Series leaders Suzuki Endurance Racing Team and Junior Team LMS Suzuki kept their 2015 Championship title hopes intact with two strong performances at Saturday’s Oschersleben 8 Hour World Endurance Championship third round in Germany.
SERT riders Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and Etienne Masson powered their GSX-R1000 to the second step of the EWC class podium while Junior Team LMS riders Baptiste Guittet, Greg Black and Romain Maitre topped the World Cup category aboard their Superstock GSX-R1000; finishing fourth overall in the race. This puts 13-time World Champions SERT 23 points clear in the series and defending World Cup Champions Junior Team LMS 15 points ahead in Superstock with one round remaining.
Both Suzuki’s hit the front from the start; Junior Team’s Greg Black grabbing the holeshot from ninth on the grid, while SERT’s Philippe slotted into third from seventh place. At the end of the first hour, SERT had moved into second behind leaders Honda racing and Junior Team led its class with fourth.
The following hours saw several changes in lead with SERT taking control in the mid-point of the race from main title rivals Yamaha GMT94 and they remained locked in a close battle until the closing stages when SERT picked-up a puncture and were forced to take an unscheduled pit stop. This, along with two safety car incidents, that didn’t help the Suzuki team, allowed GMT94 to pull ahead and take the victory.
SERT Team Manager Dominique Méliand said: “We suffered from a tyre puncture towards the end of the race and also the two safety car interventions were unfavourable to us. But this is racing and second place gives us a 23-point lead over the GMT94; and that's the most important!”
Philippe added: “We know the GMT94 bike is very fast on the circuit and we’re fast in the pits, so it all evens out, but the safety car interventions put us at a disadvantage. We put up a good fight and we never let up and considering all the crashes and mechanical problems many of the teams had to face, we can only be satisfied with the result, not least because we’re still top of the championship standings.”
The final round of the 2015 Endurance World Championship will be the Bol d-Or 24-Hour in France on September 19-20th and with a maximum total of 60 points available to the winner, the battle for EWC and Superstock honours is expected to be one of the most exciting in recent years. Race leaders by hour:
1 hour: 1 Honda Racing, 2 SERT, 3 SRC Kawasaki, 4 Junior Team LMS. 2 hours: 1 SRC Kawasaki, 2 SERT, Honda Racing, 10 Junior Team LMS. 3 hours: 1 Yamaha GMT94, 2 SERT, 3 Bolliger Switzerland, 6 Junior Team LMS. 4 hours: 1 SERT, 2 Yamaha GMT94, 3 BMW Motorrad, 6 Junior Team LMS. 5 hours: 1 Yamaha GMT94, 3 SERT, 3 Monster YART, 5 Junior Team LMS. 6 hours: Yamaha GMT94, 2 SERT, 3 Monster YART, 5 Junior Team LMS. 7 hours: Yamaha GMT94, 2 SERT, 3 BMW Motorrad, 5 Junior Team LMS. Oschersleben 8 Hour results: 1 GMT94 Yamaha (Yamaha) 312 laps, 2 SERT (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 312, 3 Monster Energy YART (Yamaha) 309, 4 Junior Team LMS (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 308, 5 Honda Racing (Honda) 306, 6 BMW Motorrad France (BMW) 306, 7 Starteam PAM-Racing (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 305, 8 Maco Racing Team (Yamaha) 305, 9 National Motos (Honda) 304, 10 Team Traquer Louit Moto 33 (Kawasaki) 304.
