National Motos Honda FMA banished the memories of its 2023 FIM Endurance World Cup heartbreak with its first title in the Dunlop-equipped Superstock category during last weekend’s Bol d’Or. This is how riders Guillaume Raymond, Sébastien Suchet and Valentin Suchet, plus Team Manager Stéphane Haddaj reacted following their against-all-odds triumph at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Stéphane Haddadj: "There’s a lot of emotion behind all of this. We managed to build a team together, grounded in mutual trust, discipline, and a lot of challenges. The team, which was once vice-world champion in the 1980s, always knew that the title was within reach, but the question was: how do we get it? The decision was made to play it safe, push through, and finish the race because luck hadn’t been on our side in recent years... but everything went off the rails right from the start, and it turned into a real struggle. In the end, we were so close that we couldn’t let it slip away, so everyone gave it everything they had. Honestly, at one point during the night, I considered stopping. We already had our points from Suzuka – it was up to the others to do the work. If luck was on our side, we’d finish first, and if not, we wouldn’t. Scoring 17 points like we did in Suzuka was almost impossible. But the whole team – drivers, technicians, and volunteers, whom I thank immensely – stepped up. We told ourselves, ‘We’ll finish this race, no matter what, unless we endanger the drivers or the engine gives out,’ because we all know how tough the mechanics are on this track. Everyone rolled up their sleeves to make it happen... and we did. I’m so proud to have upheld the spirit of this sport – perseverance, resilience, and pushing to the finish, even when we objectively had nothing left to gain. We could have and watched the finish on TV... but we went after this title together, with pure determination. There were moments of doubt for everyone, but we came together and fought for it with honour.”
Sébastien Suchet: "I think we all hit a low point during the race, each of us in turn. But we get along really well, and by the end, the situation was so ridiculous that we almost started laughing about it. It was like, ‘Alright, just go ride, have fun, and let’s see what happens!’ At that point, we knew our fate wasn’t in our hands anymore, so the goal was just to finish the race, even though we knew the points wouldn’t matter in the end. So yeah, we were practically laughing at the absurdity of it and just wanted to enjoy ourselves, hand the bike off to the next team-mate, and keep going until we finally crossed that damn finish line that kept giving us so much trouble."
Guillaume Raymond: "We had clearly planned to play a waiting game – that’s what we discussed and intended to do given the lead we had. But things quickly went off track. I can't even count the amount of time we spent in the pits, watching ourselves drop and climb back up in the rankings. I’ll admit, at one point, with all the bad luck, I thought it was slipping away from us. It just couldn’t end any other way. But in the end, thanks to the victory of bike #18, we finally secured the title, which, over the last two years, we truly deserve."
Valentin Suchet: "Honestly, it was a really tough race, especially mentally. We went into it thinking it would be straightforward, no pressure, just run our race—but that’s not how it turned out. It was an emotional rollercoaster. At first, we thought it was just a minor mechanical issue. We lost a lap, no big deal, we got going again... then another issue, and another, and another—then the chain, then the radiator, and everything that came with it. After the chain broke, I damaged the shifter, had to bring it back in, and that even messed up the brake caliper. By the time I came back for the third time and went out for the fourth, I had tears under my helmet. We were exhausted, completely drained, and in my head, I thought it was over. It felt like we missed the mark. And to top it off, right as I was heading back out, there was a tire issue—the bike was vibrating like crazy. It was an absolute nightmare of a race, but in the end, we were rewarded for all the hard work we’ve put in these past two years."
Stephane Haddadj: "We’ve endured so many tough, cruel, and unfair races. The bonus race rule was known to everyone from the start of the year. We didn’t go to Suzuka to score points, we went because it was a dream for all of us. Everyone contributed financially to live that experience; it was the box to tick in our team’s history. Today, the team is over 50 years old—we’re in the 55th year of the dealership’s existence, which opened in September 1969. That number has followed us all the way here, and I believe that finishing this race, making the effort to see it through, even with no extra points to gain, gives us the recognition of having met this challenge."
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
