Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128323
Yamaha Wins China Six Hour back out on track for vital championship points . They managed It just 13 seconds from the checkered nag and were able to salvage sixth place overall , six laps down in the final classification . The GMT team also had problems in the final pit stop - when its new FI-style refuelIng rig malfunctioned. Team boss (and rider) Christophe Guyot said: "Wh en you race at this level, it's not just about the bike. To win you have to try new ideas . Yes, we had some problems with the rig, but you can be sure we will find out what went wrong and will allowed the race to start 10 minutes early, but some of the field went as the lights came on, while the majority of the field were left waiting for the red lights to go - as per correct procedure. The race was then declared a false start, and by the time it restarted, it missed the original scheduled noon start. The Zongshen team led initially, but the Austrian WRT Honda crashed spectacularly out of third place on the second lap. As if to a prearranged script , Zongshen led for five laps until Suzuki's Vincent The first-ever Zhuhai Six Hour gets under way in China. re nchman Oliver Four tossed away a two-lap lead with just 12 laps remaining in the inaugural Zhuhal Six Hour, held in China on May 2, the factory-backed Suzuki Endurance Racing Team leading almost every lap until Four took his final stint on the bike. F Four 's error handed victory to the Yamaha-mounted GMT94 team. '1\s soon as I got on the bike, something laps, backing it into corners. He said: "We knew from the start it would be hard and that our fuel consumption would mean an extra fuel stop compared to the Suzuki. We also had some gearbox trouble and then brak ing problems. I did fIVe laps in one session with no front brake at all, so In the closIng stages we just pushed as hard as I could . When the race finished, I came back and saw the team was so happy. I thought we had fin- The Yamaha Rl-mounted GMT94 team came away w ith the win in China. "I thought we had finished second, which would have been great after the problems, but then the team say, 'We win.' I say, ~re you sure?' I can't believe it . even now!" - David Checa didn't feel right," Four said. "I just lost the front end in the second left-bander;' The SERT team had dominated endurance racing this year up to that po int, kicking off its season with a victory in the nonchampionship Le Mans 24-hour race in France and then taking the opening round of the World Endurance Championship in the Assen 500km on April 12. But each time they had to battle with their arch rivals, GMT94 - another Frenchbased team, but on Yamaha machinery. At Zhuhal for the first-ever World Championship motorcycle race to be held in China, SERT claimed pole by a massive 1.23 seconds from GMT94 and, when it took control of the race on the sixth lap, looked set to record its third successive victory of the season. But wh ile Four lost time getting the battered bike back to the pits , it was GMT94 's David Checa taking the final stint on their RI and able to take victory by over two laps from the Chinese Zongshen team. But Checa had no idea of the victory, as he was showboating in the last couple of ished second, which would have been great after the problems, but then the team say, 'We win.' I say, 'Are you sure?' I can't believe it - even now! " By the time Four pitted, SERT had just six minutes to repair the damaged bike and get IiiWiiIi.iII ,,~ use it again." If the race finished in dramatic fashion, then the early part of the race was just plain crazy. With everyone lined up against the pit wall for the traditional Le Mans start, the inexperienced Chinese Clerk of the Course ., To the winners go the spoils. 10 NlAY 12,2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary Phillipe forced his way to the front. Even after its first pit stop to refuel toward the end of the first hour, SERT did not lose the lead , but it all went sadly wrong for the team in the closing stages. Fonner World Endurance Champions Zongshen finished second with Stephane Mertens, Bruno Bonhull and Pierrot Vanstaen . But instead of being able to use their latest 2004 GSX-R I000 Superbikes and benefit from more track time before the next World Superbike race - they ran their three-year old super production-spec endurance bikes and had a big horserpower deficiency compared to the new Superbike-spec SERT GSX·R. "We were down on speed, but this was a big team effort," Mertens said. "To be on the podium is very good, and I'm happy for Zongshen. This has been a good event. When we did our first laps, we all thought the layout was very simple , but the faster we got, the more technical we realized it was . It's a good track - and safe. Okay, there have been some small problems, but it is a new event and is to be expected. I hope the organizers have taken notes so when we come back next year, the race will be even bigger and better." SERT wasn't the only team to hit disaster in the last hour. Britain's Phase One, the defending World Champions, were running eighth going into the final hour but were forced to pit in the closing stages with a slipping clutch and finished II th o Kel Edge