Yoshimura SERT Motul qualified in fourth position for the 8 Hours of Spa Motos, the second round of the 2026 FIM World Endurance Championship.
Following a day marked by significant weather variations on the Ardennes rollercoaster, the team’s Suzuki GSX-R 1000R demonstrated great consistency, proving the excellent development work carried out by the technical crew to make the machine competitive and adapt to the race requirements.
The morning began with a demanding free practice session that was challenging thanks to heavy rain sweeping across the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The extreme track conditions quickly led to multiple disruptions but did not prevent the Yoshimura SERT Motul riders from showing solid consistency to secure second position.
During the first qualifying session, held on a dry track, Gregg Black set an excellent time of 2:19.480, securing third position in his session. Étienne Masson was equally sharp with a lap of 2:20.103, which placed him sixth in his group. Dan Linfoot completed this impressive opening performance with a superb last lap dash to take his fastest lap time of 2:19.958, also claiming third place in the process.
The predictably ‘unpredictable’ weather at Spa Francorchamps returned for the second qualifying sessions, drastically altering the track conditions. In tricky circumstances, the team successfully showed major progress in wet track conditions. Black recorded a time of 2:32.992 on a drenched track and ranked third on his timesheet. Masson took advantage of a drying line to post a 2:21.374, finishing seventh in his session. Linfoot wrapped up the day on a cool but dry track with a lap of 2:19.749, and third place in his group.
Based on the average of each rider’s best performance, Yoshimura SERT Motul achieved an average time of 2:19.614, to take fourth position on the starting grid, as well as adding two valuable points to the team’s championship standings.
Yohei Kato, Team Director;
“Today’s official practice and qualifying sessions were defined by typical “Spa weather.” Although the rain stopped during first qualifying, the limited dry window made it extremely difficult to set a fast lap. In the second qualifying, despite the constant threat of making mistakes due to light rain, we performed well and secured fourth place. The bike setup is progressing nicely and our performance in wet conditions, a major challenge for us last year, has significantly improved. While tomorrow has the lowest probability of rain, we’ve seen all week that the forecast remains uncertain. Given the challenges of the Spa track, our goal is for the entire team to remain focused and avoid any mistakes. We will give our absolute best and we warmly thank our partners and supporters for their valuable backing.”
Damien Saulnier, Team Manager;
“We will adopt the same strategy as today for the race. The absolute goal being to stay on two wheels and avoid making any mistakes. The task promises to be complex as weather forecasts remain highly uncertain. Even though we hope to benefit from a stable situation, whether entirely wet or entirely dry, a race with mixed conditions would shuffle the cards. In that scenario, strategic management will be paramount, and we will need to show foresight and responsiveness to fit the right tyres at the right moment. We took fourth place in these qualifying sessions, which allows us to gather precious championship points. The sessions were made difficult by the changing weather and red flag interruptions. We had hoped for a more advantageous position, but this result remains positive and we will approach the race with immense vigilance.”
Gregg Black;
“The unpredictable weather made this day demanding, but our feeling onboard the Suzuki remains excellent. The testing carried out yesterday confirms that our machine is performing well in all configurations, whether the track is dry, drying, or wet. My second session was complicated by traffic and interruptions, which limited me to two flying laps to set a time of 2:32.992. The main thing is that we have a consistent package that is easy to exploit, whether in the wet or in the dry. Qualifying often depends on the ability to deliver the perfect lap at the right moment, but we remain confident for tomorrow’s race.”
Étienne Masson;
“We have taken a major step forward in developing our wet weather setup compared to last year, which gives us an excellent working baseline. On my side, I chose to ride exclusively with race configurations without switching to qualifying tyres. Tomorrow, prudence will be required dealing with the relentless weather variations, but our goal of having a consistent and competitive motorcycle in all conditions is fully achieved.”
Dan Linfoot;
“We secured fourth position on the grid after a complex qualifying session. Although we hoped to do better, I was hindered by traffic during my flying laps and couldn’t squeeze the absolute maximum out of our potential. Nonetheless, the general feeling is very positive, all three of us share the same level of confidence, and I am convinced that our pace will be significantly stronger in race configuration. We are eager to start tomorrow.”
The start of the 2026 8 Hours of Spa Motos, the second round of the FIM World Endurance Championship will get underway at 13.00 CET tomorrow, Saturday the 6th of June.
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