Team Suzuki Press Office – April 19.
SERT – #2 GSX-R1000 – 7th
April Motos Events – #50 GSX-R1000 – 11th
Team R2CL – #87 GSX-R1000 – 18th
Junior Team Le Mans Sud – #72 GSX-R1000 (SST) – 21st
Atomic Motosport – #68 GSX-R1000 (SST) – 30th
Suzuki Endurance Racing Team has been on track today for the opening practice sessions ahead of this weekend’s second round of 2018 EWC at the Bugatti Circuit for the Le Mans 24 Hours in France aboard the 2018 SERT GSX-R1000.
The 15-time Endurance World Champions – Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson and Gregg Black – set an initial seventh position this afternoon, just 0.508 seconds off pole as they worked on various settings before final qualifying begins tomorrow (Friday).
With long-time Team Manager Dominique Meliand back at the helm and recovered from illness that took him away from most of last year’s championship, SERT is one of 60 teams fighting for grid positions for the 41st edition of the 24 Heures Motos – an event the team has won 10 times in the past – that gets underway on Saturday afternoon at 15:00hrs.
SERT is currently fifth in the points, 27 off the lead, but being a 24-hour race, under EWC/ FIM regulations, there is a maximum of 60 points available to the race winner: The race victory gets 40 points, but the team leading at the eight and 16-hour stages of the race will collect an extra 10 points.
Alongside SERT on the new GSX-R1000 is Team April Motos Events after having switched back to the Suzuki brand for 2018. The #50 machine ridden by Matthieu Lagrive, Baptiste Guittet and Grégory Fastré, set the 11th best time today.
The competitive R2CL team completes the leading EWC Suzuki squads and comprises Frenchman Anthony Loiseau, South-African Clinton Seller and Irishman Michael Dunlop – who won the 2017 Isle of Man Senior TT.
In the Superstock category, one of the series favourites, Junior Team Le Mans Sud sees Hugo Clère, Alex Sarrabayrouse and Louis Rossi aboard their #72 SST GSX-R1000, took the best time at the Pre-Le Mans test at the beginning of April ahead of the #68 Atomic Motosport Suzuki.
