Team Suzuki Press Office – June 11.
Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki: GSX-R1000R – 2nd.
After a hard-fought qualifying session at the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans, the Yoshimura SERT Motul team confirmed its status as a serious candidate for victory by setting the second fastest time.
Despite a completely revised line-up for the 2021 season, the team formed by the combination of Japanese Yoshimura and French SERT is already proving to be one of the most formidable in the FIM EWC field. The team gave a clear indication of its sporting potential with a provisional pole position in the first qualifying session on Thursday.
In today’s second qualifying session, the trio of Gregg Black, Xavier Siméon and Sylvain Guintoli continued their efforts. The men at the controls of the reigning world champions Suzuki took advantage of a cooler track than the day before to improve their time significantly.
Black set his best lap of 1.35.915, while Siméon stood out with an excellent time of 1.35.793. Guintoli, the latest team recruit and former World Superbike Champion, finished his last practice session with a time very close to his team-mates in 1.36.145.
At the end of this second qualifying session, the regularity and consistency of the riders paid off. They allow the Yoshimura SERT Motul team to be credited, on the average of the best times, with a time of 1.35.951, only 15 tenths from the pole position. The Suzuki #1 will therefore take off from the second position on the grid of the 44th edition of the 24 Heures Motos, which will start tomorrow, Saturday June 11, at noon.
Gregg Black:
“With all the changes the team has undergone since the end of the 2020 season, we are very happy to be back at the forefront already. We didn’t have much opportunity to ride the bike this winter but we knew that Yoshimura and SERT were working hard on their side. This second place in practice gives us a huge confidence for the race.”
Xavier Siméon:
“Everything went very well and like my team-mates I am very satisfied with the package made by the Yoshimura and SERT teams. The Bridgestone tyres are also very efficient. So we are enjoying the bike. We gave everything we had to get pole position, even if our target is of course to win the race. In the end, the Suzuki is not far from the best time. We therefore have all the assets in hand to aim for the podium of these 24 Heures Motos.”
Sylvain Guintoli:
“Since the start of this project, progress has been continuous. The whole team worked well to get us really close to pole position. We are confident for the race because the bike is efficient and well balanced. This is my first experience in a 24 hour race and I am looking forward to it. I have some questions, of course, but I’m lucky to have a very experienced technical team and riders by my side.”
