Suzuki Endurance Racing Wins Bol d'Or
S
uzuki Endurance Racing
Team (SERT) tasted victory,
once again, crossing the finish
line of the Bol d'Or, September
21-22, one lap ahead of the
Yamaha-mounted Polish squad
Wójcik Racing Team. Moto Ain
took the Superstock win at the
end of an action-packed race.
The Suzuki squad won the Bol
d'Or for the 17th time with riders
Vincent Philippe (for whom this
is both his ninth Bol d'Or win
and his last time competing in
the race), Etienne Masson and
Gregg Black. Most importantly,
the factory-backed Suzuki tasted
victory—its first in the World
Championship since its 2016 Bol
d'Or win with Vincent Philippe,
Anthony Delhalle and Etienne
Masson. Suzuki Endurance
Racing Team has started the
2019-2020 FIM Endurance World
Championship in style, going to
the top of the standings with 59
points.
Damien Saulnier, SERT's new
team manager, was awarded the
Anthony Dehalle EWC Spirit Trophy
as a tribute to his combative style,
both in this race and since his arriv-
al at the helm of Suzuki Endurance
Racing Team this past summer.
The Suzuki team finished
ahead of an unexpected chal-
lenger—Wójcik Racing Team. The
Yamaha-mounted Polish team led
throughout the early stages of the
race in the rain with riders Gino
Rea, Christoffer Bergman and
Axel Maurin, and subsequently
held back their rivals.
A fratricidal duel between
two BMWs unfolded in the final
stages of the race, with Team
ERC Endurance (Mathieu Gines,
Julien da Costa and Louis Rossi)
facing off against BMW Motor-
rad World Endurance Team (Ilya
Mikhalchik, Julian Puffe and
Kenny Foray). In the end, Team
ERC Endurance won the day,
crossing the checkered flag with
a four-second lead on the factory
BMW squad, who were making
their Endurance World Champi-
onship debut.
However, the ERC team later
learned it had been demoted
having failed post-race inspection
for "non-compliance with the rule
regarding fuel tank capacity." This
moved BMW's factory Motorrad
World Endurance Team into third.
Moto Ain ran a near-flawless
race. The Yamaha-mounted
team finished seventh to take
the Superstock win. Their only
rivals were Team 33 Coyote Louit
Moto, that started from pole but
fell to the bottom of the rankings
after a crash. CN
OVERALL
1. Suzuki Endurance Racing (Suz)
2. Wojak Racing Team (Yam)
3. BMW Motorrad World Endurance
Team (BMW)
4. Omega Maco Racing Team (Yam)
5. VRD Igol Pierret Experiences (Yam)
IN
THE
WIND
P60
Suzuki
Endurance
Racing took
the win at the
opening round
of the 2019-
2020 FIM
Endurance
World
Championship
at Bol d'Or in
France.
