Yoshimura SERT Motul: GSX-R1000R – 4th
Reigning World Champion Yoshimura Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Motul set the fourth fastest provisional time in the opening qualifying session of the 24H Spa EWC Motos, in Belgium, today.
This season marks the return of the legendary circuit of Spa-Francorchamps to the EWC calendar. Round two of the 2022 championship will be held at the Belgian circuit this Saturday and Sunday, the 4th and 5th of June.
Victorious at the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans in April, Yoshimura SERT Motul is leading the 2022 FIM Endurance World Championship as the series approaches the second of three 24-hour races, in what promises to be an exciting season.
After having already established itself at the initial tests, which took place two weeks ago, and again on Tuesday this week, by recording the second-best time, the Franco-Japanese team reaffirmed its strong form during the first qualifying session.
Gregg Black was the first of the Suzuki riders to take to the track, which is located in the heart of the Ardennes Forest and almost 7km long (the longest of the season). He set fast and consistent lap times, ending his session with a best lap of 2.20.600, which placed him second on the timesheet, just 0.189 seconds off the fastest time.
Xavier Simeon then took over the GSX-R1000R on a track where the conditions changed quite quickly because of the heat. While a small fall, and subsequent repair in the pits reduced his session time, he returned to the track a few minutes later and set a fast lap of 2.21.465, which put him in fourth place.
Sylvain Guintoli does not always get to grips with the feel of the session straightaway, he prefers to make a stop-to-start again with another bike. The 2014 World Superbike Champion and Suzuki MotoGP test rider battled in the top five during his whole stint to finish with fourth-best time of 2.21.652.
Reserve rider Christian Iddon delivered a solid contribution to the performance of the team, rounding out the day with the best time of his session; 2.21.774.
The Yoshimura SERT Motul team finished fourth in the first qualifying session.
The 39 teams involved in the 24H Spa EWC Motos will line up again tomorrow morning, from 11:25 am (local time) for the final qualifying session.
Damien SAULNIER – Team Manager:
“It was a rather mixed qualifying. We didn’t use any qualifying tyres, unlike some teams. If we add the little crash of Xavier and the difficult overtaking in most of the sessions, it gives an average result. Sylvain preferred to start with the second bike, but Christian did a very good lap time with the bike that crashed, so we know that it works well. The second session tomorrow should allow us to improve the times of Xavier and Sylvain. So we stay focused but confident.”
Yohei KATO – Team Director:
“We are struggling with these higher temperatures. We prepared well for the race this morning in free practice, but the conditions have changed a lot. We saw a lot of crashes, including Xavier’s. The feeling on the bike was not so good so we tried some other tyres and settings with Christian which proved to be good. We learned a lot today and we will use this experience to do better tomorrow.”
