SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM WIN BOL D’OR

The 83rd Bol d’Or will go down in the history books as a highly unusual race. As in 1988 and 1996 on the Paul Ricard circuit, the weather conditions, with heavy rainfall, forced the race to be interrupted from 6pm on Saturday to 6am on Sunday. Fans brave bad weather, 62,000 spectators turned out to watch the 2019 edition of the Bol d’Or despite the adverse weather conditions.

Three hours after the race had resumed on a quickly drying track, the leader F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s engine failure totally shook up the positions in the lead. Loris Baz in the saddle of the YART Yamaha bike and Webike SRC Kawasaki France’s Erwan Nigon, both hot on the Honda’s heels, were caught unawares by an oil spill. The riders’ minor crashes forced the two factory teams to withdraw, as their bikes had caught fire.

The exit of these factory teams opened the way for Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, who took the lead and managed to create and keep a gap to their rivals. Their toughest competition came from the Polish squad Wójcik Racing Team.

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team tasted victory once again, crossing the finish line of the Bol d’Or one lap ahead of the Yamaha-mounted Polish squad Wójcik Racing Team and Germany’s BMW-mounted Team ERC Endurance. 

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team won the Bol d’Or for the 17th time with riders Vincent Philippe (for whom this is both his 9th Bol d’Or win and his last time competing in the race), Etienne Masson and Gregg Black. Most importantly, the factory-backed Suzuki once again tasted victory – their first in the World Championship since their 2016 Bol d’Or win with Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and Etienne Masson. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team have started the 2019-2020 FIM EWC 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 arrival at the helm of Suzuki Endurance Racing Team this past summer.

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team finished ahead of an unexpected challenger – 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 Motorrad World Endurance Team (Ilya Mikhalchik, Julian Puffe and Kenny Foray). In the end, Team ERC Endurance won the day, crossing the chequered flag with a 4-second lead on the factory BMW squad, who were making their Endurance World Championship debut.

Two Yamahas performed magnificently in the final laps. Having started from 23rd position, Omega Maco Racing Team (Pawel Szkopek, Bjorn Estment and Karel Hanika) were 5th past the finish line, ahead of VRD Igol Pierret Experiences (Florian Alt, Florian Marino and Ricardo Brink).

From Fimewc photo by Suzuki Motor