worst by only falling when he arrives in the gravel at low speed. He joined the stand for a very quick intervention and always leaves in the lead.

02:39. Abandonment of Yamaha n ° 38.

02:40. New race neutralization following the fall of Juan Kinnish at the Nurburgring with the n ° 59 Kawasaki which left oil on the track. Too damaged, the machine will be forced to abandon at 3:15 a.m..

02:41. Abandonment of the Yamaha Chalon n ° 33, broken gearbox.

02:51. End of neutralization.

02:58. Da Costa falls in high school. The Kawasaki n ° 11 must once again get a makeover at the pits: housing, left plate and shoe are changed despite recalcitrant screws which are very expensive in time. The machine starts again at 3:11 a.m..

03h00. The gaps of the three leading machines have narrowed. Suzuki n ° 1 is still leading but is only one lap ahead of n ° 2 who overtook the n ° 11 Kawasaki, victim of its collision, 3rd on two laps. GMT n ° 94 is 4th in the same lap as the Kawasaki.

03:26. The No. 72 Suzuki of the Junior Team which was refueling at the time of neutralization lost three laps and two positions, dropping from 4th to 6th place. Honda n ° 5 passes 5th.

03:59. Uwe Reisse on Suzuki n ° 25 falls in the 180: the race is neutralized for the 6th time.

4:00 am. The Yamaha n ° 94 passed 3rd two laps away from the Suzuki n ° 1. The No. 72 Suzuki of the Junior Team is 4th at five laps. The # 11 Kawasaki, which downgraded to 5th place seven laps behind the leader, takes the # 5 Honda of National Moto on its heels.

04:10. End of neutralization, the race resumes.

4:15 am. Fall of the Englishman Henry Fincher on Suzuki n ° 16. Fairing and half handlebars are replaced but a clutch problem persists. After two more stops, it finally leaves at 05:58 a.m..

04:21. The Kawasaki n ° 199 receives a stop and go for intervention of the mechanics during the refueling.

04:22. Kevin Schwantz fell again to over 250 km / h in the Grande Courbe, nose gear damaged. The team manager Herve Moineau decides that the n ° 34 will only resume the track for the parade 10 minutes from the end with the star on the handlebars.

05h00. The positions of the top ten are unchanged. Suzuki n ° 1 took a little air. It is now two laps ahead of the n ° 2 and a little less than three ahead of the Yamaha n ° 94.

05:30. Fall of the Yamaha n ° 94 in Estoril. David Checa brings a seriously damaged machine to the stand with a stroller…

6:00 am. The Kawasaki n ° 11 passed again in front of the Suzuki n ° 72 of the Junior Team. The two machines are 9 laps behind Suzuki n ° 1, still in the lead ahead of n ° 2 at 2 laps. Honda n ° 5 had gearbox problems and left at 06:30 am having lost its place in the top 5.

6:15 a.m.. Suzuki # 1 is still in the lead, two laps ahead of # 2 and eight laps ahead of Kawasaki # 11.

6:15 a.m.. The No. 94 Yamaha returned to the track in 15th position but only covered two laps and returned to the pits for further repairs. It is probably the end of the hopes of the GMT for this Bol … The disappointment can be read on all the faces in the GMT stand. "Well here it is, mass is said", finally loose Christophe Guyot: "the frame is twisted and the crankcase is too affected to continue", he explains to Moto-Net."We came back well, 2nd place was almost acquired … The victory would have been more difficult, but it was still possible. The three drivers and the whole team did everything to win. David was driving to the limit to continue the ascent and we will rather console him than yell at him! If we had had the right to change the frame, we would have done it, because in general we like to go to the end of things … But the regulations do not allow it, which is normal because it would amount to changing motorbike. So we give up, but it hurts"…

"We had made 13 podiums in a row with the R1! It’s the end of a series, but it also means the beginning of a new one !", notes the brand new endurance world champion with impressive optimism. Incredibly calm, Christophe explains that the GMT will be there next year."We would still like to win this Bowl one day! And I know it’s possible! This year the weather forecast has decided otherwise. However, we had finally managed to find the right settings in the rain … Well, in any case I think that we cannot be blamed for not having tried !"The sad Iron Curtain will fall soon after on the GMT stand, putting a temporary end to the adventure of this team like no other…

6:23 a.m.. "Is that so ???", exclaimed the boss of SERT when we informed him of the abandonment of GMT, a few minutes before the official announcement. A moment of astonishment which must quickly fade in front of the imperatives of the race:"Wait, excuse me, but not now, it’ll be in 30 seconds !"The Suzuki n ° 2 indeed returns to the pits for a particularly express change of relay and Dominique Meliand is resuming the management of his race, which promises to be rather well under way."It’s a shame, it’s always nicer to fight to the end against our competitors", considers for his part Paulo, chief mechanic of SERT."Here we drive quietly, we manage the gaps. I think the Kawasaki will have a hard time going back up but you know, in endurance racing, as long as the checkered flag is not out, anything can happen !"

6:25 a.m.. "Christophe, with my greatest regret, really", apologizes the commissioner responsible for signing the abandonment sheet to the GMT manager … At the first light of dawn, the signing of Christophe Guyot formalizes the abandonment of Yamaha n ° 94 … No one It is doubtful that Sebastien Gimbert would have preferred to celebrate his birthday differently, even if the wisdom, optimism and tenacity of Christophe Guyot command respect and encourage people to always believe in it. One day, for sure, it will come. !

07h00. Nice fight in the Stocksports category dominated by the Suzuki n ° 72 of the Junior Team, which occupies the 4th overall position 10 laps behind the Suzuki n ° 1. The Kawasaki n ° 199, 6th scratch and 2nd Stocksports, is 8 laps behind the 72, followed by the Belgian Yamaha n ° 99 of EMS Acropoliss.

07:15. Thanks to a boredom of the Kawasaki n ° 199 which no longer had 3rd gear, the Yamaha n ° 99 passed 6th scratch and 2nd Stocksports. The n ° 199 continues as is so as not to waste too much time. The Kawasaki n ° 11 maintains its beautiful third place.

07:55. Fire started on National Moto’s Honda n ° 5 following new gearbox issues. Sebastien Scarnato stops at the edge of the track and brings the machine back to the stand with the stroller through the safety lanes. He entered the box at 8:10 am to the applause of the other competitors and gave up on a broken gearbox..

08:02. While braking Adelaide, Stephane Kokes on Suzuki n ° 42 raised his hand and stopped, victim of a rear bearing problem. He returns to the stand and leaves 7 minutes later.

08:21. Fall of Suzuki n ° 25 of the Swiss team Attack, then 20th. She resumed the track 7 minutes later, time to remove some broken fairing elements.

08:32. Suzuki n ° 45 moved up to 6th position ahead of Kawasaki n ° 199.

09:48. Third Stocksports, the Kawasaki n ° 199 returned to the pits and gave up a few minutes later, victim of its gearbox without third report. She leaves 3rd place Stocksports to the Yamaha n ° 141 of Deletang, three laps behind the Yamaha n ° 99 of EMS Acropoliss.

10h26. 19th retirement with that of the Belgian Kawasaki n ° 26 of Publi Team SPRL on engine failure.

10:45 a.m.. A little more than four hours before arrival, the SERT continues to manage its advance. Dominique Meliand imposes a sufficiently high pace on his troops not to lose focus, but not too much so as not to take unnecessary risks.

11:02. Christelle Orsi returns to the stand for a portable exhaust problem on her Yamaha n ° 37.

11:40 am. Four laps still separate the two leading Suzuki. "Four laps is not much and it is a lot", explains Dominique Meliand."I do not want them to engage in an internal struggle and rather than take risks, I prefer that they rally the finish in that order. Moreover, I told you that some motorcycles were going to bother me this year, well this is the case of Kawasaki n ° 11: it is there and it annoys me !"

12:29. Refueling of Suzuki n ° 72, still at the top of Stocksports.

12:33. Less than 2h30 from the finish, Kawasaki n ° 11 stops, still 3rd in the general classification. The Greens are 12 laps from Suzuki n ° 1 and 8 laps from n ° 2 when Frederic Moreira sets off for a new stint. The podium now seems well established and heralds a great return from Kawasaki.

12:44. Christelle Orsi takes over from Jeremy Esnault on the Yamaha n ° 37, on which they are only two since last night.

12h52. Suzuki n ° 16 fell, leaving smoking and had to go to the pit.

12h54. "We died fighting, so honor is safe … but we died anyway !", summarizes one of the members of the GMT 94 by evoking the abandonment of the Yamaha n ° 94 following the fall of David Checa.

12:56. In front of the leaders of the Mutuelle des Motards, main sponsor of GMT 94, Christophe Guyot "apologize"for this Bol d’Or."This feeling of disappointment, we live it together and my only disappointment is not to finish, not to not have won. But we do not give up in failure! We could have secured a 3rd place, we preferred to fight to win. We put a lot of pressure on the Suzuki n ° 1 that we know well. It was an amazing race in terms of crashes and a lot of the riders don’t know why they fell. I know how hard it is to fall in a race, for having experienced it myself. And above all, we can’t blame David ! We will come back next year and anyway we would have come back even if we had won, because we owe everything to this race. And since 6 am, in our heads we are already preparing the Bol 2005…"Long applause…

1:00 p.m.. Yamaha # 141 fell in Adelaide while fighting for 6th place with Suzuki JLC # 45. His pilot managed to start again, but was ordered to stop at the pit because of heavy smoke. The motorcycle lost oil in the curve.

1:04 p.m.. Short moment of fright: Suzuki n ° 2 rejoins its stand and enters directly inside, suggesting the worst … But Dominique Meliand immediately signals that all is well: it is simply a question of changing the lower fairing , operation performed in seconds. If the SERT team remains studious, the atmosphere is more and more festive inside the stand. Happy hug between Dominique Meliand and Atsushi Watanabe.

1:06 p.m.. The Suzuki n ° 1 still leader also directly enters the pit to undergo the same intervention. SERT does everything to save a bit of suspense !

13:14. Magalï Langlois on the Yamaha n ° 57 "fingers crossed: for the moment we are holding !"

13:34. Kawasaki # 11 goes inside the pit for a tire change and leaves almost immediately.

13:39. The Yamaha n ° 15 of Zone Rouge Belgique passes in front of the Suzuki n ° 84 of EMPP Endurance.

13:46. Abandonment of the Deletang Yamaha n ° 141.

1:50 p.m.. Huge fall of the Suzuki n ° 84 of EMPP Endurance which passes over the security wall at the water tower. Belgian driver Michael Goffinghs is unharmed.

2:00 p.m.. Last hour of racing! The podium is confirmed from lap to lap.

2:05 p.m.. Short pit stop for Suzuki n ° 2: Atsushi Watanabe leaves the handlebars to Olivier Four who will cross the finish line in second position in less than an hour.

2:06 p.m.. The # 24 Kawasaki from 3D Endurance (Stocksport) takes 12th ahead of the Suzuki # 84 from EMPP Endurance (Superproduction).

2:08 p.m.. Matthieu Lagrive leaves to Vincent Philippe, author of the fastest lap in the race in 1: 43.82, the joy of taking the handlebars of Suzuki n ° 1 to cross the finish line as a winner in 52 minutes.

2:12 p.m.. The technicians of Team Moto Revue install the heating blankets on the Suzuki n ° 34 which will take again the track in half an hour for the parade of Kevin Schwantz.

2:19 p.m.. Five laps separate Suzuki n ° 1 and 2 but the two SERT machines symbolically roll one behind the other in order to cross the finish line together.

2:15 p.m.. Official abandonment of Suzuki n ° 84.

2:26 p.m.. Stop of Suzuki n ° 2 which remains in the hands of Christophe Cogan for a little relaxed routine check, far from the rush of the first hours of the race.

2:28 p.m.. Suzuki n ° 72 stopped, still leading the Stocksports category. Guillaume Dietrich, author of the start, takes the handlebars for the last stint.

2:30 p.m.. Last half hour of racing !

2:35 p.m.. Moto Revue’s # 34 Suzuki takes back the track from Kevin Schwantz.

2:45 p.m.. The three leading motorcycles take position for the finish. The two Suzuki n ° 1 and 2 salute the Kawasaki n ° 11 by passing it.

3:00 p.m.. The No. 1 and No. 2 Suzuki offered SERT its ninth Bol d’Or, followed by the No. 11 Kawasaki which climbed to the third step of the podium. "Some say the GSXR is an aging motorcycle", notes Dominique Meliand."Well if that’s what aging is, I resign immediately for several years !"Congratulations to all the competitors and see you next year at Magny Cours, which will host the Bol d’Or at least until 2009 !

Eric MICHEL (with J. ARSOUILLE)

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *