Kawasaki win 24 Hours Bol d’Or – Maxwell suffers broken leg

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Gregory Leblanc, Matthieu Lagrive and Nicolas Salchaud for Team Kawasaki SRC on the Pirelli shod number 11 ZX10R won the 2014 24 Hours Bol d’Or race with a 5 lap advantage over second placed Yamaha GMT94 while Team Bolliger Switzerland rounded out the podium.

For Pirelli and Team Kawasaki SRC this is not only the third consecutive win in this competition but also the seventh win in a row together in the Endurance World Championship if you consider the 4 consecutive victories at the Le Mans 24-Hour from 2010 to the present.

After starting from the sixteenth spot on the grid and an uphill race due to a crash by Leblanc during the first hour of the race, as well as the constantly changing weather, “Le Verts” (The Green riders) took a win after 743 laps and 24 pit stops, putting in an average of 31 laps with each set of tyres. The tenacity of the Kawasaki SRC and its riders allowed them to make an exceptional comeback, taking Pirelli and Team Kawasaki SRC to victory once again.

Australian Wayne Maxwell fell heavily after the fifth hour and suffered a broken leg, see the 43-second mark in the video above for vision of the crash.

RESULTS 24 HOURS BOL D’OR, FRANCE

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CLASS –  Pos / Team / Riders / Bike / Time / Laps / Time

1. SRC KAWASAKI / LEBLANC – LAGRIVE – SALCHAUD / KAWASAKI ZX10R / 743 / 24:00’16.395
2. YAMAHA RACING – GMT 94 – MICHELIN / CHECA – FORAY – GINES / YAMAHA – R1 / 738 / 24:00’17.368
3. TEAM BOLLIGER SWITZERLAND #8 / SAIGER – STAMM – SUTTER / KAWASAKI ZX-10R / 731 / 24:01’10.450
4. TEAM MOTORS EVENTS APRIL MOTO / FASTRE – SAVARY – STORRAR / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 730 / 24:00’19.778
5. NATIONAL MOTOS / TIZON – FOUR – JUNOD / HONDA CBR1000RR SP / 725 / 24:01’47.789
6. TEAM R2CL / JONES – MARTIN – GIABBANI / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 722 / 24:02’00.794
7. TMC CITY BIKE TRT 27 / AYNIE – BILLEGA – DIARD / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 698 / 24:00’49.168
8. MACO RACING TEAM / VAN KEYMEULEN – JERMAN – SZKOPEK / YAMAHA YZF-R1 / 678 / 24:01’00.938
9. FLEMBBO LEADER TEAM / PROSENIK – BELLUCCI – DERINE / KAWASAKI ZX-10R / 666 / 24:00’18.580
10. TEAM SPACE MOTO 37 / GALLERAND – NOUVELLON – ROCHE / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 665 / 24:01’33.557

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CLASS POSITIONS TO DATE:

1. SRC KAWASAKI 55
2. YAMAHA RACING – GMT 94 – MICHELIN 50
3. TEAM BOLLIGER SWITZERLAND #8 37
4. TEAM MOTORS EVENTS APRIL MOTO 35
5. NATIONAL MOTOS 32
6. TEAM R2CL 24
7. HONDA RACING 19
8. TMC CITY BIKE TRT 27 19
9. MACO RACING TEAM 15
10. FLEMBBO LEADER TEAM 13
11. TEAM SPACE MOTO 37 12
12. SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM 10
13. TEAM 18 SAPEURS-POMPIERS 8
14. MOTOBOX KREMER RACING BY SHELL ADVAN 2

RESULTS WORLD SUPERSTOCK CLASS – Pos / Team / Riders / Bike / Time / Laps / Time

1. JUNIOR TEAM LMS SUZUKI / GUITTET – MASSON – BLACK / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 732 / 24:01’19.299
2. YAMAHA VILTAÏS EXPERIENCE / BARDET – CARRILLO – NIGON / YAMAHA YZF-R1 / 714 / 24:02’10.446
3. AM MOTO RACING COMPETITION / LOISEAU – MAITRE – BUISSON / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 703 / 24:00’17.312
4. BMRT 3D ENDURANCE / BURLIN – ROMANENS – GUYOT / KAWASAKI ZX10R / 696 / 24:02’11.765
5. VÖLPKER NRT 48 SCHUBERT MOTORS / STUPPI – TAKADA – NADALET / BMW S1000RR / 691 / 24:01’04.500
6. PENZ13. COM FRANKS AUTOWELT RACING TEAM / PRIDMORE – VALLCANERAS – MACKELS / BMW S1000RR / 691 / 24:01’55.820
7. AZ MOTOS-APRIL / NAPOLEONE – DUMAIN – MEZARD / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 690 / 24:00’50.316
8. TATI TEAM BEAUJOLAIS RACING / ENJOLRAS – CHEVAUX – PRULHIERE / KAWASAKI ZX-10R / 686 / 24:00’18.111
9. MCS RACING – IPONE / SASETA – VIZZIELLO – SANTAMARIA / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 680 / 24:02’35.241
10. NO LIMITS MOTOR TEAM / BOSCOSCURO – BUSSEI – CASAS / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 678 / 24:02’15.750
11. ACR 74 / HUGUENIN – VIAL – GRIPPI / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 673 / 24:01’00.081
12. TEAM GUIDON 11 / GELAS – DESCOURS – ARNAL / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 672 / 24:00’41.406
13. APRILIA LE MANS 2 ROUES / POLESSO – PARISSE – CHABANY / APRILIA RSV 4 / 664 / 24:01’01.088
14. MSR / LEPAND – DELANOE – CHARLOUX / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 631 / 24:01’28.712
15. PLUSRACE COMPÉTITION / NAVARRETE – MONIER – JACOBY / SUZUKI GSX-R 1000 / 606 / 24:00’53.046
16. 2CP RACING BOURGOGNE / MAJASTRE – CHELI – PETITJEAN / KAWASAKI ZX-10R / 569 / 24:02’13.081

SUPERSTOCK CLASS POSITIONS TO DATE:

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1. JUNIOR TEAM LMS SUZUKI 57
2. YAMAHA VILTAÏS EXPERIENCE 47
3. PENZ13.COM FRANKS AUTOWELT RACING TEAM 38
4. AM MOTO RACING COMPETITION 35
5. BMRT 3D ENDURANCE 29
6. VÖLPKER NRT 48 SCHUBERT MOTORS 26
7. TATI TEAM BEAUJOLAIS RACING 24
8. AZ MOTOS-APRIL 19
9. ACR 74 19
10. MCS RACING – IPONE 19
11. NO LIMITS MOTOR TEAM 11
12. HALL MOTOS 02 9
13. TEAM GUIDON 11 9
14. QATAR ENDURANCE RACING TEAM 8
15. APRILIA LE MANS 2 ROUES 8
16. MSR 7
17. PLUSRACE COMPÉTITION 6
18. 2CP RACING BOURGOGNE 5

Honda Racing Report

After almost 21 hours and over 600 laps, the Honda Racing team and its trio of French riders, Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray and Sebastien Gimbert, were forced to retire from the Bol d’Or 24-hour today following a mechanical problem in the closing stages. However, in accordance with new regulations, the team leaves the opening round of the 2014 Endurance World Championship with 19 points under its belt.

An eventful start to the race in wet conditions caused problems for many teams early on, however Honda Racing held steady in the top three well into the night, alongside 13-time EWC champions SERT and Team Yamaha GMT94. Following a crash for Da Costa aboard the Fireblade SP just before midnight, the crew were able to repair the minor damage and return the bike to the track – in third place – within minutes.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, SERT crashed out of the lead and subsequently withdrew from the race. The Honda Racing team had made up significant time on then-second place contender Kawasaki SRC and was able to secure the top spot, leading the race for the next seven hours and establishing a five-lap margin.

Unfortunately, with just three hours remaining and Gimbert on his penultimate stint, the gearbox sprocket on the bike broke causing irreparable engine damage and Honda Racing was forced to retire from the race.

Despite the disappointment, the team leaves France having proven its race-leading capability and with 19 valuable championship points to its name – nine and ten points earned for placing second and first respectively at the eight and sixteen-hour intervals.

The full standings will be available on completion of the race at 15.00 CEST. The EWC will resume with the legendary Suzuka 8-hour race in Japan in July.

Neil Tuxworth – team manager – “We’re terribly disappointed. I feel so sad for the riders and the team for all the effort they’ve made. It was such a small part that broke, just a gearbox sprocket that damaged the engine and we couldn’t continue. If we’re to take any positives from it it’s that we were the strongest team in the race, we were leading by five laps and I’m certain that the team will go on to win some races this year. It’s just very unfortunate that we couldn’t finish the Bol d’Or. We’ve still gained 19-points in the championship so we’re not going away empty handed. We’ll come back fighting next time.”

Julien Da Costa – “This is endurance racing and it is never easy but to go out with so little time left and with such a small problem is frustrating for all the team. We have to look at the positives and we were leading with a good gap and we could have got the win so we just have to wait until next time.”

Freddy Foray – “I heard many riders telling the story of going out in the last hours of the race and now I have this story to tell my children. It is so difficult because the team did such a good job during the race and preparation. It’s hard to lead a 24-hour race and everyone did an excellent job. I tell myself all through the night when my ribs were really painful that I have to do this and we can win, but this is endurance racing. I have to thank everyone in the team. We were unlucky here, but we’ll see you at the next one.”

Sebastien Gimbert – “I know better than anyone the feeling of leading the qualifying, getting the pole and leading the race only to be forced out in the final stage. It is very disappointing for the whole team who have worked so hard, but we proved we can lead the race and we work well together, so we can do it this year.”