Opening round Le Mans Bugatti Circuit France Testing Results

EWC-Le Mans Testing-Sylvain Guintoli-10

Team Suzuki Press Office – March 31.

Yoshimura SERT Motul – GSX-R1000R – 3rd

Yoshimura SERT Motul riders Gregg Black, Sylvain Guintoli and Xavier Simeon wrapped-up two days of testing at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, France with a positive third position on the timesheets.

The official test, ahead of the opening round of the 2021 Endurance World Championship, the Le Mans 24 Hours, on April 17-18th saw the reigning World Champions welcome Suzuki MotoGP test rider Sylvain Guintoli into the team: Guintoli missed the opening Le Mans test due to duties with Team Suzuki Ecstar in Qatar. Also, Xavier Simeon was back in the saddle after having to miss the previous test due to self-isolation following contact with COVID-19.

Guintoli, the 2014 World Superbike Champion, is no stranger to EWC. As well as racing in British Superbikes for Suzuki, the Frenchman has been a key player in developing the MotoGP GSX-RR, along with being a key member of the Yoshimura Suzuki team at the Suzuka 8-Hours in Japan for several years. He also won the Doha 8 Hours in 2010 with SERT.

The all-new team will also be able to draw on the valuable experience of Japanese rider Kazuki Watanabe: A strong competitor in the Japanese Superbike Championship, he is also a Suzuka 8 Hours specialist. In addition, Watanabe has actively contributed to the development of the Suzuki GSX-R1000R.

The two days of testing were used to fine-tune the settings of the new GSX- R1000R, prepared in Japan, and which benefits from numerous upgrades for 2021. At the end of two days of intensive work between the riders and team crew, Yoshimura SERT Motul clocked the third-quickest time, with a lap of 1.36.190.

The performance confirms the Suzuki’s potential but also the cohesion which now binds Yoshimura Racing, SERT and its riders.

Damien Saulnier – Team Manager:

“That’s it, the season is underway and it feels great to be together on a circuit! I draw a very positive assessment of our two days of testing. Some parameters have been clearly clarified but we must keep moving forward. It’s the first time that we’ve all worked together and there’s still bound to be details to work out. There are a lot of new things in 2021 for us but what reassured me was the consistency of our three riders. Some more good news: The whole Yoshimura team will stay with us until the race to carry out a very constructive debriefing on the work already done. This is a major asset!”

Sylvain Guintoli:

“First of all, it was a great pleasure for me to find the GSX-R again. It’s a bike that I really like and is always fun to ride. During these two days of testing, we worked really well in a very constructive atmosphere, with the race as a goal and not the pure lap times in practice. We have tested a lot of solutions and now we have a clearer idea of which direction to take. A few points still need to be improved before the race but everyone is very confident.”

Gregg Black:

“During these two days, the team was also able to test the bike in fairly warm temperature conditions and to gather some additional information. It’s very positive to understand the bike and the Bridgestone tyres a bit more. In the end, we are in the leading group in terms of lap times – that was one of our goals – but as Sylvain says, we mainly worked for the race in order to have a healthy, easy and regular bike. We are satisfied with the results and you can count on us to be in the game at the 24 Heures Motos!”

Xavier Siméon:

“It was a discovery for me because I haven’t ridden the bike since Estoril last September. I was a little apprehensive in contact with this new team with a new bike and new tyres, but very quickly, I managed to find the answers to all my questions. I admit that we would have liked to make further progress regarding lap times, but the main point was to prepare for the race as well as possible. And that’s what we did.”

Top Test Times:

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team – 1:35.133
F.C.C. TSR Honda France – 1:36.068
Yoshimura SERT Motul – 1:36.190
VRD Igol Experiences – 1:36.476
Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar – 1:36.527
Tati Team Beringer Racing – 1:36.953
Wójcik Racing Team – 1:36.979
ERC Endurance Ducati – 1:37.276
Team LRP Poland – 1:37.504
BMRT 3D Maxxess Nevers (SST) – 1:37.745
R2CL – 1:37.766
3ART Best of Bike – 1:37.794
Moto Ain – 1:37.797
National Motos (SST) – 1:37.865
Maco Racing – 1:37.912
Bolliger Team Switzerland – 1:38.027
OG Motosport by Sarazin (SST) – 1:38.050
Team 18 Sapeurs-Pompiers CMS Motostore (SST) – 1:38.180
JMA Action Bike (SST) – 1:38.679
Metiss (EXP) – 1:38.735
RAC41 Chromeburner (SST) – 1:39.056

About Michael Le Pard 11031 Articles
"Mr. Totalmotorcycle". Owner and Founder of Total Motorcycle, the World’s Largest Motorcycle Site with over 425 million readers since 1999. Total Motorcycle is my pride and joy and being able to reach 425 million people has been incredible and I could not have done it without the support of my visitors, readers and members...thank you so much! We are all making a difference to millions of riders worldwide.