6:30 am: SERT revises its objectives upwards and targets 1st and 3rd places

At the moment when the official Kawasaki n ° 11 announces its retirement due to engine failure, the SERT revises its objectives upwards by aiming to maintain the third place of the podium for the Suzuki n ° 1 and the victory for the n ° 2. With between the two, the Yamaha n ° 94…

At a time when the organizers of the Bol d’Or bring, as they do every year, an impressive shipment of pains au chocolat and fresh croissants to hungry journalists – always nice attention from which the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans could draw inspiration! – SERT boss Dominique Meliand tells us his objectives have been revised upwards since the official abandonment of the last official Kawasaki still in the running.

A look back at an unspectacular but very tense night, during which the slightest mistake is paid for in cash…

At 3:28 am, fear for Suzuki n ° 12 which stops on the circuit but manages to start again.

At 3.35 am, BMW n ° 17 crashed at the entrance to the straight line, just three hours after the abandonment of its n ° 71 colleague … The machine struggled to be relieved by the pilot Richard Cooper who succeeded however to cross the track to reach his box.

At 3:45 am, Suzuki n ° 26 was the twentieth Bol’Or machine to abandon due to engine failure.

At 4:00 am, the Yamaha n ° 94 in second position still sticks close to a second per lap to the Suzuki n ° 2. SERT’s second machine still holds the lead in the race, but for how long? The Dunlops that are equipping the GMT motorcycle this year, initially planned to cope with the Nivernaise rain, finally seem to adapt well to the Yamaha on a dry track … But anything can still happen, it’s magic endurance…

With the abandonment of the Yamaha n ° 57 due to a power problem, only 36 motorcycles are still in the race out of the 57 starters..

The lap times stabilized between the Suzuki n ° 2 in the lead and the Yamaha n ° 94 launched after him. The two machines are running in 1’44.5 when the Yamaha n ° 94 returns to the pits to refuel at 4:09 am, at the same time as the Suzuki n ° 1 which continues its infernal rise from 37th place at 7:00 pm to 6th at 4:00 am … On his handlebars, Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa are the fastest on the track (1.44 regular).

Gwen Giabbani takes the reins of the official Kawasaki n ° 11 still in 8th position. Shortly after 4:00 am, in the 445th race lap, the Suzuki n ° 2 still in the lead again gave some coal (1.44.4) and regained a little margin on the Yamaha n ° 94 (1’46.2).

The No. 8 Kawasaki Bolliger retains its place on the virtual podium for the moment, eight laps behind the leaders. Behind, less than 5 seconds separate the Yamaha n ° 3 of Phase One in 4th position from its pursuer, the Honda n ° 55 of National Moto in 5th place.

The leading Suzuki stopped at the pits at 4:28 am to refuel and change the tires, then Matthieu Lagrive let Guillaume Dietrich take control of the race for a new night stint in 1’45…

At 4.30 am, the No. 1 SERT Suzuki still in 6th position with only two riders, turned in 1’44.6. It is only 16 seconds behind the n ° 55 Honda of National Moto and a few minutes later, the gap is reduced to 10 seconds … Then to 5 seconds at 4:39 am, then only one at 4:40 am! The GSX-R therefore logically ends up swallowing the CBR at 4:42 am and re-entering the top 5 !

Is the # 55 Honda in trouble? She immediately returns to the pit, causing a slight panic in the National Moto pit, then takes to the track again.

Kawasaki n ° 11, sixth, turns in 1’44.0 when it suddenly stops at 4:50 in the corner of Adelaide: it returns to the pits … Julien Da Costa, who suffers from the wrist following his spectacular collision with the Yamaha n ° 33, might not start again…

Third neutralization just before 5 a.m. following the fall of the Suzuki n ° 65 of Motobox Kremer.

At 5:02 am, the official Kawasaki n ° 11 announced its retirement due to engine failure, which immediately made SERT’s business: Dominique Meliand readjusted his objective upwards by now aiming for third place on the podium for the Suzuki n ° 1 and victory for n ° 2 (audio interview opposite).

A goal that became clearer shortly before 6:00 a.m., when the No. 3 Yamaha of the Phase One Endurance team gave up its third place to the No. 1 Suzuki of the SERT..

We should also point out, a few minutes before sunrise, a very good race on the side of the 3A Racing Team crew who moved up to 30th place overall, as well as that of the Metiss n ° 45 of the JLC Moto team at the head of the Open category and in tenth scratch place !

See you in a few moments under the first rays of the sun … Stay connected !

Eric MICHEL, Fred RENARD and Marcus HIMSELF

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