IN
THE
WIND
P30
BOL D'OR WIN TO KAWASAKI
S
RC Kawasaki earned its third
successive victory in the 78
th
running of the Bol d'Or in Magny-
Cours, France, the team of Greg-
ory Leblanc, Nicolas Salchaud
and the injured Matthieu Lagrive
bouncing back from an early
crash to beat the Yamaha GMT
Michelin team of David Checa,
Kenny Foray and Mathieu Gines
by five laps.
The Junior Team LMS Suzuki
squad of Baptiste Guittet, Eti-
enne Masson and Gregg Black
crashed three times but still fin-
ished third overall on their Super-
stock entry.
"I was expecting a tough race
because of the weather, but
when we slipped back to 32nd
it was hard to believe we could
win," said Leblanc. "Matthieu
Lagrive came back from 32nd
to 14th place with a broken ver-
tebra! I don't think I'd have done
that myself. I didn't see the night
go by. It was one of the best rac-
es I ever rode in, but also one of
the toughest."
For the Yamaha team, it was a
case of survival.
"It's a great feeling to be back
on the podium," said Foray. "I
made a mistake and I feel bad
about that. When I brought the
bike back in a very bad state, the
mechanics got it back in shape
in just 12 minutes. That was really
impressive."
Jason Pridmore's Penz13.com
Franks Autowelt Racing Team
ended up 14
th
overall after en-
countering technical problems
during the race. That put them
fifth in the Superstock class.
(From left to right) Team Yamaha GMT Michelin, SRC Kawasaki and Junior Team LMS celebrate their podium
finishes in the Bol d'Or 24-hour endurance race in France.
