Yoshimura SERT Motul overcame “huge challenges” as it began the defence of its FIM Endurance World Championship crown with sixth place in the rain-hit 24 Heures Motors.
Staring from second on the grid, the Suzuki-powered squad took the early lead thanks to a rapid getaway from Gregg Black, only for the UK-born rider to crash in the slippery conditions on lap five.
With repairs in the pits taking more than five minutes to complete, Yoshimura SERT Motul returned to the action in 51st with Étienne Masson battling back to sixth place.
A fall for Frenchman Mason would then require another lengthy pit visit with Cocoro Atsumi restarting in 22nd position.
But the Japanese rider, a stand-in for the injured Dan Linfoot, also crashed, which resulted in another time-consuming repair to the team’s GSXR1000R.
Tasked with trying to make up some of the time lost, Black was almost back in the top 15 during the night, only to suffer a spate of falls in the slippery conditions. Undeterred, Yoshimura SERT Motul recovered to finish sixth and bank 28 points.
“It was a completely crazy race,” Team Director Yohei Kato said afterwards. “There were countless crashes, including six for us alone. It’s something of a record for the team. In the end, of course, the result didn’t live up to our objective. I’m obviously disappointed. But that’s the race. At least we gained points. The mechanics did a great job during the race and all the problems they had to overcome brought valuable experience to the whole team. The bike we've improved this year looks very competitive. We're going to fight to get back into the championship standings as quickly as possible.”
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
