Bol d’Or – Suzuki returns to victory at the Bol d’Or! – Used SUZUKI

Posted on by admin

Suzuki returns to victory at the Bol d’Or !

Bol d'Or - Suzuki returns to victory at the Bol d'Or! - Used SUZUKI

The No. 1 SERT Suzuki in the hands of Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and Etienne Masson made short work of its rivals at the Bol d’Or 2016, the opening round of the 2016 FIM EWC World Endurance Championship / 2017: the yet aging GSX-R 1000, which will be replaced next year, wins with nine laps ahead of the Kawasaki SRC n ° 11 (Gregory Leblanc, Randy de Puniet and Fabien Foret) and the Kawasaki n ° 10 from Trick Star Racing (Erwan Nigon, Osamu Deguchi and Hitoyasu Izutsu). Debriefing.

Despite an excellent start to the weekend for the Yamaha # 94 of GMT (best, best and), it is the Suzuki # 1 of SERT, which emerges at the top of the world championship after a clear and flawless victory at the Bol d’Or 2016, under the eyes of "more than 65,000 spectators" according to the organizers.

Dominique Meliand’s men (Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and Etienne Masson) sign SERT’s 16th victory at the Bol d’Or (including eight with Vincent Philippe!) And leave the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet (83) with a box full of 60 points in the FIM EWC World Endurance Championship: 40 for the victory and 10 for the first positions in the 8th and 16th hours !

Bol d'Or - Suzuki returns to victory at the Bol d'Or! - Used SUZUKI

The Kawasaki n ° 11 of the SRC led by Gregory Leblanc, Randy de Puniet and Fabien Foret climbed on the second step of the podium after winning the Bol d’Or, while its colleague from the Franco-Japanese team Trick Star Racing ( Erwan Nigon, Osamu Deguchi and Hitoyasu Izutsu) ranks third.

Gilles Stafler’s team no longer plays the entire championship for lack of financial support but only the Bol d’Or and the 24H Motos du Mans (read), the n ° 10 performs a very good operation in the world ranking, which will see also the arrival of the new Suzuki GSX-R 1000 and Honda CBR 1000…

Bol d'Or - Suzuki returns to victory at the Bol d'Or! - Used SUZUKI

Nice fourth place for the R1 n ° 14 of Maco Racing (Anthony dos Santos, Greg Junod and Marko Jerman), part 11th on the grid and first Yamaha at the finish, ahead of the CBR1000RR n ° 5 of the Japanese team FCC TSR (Shinichi Ito, Damian Cudlin and Kazuma Watanabe), fifth scratch and first Honda.

Big fight in Superstock

The main fight of this 80th Bol d’Or took place in Superstock, with a magnificent end of the race between the Yamaha n ° 96 of Moto Ain (Alexis Masbou, Johan Nigon and Hugo Clere), the Kawasaki n ° 4 of the Tati Team Beaujolais Racing (Julien Enjolras, Dylan Buisson and Anthony Violland) and the Yamaha n ° 36 of 3ART Yam ‘Avenue which was running with only two pilots (Louis Bulle and Alex Plancassagne) since the discomfort of Luca Marconi! On arrival, it is finally the Yamaha n ° 96, 6th scratch, which wins in the category ahead of the Kawasaki n ° 4 (7th) and the Yamaha n ° 36 (8th).

The Moto Ain team thus wins in and pockets the corresponding bonus of € 5,000.

"I was surprised to meet little resistance"

The Yamaha n ° 94, courageously recovered from the depths of the ranking and which aimed for a modest top 12 or 13 following several crashes, manages to save the points for 9th place after having the 2016 title.

Bol d'Or - Suzuki returns to victory at the Bol d'Or! - Used SUZUKI

Disappointment on the other hand for the Honda Endurance Racing n ° 111, which had long occupied the top three before retiring because of mechanical problems related to the gearbox, just like the Suzuki n ° 50 of April Moto Motors Events on the same type of problem.

"No human error and not the slightest mechanical problem have come up against the formidable winning machine of SERT which was really above the rest this year", rejoices Suzuki France.

Statements by pilots and team managers

Dominique Meliand, SERT team manager (winner) : "It was an absolutely incredible race for the SERT, it’s a real team victory for all of us and for the GSX-R. We took the lead in the fourth lap and we didn’t. more relaxed until the finish. It’s a fabulous victory at the Bol d’Or, we are all very happy ".

Anthony Delhalle, SERT Suzuki n ° 1 driver (winner) : "I was confident for the race after my very good practice. The bike worked really well and our tires were on top in these conditions. It was not an easy victory, but I was still surprised to meet relatively little resistance from our rivals. It was an incredible race. After practice we knew we had a good package with the GSX-R, but before the race we didn’t know if the Kawasaki or the Yamaha would be faster. We knew we could have a good result here but we could not imagine winning with a nine laps lead. ".

Bol d'Or - Suzuki returns to victory at the Bol d'Or! - Used SUZUKI

Vincent Philippe, Suzuki n ° 1 pilot du SERT (winner): "It’s great! With this 8th success at the Bol, I become the record holder for victories in the event. I really wanted this record, it allows us to exist for a long time. Beyond that, this another victory represents a return on years of work with this team ".

Etienne Masson, driver of the SERT Suzuki n ° 1 (winner) : "I had the chance to take the last stint. It’s really heartwarming to bring the bike to victory. I had a disappointment in the Portimao race where we finished 2nd with a tiny gap (, gap the tighter in the history of world endurance, Editor’s note). At the Bol d’Or, the race was less stressful: we had no problems and I had a lot of fun ".

Randy de Puniet, Kawasaki SRC rider n ° 11 (2nd) : "Here, this 80th Bol d’Or ends on the podium in 2nd place. Wonderful experience! A big thank you to my teammates Fabien Foret and Gregory Leblanc, to the Kawasaki SRC team, as well as to Bernard Achou, my love ( the model Audrey Bouette, Editor’s note), without forgetting all my partners ".

Martin Kuzma, responsible for the Maco Racing Team (4th) : "During free practice we worked on the race configuration of the engine and on fuel consumption. In qualifying we preferred to be assured, Marko (Jerman, Editor’s note) could not set a good time but he managed to to place eleventh on the grid. Then we followed our race plan, but unfortunately we had a technical problem in the third hour which cost us several laps that we could not catch up. Finishing fourth at the Bol d’Or is an excellent result that we are all happy about. I thank the competitors and the whole team for their excellent work ".

Damian Cudlin, Honda # 5 FCC TSR rider (5th) : "The 24hr races are brutal and this was no exception to the rule, but the FCC TSR team and my roommates, Kazuma Watanabe and Shinichi Ito, we do a fantastic job. We avoided the trouble and we took big points (21, Editor’s note) from the start of the championship! "

Alexis Masbou, rider of the Yamaha n ° 96 Moto Ain (1st Superstock and 6th scratch) : "I am happy and proud of my first participation, with a victory in Superstock and a 6th place in the scratch! Not long ago, I made the decision to run at the Bol d’Or to discover endurance. , to drive a 1000 cc and above all to find pleasure! It’s a 100% successful mission thanks to Pierre Chapuis and the entire Moto-Ain team who welcomed me with open arms! And a big congratulations to my teammates, Johan Nigon and Hugo Clere (, NDLR) "

Julien Enjolras, driver of the Kawasaki n ° 4 of the Tati Team Beaujolais Racing (2nd Superstock and 7th scratch) : "We have a little feeling of disappointment, but at the same time we are happy. It’s true that we were close to victory, but the Moto Ain team was fast and we couldn’t get it. preferred to play the championship with the big points of this second place ".

Alex Plancassagne, rider of Yamaha n ° 36 of 3Art Yam’Avenue (3rd Superstock and 8th scratch) : "We finished third in pain because we doubled a few stints, so physically it was a little hard. We score big points for the championship, that’s the most important because the team’s objective is the title at the end of the year ".

Christophe Guyot, team manager of GMT94 (9th) : "We came to the Bol d’Or with the aim of winning. After our descent in the standings, the team and all the players in the team gave everything to try to grab some points for the world championship. 13 points that will certainly be valuable at the end of the season David Checa, Niccolò Canepa and Lucas Mahias form a trio comprising an energy, courage and talent that have already brought us two victories and pole position in the Bol d’Or this year. I am convinced that we will win together again very quickly. I wish above all the best to Marius Tabaries (rider of the Yamaha n ° 12 of the R7 Racing Team, Editor’s note), victim of a fall during the race which very seriously injured. My team and I are wholeheartedly with him to overcome a test which promises to be painful (Marius is currently hospitalized for a head trauma, several internal injuries and a broken leg, editor’s note) ".

David Checa, rider of Yamaha GMT n ° 94 (9th) : "The team put in a lot of effort this weekend and I cannot thank them enough for their total investment. It was a very intense race with a high pace from the start. We knew it was a special circuit. , with fast straights and tight corners, so we worked a lot to find the perfect set-up. What I take away from the race is our speed, especially in the tight sequences. We will continue to work hard, we hope just a little better luck next time ".

Niccolò Canepa, pilot of the Yamaha n ° 94 from GMT (9th) : "I’m happy with the end of the weekend, especially after our problems at the start. I crashed in a slow corner while following another rider. He had a problem and his bike was losing oil. I widened a bit, got out of the traj ‘and lost the front. Anyway it’s a good lesson. I can’t wait to continue the rest of the season because I believe that we can do much better ".

Lucas Mahias, pilot of the Yamaha n ° 94 from GMT (9th) : "Riding for GMT is great. I had the absolute best time in qualifying and I was happy to have contributed to our pole position. The team is very professional and I think it showed. in the way we manage the pressure. Getting past 40th place and coming back to finish ninth was not an easy task. I think we lost count of the number of passes we made during the race ".

Ludovic Reze, team manager of RAC41 (16th) : "This is an encouraging result for the team, after only three races with our Honda CBR 1000 SP. The riders had excellent consistent lap times and had a good feeling with the bike well prepared by the team. A small crash, running out of gas and worrying about the brakes cost us too much time but without these hazards we would very probably have finished the race in the top 10. Our eyes are now on Le Mans 2017, with a busy work program which must now focus on the settings necessary to regularly enter the Top 10 ".

Mathieu Lagrive, rider of Suzuki n ° 50 April Moto Motors Events (retirement) : "At the end of my stint, at the end of the straight line of the Mistral, I heard a strange noise, something unusual. I thought of a technical problem, but it’s the 5 pinion that broke. It’s a sad abandonment ".

Mandy Kainz, team manager of YART Yamaha Official EWC (retirement) : "All in all, it’s not such a bad weekend. We have proven that we have the speed and consistency to be at the forefront but the final outcome left us all hungry. arrived at the Bol d’Or with the goal of getting on the podium and we showed that we could have been there. We took second place nine hours after the start and we stayed there until we retired, just before the 16th hour (and its 9 points which went to Trick Star Racing, Editor’s note). The team did a wonderful job and our R1 was very efficient. The result is not what we expected, but it gives us want to come back even stronger on the next round ".

Broc Parkes, pilot of Ymaha n ° 7 of the YART Yamaha Official EWC : "This race was like an explosion. I felt very comfortable on the bike from the start so I kept pushing. Apart from the little problems we had after the start, I think that ‘ we were among the fastest, if not the fastest. For me, it was very easy to keep a high pace. The bike was perfectly tuned for these conditions and I was attacking hard. disappointing that we couldn’t finish the race, but we will be back for sure! "

Further statements from drivers and team managers to follow on MNC, while waiting for the second round of the FIM EWC championship which will take place in Portugal with the: stay tuned !

Bol d’Or 2016 results and rankings

  1. 1 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 1 EWC 23: 51: 03.405 – (40 points)
  2. 11 SRC Kawasaki 2 EWC 23: 52: 48.268 +9 laps (33 points)
  3. 10 EVA TRICK STAR Racing 3 EWC 23: 51: 39.444 +11 laps (28 points)
  4. 14 MACO RACING Team 4 EWC 23: 52: 46.711 +12 laps (24 points)
  5. 5 F.C.C. TSR Honda 5 EWC 23: 51: 54.846 +13 laps (21 points)
  6. 96 MOTO AIN CRT 1 SST 23: 52: 53.128 +18 laps (19 points)
  7. 4 Tati Team Beaujolais Racing 2 SST 23: 51: 48.469 +19 laps (17 points)
  8. 36 TEAM 3ART YAM’AVENUE 3 SST 23: 51: 55.411 +21 laps (15 points)
  9. 94 GMT94 YAMAHA 6 EWC 23: 51: 12.596 +28 laps (13 points)
  10. 48 Voelpker NRT48 by Schubert-Motors 4 SST 23: 51: 25.076 +28 laps (11 points)
  11. 66 Racing Team Sarazin 5 SST 23: 51: 58.600 +28 laps (10 points)
  12. 333 Yamaha Viltaïs Experience 6 SST 23: 53: 21.567 +33 laps (9 points)
  13. 72 Junior Team LMS Suzuki 7 SST 23: 51: 33.972 +35 laps (8 points)
  14. 2 Team R2CL 7 EWC 23: 51: 43.301 +36 laps (7 points)
  15. 37 Space Moto 37 8 EWC 23: 51: 46.661 +37 laps (6 points)
  16. 41 RAC 41 CBO 9 EWC 23: 53: 15.558 +38 laps (5 points)
  17. 33 TEAM LOUIT MOTO 33 TRACKER 8 SST 23: 51: 48.852 +44 laps (4 points)
  18. 76 Cottard Motosport 10 EWC 23: 51: 05.507 +49 laps (3 points)
  19. 26 Zuff Racing Team 9 SST 23: 51: 58.937 +56 laps (2 points)
  20. 8 Team Bolliger Switzerland 11 EWC 23: 51: 24.034 +59 laps (1 point)
  21. 63 LMD63 – MOTO JOURNAL 10 SST 23: 51: 39.694 +59 laps
  22. 212 Team Dunlop Motors Events 11 SST 23: 51: 47.105 +60 laps
  23. 19 GIRLS RACING TEAM 12 SST 23: 51: 49.541 +61 laps
  24. 79 MOTO CLUB DE GEMENOS 1 12 EWC 23: 51: 21.630 +63 laps
  25. 44 No Limits Motor Team 13 SST 23: 52: 57.911 +68 laps
  26. 6 TIPTOPTEAM 56 13 EWC 23: 53: 21.078 +74 laps
  27. 86 PIT LANE ENDURANCE 14 SST 23: 52: 34.873 +93 laps
  28. 99 WSB-Endurance 14 EWC 23: 52: 56.639 +107 laps
  29. 52 Lukoil BMW Motorrad CSEU 15 EWC 23: 52: 50.312 +122 laps
  30. 121 DUCATI ESPRIT RACING TEAM 1 STW 23: 51: 45.211 +135 laps
  31. 199 ARTEC 15 SST 23: 51: 04.929 +154 laps

1 not classified (less than 515 laps):

  • Skull Motor’s 16 EWC 23: 53: 18.491 +229 laps

22 withdrawals:

  • Yamaha n ° 65 Motobox Kremer (EWC)
  • Honda n ° 111 Endurance Racing Team (EWC)
  • Yamaha No.7 YART (EWC)
  • BMW n ° 88 Tecmas Racing (EWC)
  • Kawasaki n ° 69 Ecurie Chrono Sport (SST)
  • Kawasaki # 16 Team Broke Racing (EWC)
  • Kawasaki n ° 91 Energie Endurance 91 (SST)
  • Kawasaki n ° 27 FSB Racing (EWC)
  • BMW n ° 56 GERT 56 HMT (SST)
  • Metiss n ° 45 Metiss JLC Moto (EXP)
  • Kawasaki n ° 38 LVM Motors (SST)
  • Yamaha n ° 12 R7 Racing Team (EXP)
  • Kawasaki n ° 21 Team Bourgogne Athleticgym (SST)
  • Kawasaki n ° 57 DL MOTO Racing (SST)
  • Kawasaki n ° 18 Team 18 Sapeurs-Pompiers (SST)
  • Kawasaki n ° 3 Am Moto Racing Competition (SST)
  • Kawasaki n ° 17 TTS-Excent (EXP)
  • Suzuki n ° 50 APRIL Moto Team Motors Events (EWC)
  • BMW n ° 13 penz13.com BMW (EWC)
  • Suzuki n ° 67 Starteam 67 PAM-Racing (SST)
  • Suzuki n ° 77 Moto Club de Gemenos (13) (EWC)
  • Yamaha n ° 32 Team Rabid Transit (EWC)

Complete rankings:

Photo galleries:

  • 1/4 photo gallery:
  • Photo gallery 2/4:
  • Photo gallery 3/4:
  • Photo gallery 4/4:

Related articles

Leave a Reply

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