Suzuki Endurance Racing Team is in provisional third position for the Le Mans 24-Hour World Endurance Championship final round this weekend after the opening practice and qualifying sessions at Le Mans in France.
Team regulars Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and guest rider Takuya Tsuda posted a combined time of 1:37,845 around the world-famous and historic Bugatti circuit, 200kms south-west of Paris, as less than half-a-second separated provisional pole-setters BMW Motorrad France, SRC Kawasaki and Le Mans-based SERT.
First rider out, Philippe, was the fastest on SERT's GSX-R1000 with a time of 1:37,311, closely followed by Dehalle on 1:38,005 and then Tsuda with a very-respectable 1:38,218. The trio's combined average time was 1:37,845. But the fastest lap of the day was posted by SRC Kawasaki's Julien da Costa and he was the only rider to dip under 1:37 minutes with a lap of 1:36,826 to put the team in provisional second place on the grid with an average combined time of 1:37,640. But it wasn't enough to beat the BMW's team's average of 1:37,351; Sbastien Gimbert posting the fastest individual time for them with a 1:37,306.
Suzuki's topped the first three positions in the Superstock class with the MCP Starteam posting the fastest combined lap of 1:40.379 ahead of Junior Team LMS Suzuki (1:40.428) and Motors Events AMT Assurance (1:40.448).
Tonight saw an hour-long evening practice session where SRC Kawasaki post the fastest time, Yamaha France GMT 94 second and SERT third again, but these times were not on the pace of the official qualifying results earlier.
Eleven-times World Endurance Champions SERT currently holds a 19-point lead in the series, but with 40 points being awarded to the race winner - and with 40 points separating the top six teams - the 35th-Anniversary 24 Heures du Mans is building-up to be one of the most hotly-contested and exciting season finale's in the history of the series.
Said Team Manager Dominique Meliand: "SERT has only one goal this weekend and that is to win the World Championship title again, but we would be very, very happy to take victory in the 24 hours of Le Mans race as well.
"Vincent Philippe is now up to full strength and completely recovered from his Japanese disappointments at Suzuka and is more motivated than ever to get both the World Championship title and the 24h du Mans victory. Anthony Delhalle is relaxed and knows how to give his best and draw from his reserves.
"Vincent and Anthony are an ideal pairing, but for a 24-hour race we need a trio of riders and that's why we approached Japanese pilot Takuya Tsuda. He finished in fourth place at Suzuka 8-Hours in 2011 and 2012 and his priority will be to support Vincent and Anthony. It is his first visit in Europe and we all believe he will show good results.
"The SERT Team is based at Le Mans so a victory here would mean a lot for us, so let's see what will happen on Saturday from 3pm!"
Thursday Qualifying Results: 1 BMW Motorrad France (BMW) 1:37.351, 2 SRC Kawasaki (Kawasaki) 1:37.640, 3 SERT (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 1:37.845, 4 Yamaha France GMT 94) 1:38.485, 5 Monster Energy Yamaha YART (Yamaha) 1:39.152, 6 Bolliger Team Switzerland (Kawasaki) 1:39.749, 7 Honda TT Legends (Honda) 1:40.071, 8 Maco Racing Team (Yamaha) 1:40.161, 9 Yamalube Folch Endurance (Yamaha) 1:40.187, 10 National Motos (Honda) 1:40.265, 11 MCP Starteam 67 (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 1:40.379 (Top SST Qualifier), 12 Junior Team LMS Suzuki (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 1:40.428 (2nd SST), 13 Motors Events AMT Assurance (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 1:40.448 (3rd SST).
in France.
Tsuda, who led the Suzuki SST Moto Map Team to fourth overall at the Suzuka 8-Hour race in July will be the third rider to join the French duo this season - Fabien Foret is riding at the Nurburgring World Supersport round and Yukio Kagayama is on Suzuki duties at the All Japan Superbike series at Okayama - as SERT bids for its 12th World title at the Bugatti circuit aboard the Le Mans-based team's GSX-R1000.
Suzuki leads the series by 19 points from BMW Motorrad France and Honda TT Legends (95 points to 76) with Yamaha GMT94 fourth on 74 points, followed by Bolliger Team Switzerland and Yamalube Folch Endurance in equal fifth on 55 points. And with 40 points being awarded to the winning team - the same amount that separates the top six teams - it's building-up to be one of the most hotly-contested and exciting series finale in Endurance World Championship history.
However, the French SRC Kawasaki Team, who won the opening round at Magny Cours in April - and who are only contesting the two French races - may throw a spanner in the works with the permanent teams after rider Julien da Costa set the fastest lap time during the August Le Mans tests. Monster Yamaha YART is also a contender, despite a season plagued with crashes and mechanical issues.
Le Mans is one of the most famous race-tracks in the world and the SERT racers will challenge for honours on the Bugatti Circuit, a layout which only shares a short section of the 24-hour car track. The circuit is a real stop-and-go design which will certainly test the endurance of the team in more than one way: The track has an incredibly-fast first corner which is taken flat-out in top gear before braking hard for a chicane and is sure to be an exciting part of the circuit as daylight gives way to darkness. Le Mans is approximately 200kms south-west of Paris and a lively crowd will fill the camp-sites around the circuit, hoping to cheer SERT on to a French victory in the race and the championship.Suzuki is also in contention for honours in the Superstock (SST) class with Team Motors Events holding a narrow four-point lead over Kawasaki's 3D Endurance Moto Center after three of four rounds (the Superstock Class did not participate at the Suzuka 8-Hour race in Japan).
The first free practice sessions for the 35th edition of the 24 Heures du Mans start tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:00hrs local time (GMT +2) followed by evening Qualifying and further Qualifying on Friday. Saturday's race is due to begin at 15:00hrs local time.
Live Race Timing is available on www.fim-live.com with regular live updates on the FIM's Twitter feed and also Team Suzuki Racing Facebook page. There is also a free live-stream during the race at the following link: www.youtube.com/user/tvfim.
