Yamaha Ends FIM Endurance World Championship with Sensational Second Place Bol d'Or Finish

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@Yamaha Ends #FIM Endurance World Championship with Sensational Second Place #Bold'Or Finish


GMT94 Yamaha rode the catch up race of a lifetime at the 79th edition of the iconic Bol d'Or 24 Hour race this weekend to secure second place and end the 2015 FIM Endurance World Championship season as the Vice-Champion. Monster Energy Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART) also showed an incredibly strong pace at Circuit Paul Ricard, but luck was not on their side and they were forced to retire after 14 hours.
GMT94 Yamaha's David Checa, Kenny Foray and Mathieu Gines were still in contention for the championship title as they entered the round in Castellet (France), a circuit they hadn't ridden the brand-new YZF-R1 on before, 23 points behind the championship leader, with 60 points still up for grabs.
Starting from third, Checa was the first GMT rider onboard the YZF-R1, styled in a special 60 Year Anniversary livery, towards the first corner along with 54 other riders. After some scrapping he had positioned himself in eleventh place, when suddenly drama struck just before the end of the first lap. The Spanish rider suffered a small crash and had to hurry back to the pit box.
The French team showed its professionalism when it quickly repaired the bike in a manner of minutes, so they could re-enter the track eleven minutes into the race in 54th place. It was second rider Foray who took over the bike and started chipping away at the five-lap disadvantage, before handing the bike over to third rider Gines who raised the pace even further.
It was the experience of the number 94 team and the never-ending fighting spirit of the riders that saw them pull through the hardship and become the heroes of the race as they fought against the odds.
By the eight-hour stage they had climbed back up to sixth place and secured five important points for the championship. They kept their heads down and rode a brilliant night session that saw them not only move up to fourth position, but also leave their main rival behind them as they added another seven points to their tally.
Their change in fortune allowed them to set a new goal for themselves. They were now setting their eyes on a podium finish and were determined to make it happen. Through some strong teamwork they worked their way up to a sensational second place, taking the chequered flag two laps behind the leader.
Broc Parkes, the first rider for the Monster Energy Yamaha Austria Racing Team, started from second place on the grid. He came out of the first corner in seventh place and did well as he made his way up to fourth. He continued to ride a strong stint before handing over the bike to second rider Max Neukirchner when the four front running bikes all headed into the pits at the same time.
Despite not being at a 100 per cent level fitness, Neukirchner and third rider Sheridan Morais carried a very strong and consistent pace, which the number 7 bike had displayed all season.
YART gave their all to get hold of the second place and had closed the gap from 45.141s to the race leaders down to 28.743s, but their efforts ended with a déjà vu. Despite their great pace they suffered a technical error during the night, similar to what happened at the 24-hour race of Le Mans, and were unable to finish the race.
Today's results see GMT94 Yamaha take home 45 points and finish the season in second place with 132 points in total. Despite their not having completed the race, Monster Energy YART still secured 7 points for holding fourth place at the eight-hour stage, increasing the point total to 41 for tenth place in the championship.
Team 3ART YAM' Avenue also rode a strong race to complete the 24-hour Bol d'Or inside the top ten with a solid eighth place in the overall ranking and were the fourth Superstock bike to cross the finish line. This achievement earned them 15 points on top of the 3 points they collected earlier in the race at the 16-hour mark, moving them up to seventh in the SST ranking.



David Checa – GMT94 Yamaha Team rider

"The beginning of the race was difficult and all we did was keep on pushing. In the end we came second, but it wasn't enough, but even if we had won the race we would still have finished second in the championship. All the teams had problems, not just us, but that's endurance. We just happened to have an issue at the kick off while others had it during the race. I crashed after I had a bad start and some riders were riding risky. I went too deep into the corner and touched the curbstone. We had a problem restarting the bike, and we had problems with the start at Le Mans, Suzuka and Oschersleben, so we have to find a solution for this, because else you end up in the middle group. Those riders want to show everybody how hard they can push and you can easily be in the wrong place at the wrong moment. Luckily we didn't have any more troubles during the race and the team did a perfect job. I couldn't undo the crash, but our result was still second place and also second in the championship, which is a very positive outcome. Of course we wanted to win, because that's always our goal, but even without the crash that would have been difficult. Next week I have the final round of the French Superbike Championship, so I look forward to another strong weekend."





Christophe Guyot – GMT94 Yamaha Team Manager
"Naturally I have mixed feelings about the race results. Of course we can be happy that we got second place and rode a very strong race, without any problems with the bike. At the beginning of the race we had a five-lap disadvantage to bike number eleven and we finished only two laps behind them. This shows that getting the victory was possible and that this race was a great showcase of the YZF-R1's amazing potential. The bike was working incredibly well and I'm very happy about its performance. We are also happy for Yamaha to have secured the Constructor's Title for a second time in a row. I want to say a big thank you to the riders for their efforts and also the team, who have been superb. We have given it our all today and can be proud of ourselves."




Broc Parkes - Monster Energy Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART) rider

"It's unfortunate because I think we could have won. We caught up to the leader from nearly one minute to just a 28 second disadvantage. Every lap we were catching them, but then we had a problem at about five o'clock in the morning when I just did my sixth stint. The start was not too bad, but it wasn't the best either. I basically just tried to keep a good pace and in general we had very good speed, especially during the nighttime when we were the fastest on track. I'm thankful to the team and I feel for them, because they did such a good job and us, the riders as well, we did everything right. It's a shame, because we had the speed to win this year but we just had these problems that got in the way."




Mandy Kainz - Monster Energy Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART) Team Manager
"It was an abrupt and unfortunate ending to an otherwise good weekend. We were very competitive from the start of Bol d'Or, like we have been the entire season. We had a good start to the race and did a good job moving up the order. We closed in on the leader and were competing for victory, but it wasn't to be: we suffered a technical issue early in the morning and couldn't rejoin the race. I want to thank the team and the riders for their hard work and incredible dedication. We will work hard to come back even stronger next year."



FIM EWC – Bol d’Or 2015, Final Classification
1. Team SRC Kawasaki, EWC, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 24:01'22.895
2. GMT94 Yamaha, EWC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 2 laps
3. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, EWC, Suzuki GSXR 1000, 7 laps
4. Tati Team Beaujolais Racing, SST, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 11 laps
5. Team Traqueur Louit MOTO 33, SST, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 12 laps
6. BMW Motorrad France Team PENZ13, EWC, BWM S 1000RR, 15 laps
7. Völpker NRT 48 & PENZ13 By Schubert Motors, SST, BWM S 1000RR, 16 laps
8. Team 3ART YAM’ Avenue, SST, Yamaha YZF-R1, 20 laps
9. ATOMIC 68, SST, Suzuki GSX - R, 22 laps
10. Team Aprilmoto Motors Events, EWC, Suzuki GSX – R, 24 laps

14. Maco Racing Team, EWC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 37 laps
20. Yamaha Viltaïs Experiences, SST, Yamaha YZF-R1, 52 laps
26. Moto AIN CRT, SST, Yamaha YZF-R1, 69 laps
29. Moto AIN Chgerenge Nine, SST, Yamaha YZF-R1, 82 laps



Final Ranking - EWC World Championship
1. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, Suzuki GSXR 1000, 154 points
2. GMT94 Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R1, 132 points
3. Team SRC Kawasaki, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 100 points
4. BMW Motorrad France Team PENZ13, BWM S 1000RR, 71 points
5. Team Traqueur Louit MOTO 33, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 68 points
6. Team Bolliger Switzerland, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 55 points
7. Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki, Suzuki GSXR 1000, 54 points
8. Tati Team Beaujolais Racing, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 53 points
9. Honda Endurance Racing, CBR1000 RRSP, 50 points
10. Monster Energy Yamaha YART, Yamaha YZF-R1, 41 points

11. Yamaha Factory Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1, 35 points
13. Maco Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1, 33 points



Final Ranking - SST World Cup
1. Team Traqueur Louit MOTO 33, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 68 points
2. Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki, Suzuki GSXR 1000, 54 points
3. Tati Team Beaujolais Racing, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 53 points
4. AM Moto Racing Competition, Suzuki GSX R, 31 points
5. Völpker NRT 48 & PENZ13 By Schubert Motors, BWM S 1000RR, 25 points
6. Starteam Pam-Racing, Suzuki GSXR R, 23 points
7. Team 3ART YAM’ Avenue, SST, Yamaha YZF-R1, 18 points
8. ATOMIC 68, Suzuki GSX R, 22 laps 13 points
9. BMRT 3D Endurance, Aprillia 10 points
10. Ecurie Chrono Sport 1, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 10 points

20. Yamaha Viltaïs Experiences, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1 point
22. Moto AIN CRT, Yamaha YZF-R1, 0 point
34. Moto AIN Chgerenge Nine, SST, Yamaha YZF-R1, 0 point



FIM Endurance World Championship - Manufacturer Championship
1. Yamaha, 124 points
2. Suzuki, 122 points
3. Kawasaki, 95 points
4. BMW, 57 points
5. Honda, 54 points