Bol d’Or – Bol d’Or 2015: statements from drivers and team managers –

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Bol d’Or 2015: statements from drivers and team managers

Bol d'Or - Bol d'Or 2015: statements from drivers and team managers -

Winner of the Bol d’Or yesterday at Le Castellet (83) in front of "74,000 spectators" according to the organizer, the Kawasaki SRC team can tick a fourth consecutive box in its "Bol d’Or" column (read our Report in Le Castellet: le Bol d’Or 2015 seen from the inside): good performance after its 2012, 2013 and 2014 victories at Magny-Cours (58) !

Winner of (83) in front of "74,000 spectators" according to the organizer, the Kawasaki SRC team can tick a fourth consecutive box in its "Bol d’Or" column (read our): good performance after its victories, and at Magny- Courses (58) !

The No. 94 GMT Yamaha, victim of a crash in the first few minutes after having another bad start, made a good comeback from 54th place. By finishing second, she has to return "her" second world championship title but as David Checa points out (see below), victory would not have changed anything for the title if SERT finished third. Naturally disappointed, Christophe Guyot’s team intends to return to excellent form in 2016 after making the most of this year. !

By placing third in the Bol d’Or 2015, the SERT can thus recover "its" title for the fourteenth time. Find the statements of the drivers and team managers who made the Bol d’Or 2015 vibrate this weekend to celebrate its return to Le Castellet !

 SRC Kawasaki n ° 11 (EWC): winner of the Bol d’Or and 3rd in the championship

Gilles Staffler, team manager : "I really wanted to win here because we are at home. I raced my first Bol d’Or here at Paul Ricard in 1986 and we are members of Paul Ricard MC. But we also have to deal with our disappointing results at and. Before Germany, we had never exploded an engine in a race ”.

Gregory Leblanc, driver: "During the race, I didn’t want to think of a fourth success at the Bol d’Or. In any case, we didn’t have time to think! Every time we took a little lead , we had a little problem. This race was nervously difficult! ”

Matthieu Lagrive, pilot : "After our difficult season with two withdrawals at and, we had to end the year with a victory but it was not easy"

Fabien Foret, pilot : "I really loved this race, but I also wanted to catch up with my (Fabien had fallen at the start of the race, Editor’s note) which had given the victory to the SERT".

 GMT Yamaha n ° 94 n ° 11 (EWC): 2nd in the Bol d’Or and in the world championship

Christophe Guyot, team manager : "Of course, I have mixed feelings about the results of this race. We were aiming for victory and the world title (GMT had to catch 23 points behind SERT, Editor’s note), but we can be proud of our second position in the race and in the championship. The team and the riders never gave up, never lost their enthusiasm to start one of the most beautiful comebacks in our history. Of course, we can be happy to have obtained the second place after a very solid race, without any problem with the bike. At the beginning we were five laps behind the n ° 11 and we finished just two laps behind them. It shows that victory was possible. This race was a great one. showcased the incredible potential of the YZF-R1! The bike ran amazingly well and I am very happy with its performance. We are also happy for Yamaha to have secured the constructor’s title for the second time in a row. thank o the drivers for their efforts, and the team for being superb. We gave our best today and can be proud of ourselves. Our Yamaha R1 is efficient, agile, reliable, and gives us a lot of hope for the 2016 season, which we will prepare without delay. I would like to thank Dunlop for providing us with high quality engineers and tires, my motivated and competent team in all circumstances, a trio of consistent and fast riders, and all the partners who have followed us for many years ”.

David Checa, driver: "The start of the race was difficult and we had to keep attacking the whole race. In the end we finished second, it was not enough for the title, but even if we had won the race we would still have finished second in the championship. Some competitors had problems halfway through the race, we at the start … It’s endurance, it can happen at any time. I got in right away. I crashed after a bad start and some riders were riding riskily. I widened too much in the turn and hit the curb. We had a hard time restarting the bike. had problems at the start of Le Mans, Suzuka and Oschersleben. So we have to find a solution to that not to get stuck in the peloton. The mid-grid drivers want to show their attacks and we can easily end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fortunately, we did not had more problems during the race and the team did a perfect job. I did not manage to forget the crash, but our second place in the race and in the championship is a very positive result. Of course, we wanted to win because it’s still our goal, but even without the crash it would have been difficult. We did the best we could, like all the teams, including those that didn‘t have the chance to get to the end ”.

Kenny Foray, pilot : "Yesterday at 3:12 p.m., if I had been told that we would be on the podium today, I would have signed straight away! We were solid throughout the race. We had no problems afterwards. the fall. There should be no regrets. With "ifs", we could all win the Bol d’Or. This year it is not us who have won, but we will come back to climb to the top step. The team did a great job. The bike was reassembled very quickly, my teammates were brilliant and super fast. We are happy, although we can’t hide our disappointment at missing the victory ".

Mathieu Ginès, pilot : "We still had a lot of fun. What I want to stress is that this is the first year of this new R1. We have reached the end of all the 24 hour races. We have made progress. throughout the year. We had a lot of fun and we saw that it was reliable, since even after a fall it lasts 24 hours. I’m happy, very happy for the team ".

 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team n ° 30 (EWC): 3rd and world champion 2015

Dominique Meliand, team manager : "They say that the younger we are, the more we thirst for victory, but I can assure you that it is exactly the same at my age (68 years old, Editor’s note)! This 14th world champion title is also good that the very first and it shows to all those who criticized the GSX-R1000 that it is always a machione to be won! I am very, very happy. This 14th title we wanted, it was something that was close to my heart , we’re really on the verge of tears! It’s been a great season for us. To finish on the podium today and win the endurance world championship is great for Suzuki Motor Corporation and all of our sponsors ”.

Vincent Philippe, pilot (nine times world champion) : "I was very scared last night, I doubted a lot. When you have the wheel across at 250 km / h, it is not easy but right now, I feel really very, very good! It’s a great year for us ”.

Anthony Delhalle, pilot (7 times world champion) :

Etienne Masson, pilot : "I put a lot of pressure on myself to try to meet expectations. I was often afraid of not being up to the task, but the team and my teammates were able to help me adapt to this environment. Today, I don’t realize what’s happening to me ".

 Honda Racing Team n ° 111 (EWC): retirement

Neil Tuxworth, team manager: "It is very disappointing for the whole team, the drivers, the mechanics and all those who put in a lot of effort, especially after leading the race. Unfortunately we had to retire because of a problem with the machine, that’s all I can say for now ".

Steven Casaer, sports director : "We don’t yet know what happened, what is certain is that we had to stop and it’s a shame because we were really in a good position. We led until the 16th hour, then we had an engine problem that we tried to repair, but we have to do more in-depth analyzes to find out where it comes from. In any case, it was impossible to continue the race ".

Julien da Costa, pilot : "We are all disappointed … World endurance is a team effort, we win together and we lose together. It’s a shame not to have finished the race because we were not the fastest team , but we were ahead for a long time, which shows that we had the right strategy. I think it’s sad for everyone because there is a good understanding between the three drivers, we form a good team. really that luck will smile on us more in 2016 ".

Freddy Foray, driver: "To be honest, at the start we didn’t think we would be able to fight in the leading group so quickly. But we took control of the race and we started to believe that this time we were lucky. from our side. Of course it’s disappointing because we all worked hard without being able to cross the finish line, it’s hard for the whole team. We would have liked to end the season on a positive note but it’s race, so now we have to keep fighting for next year ".

Sebastien Gimbert, pilot : "This race was very important for me, this season was a little complicated for all of us because the team worked hard and we were unlucky most of the time. As a driver, it’s very frustrating. spent all night fighting to keep first place, and in the end we couldn’t finish the race. What I will remember is that we animated the race while we were leading. media talked about the CBR and our team, it’s good for our partners and for the people who support us, but I think we should have had more luck. Now if we want to fight to win next year, you have to stay focused and get back to work as soon as possible ".

To be continued on MNC: stay connected !

Bol d’Or 2015 photo galleries

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