The anguish of the endurance pilot at the time of departure…

What do you think of at the start of a 24 hour race? What trip are you about to take in your head to hold at least eight one-hour stints and cover more than 700 laps from Saturday 3:00 p.m. to the same time the next day? ? Pilot’s words.

It’s the story of a guy who gets on his motorcycle on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and gets off the next day at the same time, more than 700 laps later (715 last year for the fastest) after the having lent to two friends…

What is going on in his head when he leaves? Pilot’s words.

Matthieu Lagrive, Suzuki n ° 1 pilot
What do I think about when I leave? Do not make mistakes, stay alert and ride the bike as best as possible. After the start I think "strongly tomorrow!" but when it’s over it’s still the fastest 24 hours ever !

Olivier Four, Suzuki n ° 2 pilot
When you leave, you don’t think about the next 24 hours. On the other hand in the middle of the night, or in the early morning, or when the physiotherapist comes to wake you up, there you sometimes wonder what you are doing there! But it lasts 5 minutes and we don’t think about it anymore! In fact the hardest part is not the 24 hours, it is the one hour shifts because you should not make dumplings…

David Checa, Yamaha rider n ° 94
Me ? I think of winning !!! To do the maximum during all my stints! Mentally I have no problem: the team is at the top, the atmosphere is at the top, there is no stress even if Magny Cours is a very physically demanding circuit. If the race takes place in the dry it will be hot and if it is wet it will depend on luck … But I really hope it doesn’t rain !

Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha rider n ° 94
When you leave, you have to be 100%. Today in endurance races you can no longer be content with insuring, it’s a World SBK rhythm! The calculation is simple: eight stints here is the equivalent of half a Superbike season … When you get off a stint you are really washed up, for an hour you are at full speed all the time! In the morning you start to have pain, the bike sometimes behaves strangely but the goal is always to win. Physically, we all do a lot of sport (mountain biking, jogging, weight training, jet skiing, a bit of everything!) And mentally I am well prepared with the Superbike. The secret is knowing how to rest between two stints: I don’t hang around too much in the paddocks, I look for quiet places and I concentrate. The GMT is a great team, we all three have a lot of experience and I know the SERT well because I won twice here with them! In any case, we lost the pole but we will win the 24 hours !

Zef Enault, tester at Motorcycle Journal and Suzuki pilot n ° 76
It will disappoint you but when leaving, I don’t think about anything! I tell myself that it’s just a motorcycle race and when I look at the stands with 30 or 40,000 spectators, I realize how lucky I am! In fact, contrary to what we often hear in endurance racing, the start is very important: if you manage to catch the first 15, you take a good lead that you can keep throughout the race if all goes well. For me endurance is an hour-long sprint race, and the first is the most important !

Eric MICHEL

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