24 Heures Motos – Arrival of the 24H: the YART wins for the first time in Sarthe! – Used YAMAHA

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Arrival of the 24 hours: the YART wins for the first time in the Sarthe !

24 Heures Motos - Arrival of the 24H: the YART wins for the first time in Sarthe! - Used YAMAHA

While most of the favorites are at fault during this 32nd edition of the 24H of Le Mans, the YART seizes the victory at the end of a daring and intelligent race! This is the Austrian team’s first success on the Bugatti.

The race continued on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans and the rain turned into a light drizzle which did not really help the grip of the track. Besides, the Suzuki No Limits n ° 44 gets trapped around 12:30 p.m. and its unfortunate rider sees his motorcycle crumpled up in the last lengths of the Le Mans marathon..

At the head of the race, Matthieu Lagrive continues to push on the Yamaha n ° 7 of the YART, on the lookout for the slightest problem encountered by the leader to try to steal the victory from him in the last moments of the race! Over-motivated by the stake, Lagrive goes down in 1’51 while the YART turns in 2’03 !

The Yamaha reacted quickly and lowered its lap times enough to take shelter from the return of the CBR 1000 RR prepared by Honda France, whose counter was six laps less than the lead bike. The SERT, for its part, is ten laps behind the leader, ahead of the Suzuki of Racing Team Motovirus, QERT, LMS and team RAC41-City Bike.

The official Kawasaki is in eighth position after the mishap suffered by Frederic Moreira at 12:05. The pilot has "exploded the crown carrier bearing of our ZX-10R while going up the pit lane to return to the track after a stint", Gilles Stafler of the GSR Kawasaki team explains live..

Fortunately for the French official team, the bike did not cross a limit precisely defined by the official regulations: after careful examination, the race management authorized Frederic Moreira to turn around and return directly to his pit, thus avoiding the pilot to push the Ninja over the four kilometers of the circuit, as it could have been the case if the motorcycle had stopped a little further !

One hour before the checkered flag, the positions remain unchanged and in no way illustrate the efforts of the 27 teams still in the race. The marshals wave their flags and warn the pilots on the track that the rain may accompany them until the end of the event. !

50 minutes from the end, the Yamaha n ° 7 returned to the pits: Gwen Giabbani replaced Steve Martin to complete the second lap of the clock. Simultaneously, Mishal Al-Naimi takes control of the No. 95 Suzuki at the top of the Superstock category. One last time – a priori -, the two leaders leave the pits together to the cheers of an audience that has reinvested en masse the stands of the Bugatti.

About ten minutes later, it was the Suzuki N ° 1’s turn to refuel. Within SERT, Barry Veneman will have the honor of crossing the finish line, probably in 3rd place.

Half an hour from the end, the n ° 72 puts on a final push: Cedric Tangre joins the pots of the Qatari pilot of the n ° 95. The two are fighting for the 5th place in the scratch but especially for the 1st of the Superstock !

Visibly more at ease on the track again battered by the rain, Cedric of the Junior Team overtakes Mishal of QERT in the Chemin aux Bœufs! Like what, until the end, the Endurance pilots have an interest in spitting in the gloves…

It was not until the last quarter of an hour to see the official Honda land for the very last time. And it is Sebastien Charpentier who will complete this 32nd edition of the 24H on the handlebars of the n ° 111, which climbs on the 2nd step of the podium for his big comeback in competition..

Then it was the turn of Suzuki n ° 69 to make its last pit stop, less than 9 minutes from the end of the event. Frederic Jond therefore leaves for the gain of 4th place.

Gwen Giabbani crossed the finish line for the 727th and last time, arms raised to celebrate this unprecedented victory for the Austrian team in Le Mans !

The Honda n ° 111 – paved with Michelin like the Yam ‘- finished in second place ahead of the SERT Suzuki, whose charismatic team manager, Dominique Meliand, will admit himself at the finish "disappointed, but already turned towards the Bol d’Or: we will get there much more sharper … Gentlemen, good luck !"

Final classification of the 24 Hours Moto of Le Mans 2009:

  1. n ° 7, Yamaha Austria Racing Team (Jerman, Martin, Giabbani): 727 laps

  2. n ° 111, Honda France (Plater, Charpentier, Lagrive): 722 laps

  3. n ° 1, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Philippe, Veneman, Dietrich): 716 laps

  4. n ° 69, Racing Team Motovirus (Devoyon, Chevre, Jond): 709 laps

  5. n ° 72, Junior Team Suzuki LMS (Foray, Tangre, Bulle): 703 laps

  6. n ° 95, Qatar Endurance Racing Team (Al-Nami, Al-Mannai, Delhalle): 703 laps

  7. n ° 41, RAC41 – City Bike (Junod, Gantner, Houssin): 696 laps

  8. n ° 11, GSR Kawasaki (Da costa, Foray, Andrews): 695 laps

  9. n ° 27, TRT27 Bazar 2 la becane (Prulhière, Andrieu, Gnemmi): 692 laps

  10. n ° 8, Bolliger Team (saiger, Muff, Penzkofer): 692 laps

Alex, Marcos, Marcus and Matt

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