Yoshimura SERT Motul’s pursuit of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship will be strengthened by the Suzuki-powered squad’s ‘perfect team spirit’ when it begins in April with the 24 Heures Motos.
That’s the view of rider Étienne Masson, who joined the Yoshimura SERT Motul line-up in 2023 and helped then team-mates Gregg Black and Sylvain Guintoli claim second place in the final standings after winning the season-deciding Bol d’Or.
The team spirit is perfect, 35-year-old Masson said. This is endurance and we all know anything can, and will, happen before you cross the finish line. We finished as runner-up and now we will all look forward to 2024 where we will be pushing for the top step of the podium.
Masson was a Suzuki Endurance Racing Team rider when he partnered Black to the 2019/20 FIM Endurance World Championship crown – his third EWC title success.
I’ve ridden with SERT many times and we’ve enjoyed good success, Masson said. It was a little different returning to the team at the beginning of 2023 as things had changed, and obviously the Yoshimura crew are now a big part of the set-up. However, there was no concern as they know the bike perfectly and they improved it a lot in three years.
I found the character of the Suzuki GSX-R1000R was still the same, but some detailed changes made a real difference to the performance. The switch to Bridgestone tyres was so good too. My first test in Jerez in March was a good memory, mainly because I had a good feeling with the Bridgestone and lap after lap, I was really, really happy on the bike.
Being back in the team with Gregg was great. I’ve known him for more than 10 years, not just as a simple team-mate, but as a friend. We have shared a lot of emotions – both positive and negative.
Looking back on the four-event 2023 EWC season, Masson said: Le Mans was not the start I was hoping for with my first race back in the team, but we stayed focused and our objective was just one thing: to save as many points as possible. The main positive we took away from the first round was that we were the fastest on track.
At Spa we were again really fast, but after some issues we finished fourth. However, we also moved up from seventh in the championship to fourth.
The result at Suzuka was a hard one to accept as second place was secured but, when the rain fell, we made a mistake. We still finished fourth but should have been on the podium.
Then it was the Bol d’Or and the end of the race season – we had no choice except to push to the maximum. The bike was perfect, the team made perfect pit stops and we didn’t have a problem. Sadly, Sylvain was sick at around 6am and that ruled him out for the rest of the race so we won the race with just two riders. It was really cool that I got to share that victory with Gregg, and it was a good gift for one of the team’s longest serving crew members ‘Petit Paulo’ as it was his last race with us.
Masson was looking back on the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship for Yoshimura SERT Motul. The full interview is available by clicking HERE.
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]