Yoshimura SERT Motul continues to celebrate its uber-successful 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship season where it finished on the podium at every round and secured the prestigious championship title at the hotly-contested final – the Bol d’Or at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. The rider line-up for 2024 included team mainstay Gregg Black with French compatriot Etienne Masson, who was returning for his second year with Yoshimura SERT Motul, new recruit, Brit Dan Linfoot and Japanese ride Cocoro Atsumi as the fourth/reserve rider.
The opening round at Le Mans in April saw the three team riders maintain a high pace throughout. From the all-important 16-hour points-scoring mark, the team and its powerful Suzuki GSX-R1000R made no mistakes and controlled the race from the front, right the way through to the chequered flag. This victory saw Suzuki claim its 15th win at Le Mans, making it the most successful motorcycle manufacturer in the history of the Le Mans 24-Hour motorcycle endurance event.
Having won the first race, Yoshimura SERT Motul went into the 8 Hours of Spa Motos with a nine-point championship advantage. Determined to maintain its lead, the Franco-Japanese team put in a strong qualifying session which saw the team qualify in third. Renowned for its efficient and rapid pit stops, the crew didn’t disappoint at Spa. Super-quick turnarounds between riders allowed them to keep in touch with the leading team and, where tyre grip was an issue with rising track temperatures, they worked brilliantly to avoid the many pitfalls on the Belgian track. Yoshimura SERT Motul secured second place on the podium at Spa and left with 88 points and the championship lead.
It was virtually all change on the rider front for the third round of the series at the iconic Suzuka circuit in Japan. Black was sidelined due to a broken wrist sustained in testing the previous month and Masson was seconded to the TEAM SUZUKI CN CHALLENGE to ride in the experimental category aboard a GSX-R1000R. Linfoot, the team’s regular rider since the start of the season, was joined by Atsumi and – on loan from Moto2 – 27-year-old Spanish rider Albert Arenas. Linfoot and Atsumi took turns to ride stints throughout the first part of the race. When Arenas was called in, he stepped up and helped the team secure third place. With just six points between the leader and Yoshimura SERT Motul, the championship was set to go to the wire at the Bol d’Or.
After a faultless performance, Yoshimura SERT Motul was victorious at the 2024 Bol d’Or. Black, Masson and Linfoot were back together with Atsumi as reserve. Following a record-breaking 737 laps of the 5.673km Paul Ricard circuit, Masson took the chequered flag with a lead of seven laps to secure the 2024 FIM EWC World Championship for Yoshimura SERT Motul. This was the second victory of the 2024 season for the team, the second world title for the Yoshimura SERT Motul Japanese/French partnership, and Suzuki’s 21st world crown in the Endurance World Championship.
