Suzuki Endurance Racing Team raced to third position at the Le Mans 24 Hours World Endurance second round over the weekend and moved-up into second place in the championship, as Suzuki Motors Events took victory in the Superstock class.
SERT riders Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson and Gregg Black – who were also joined this weekend by Gregory Leblanc as a ‘4th’ rider in the Dominique Méliand-run team – saw the 15-time EWC Champions move to within 16 points of the series lead after completing 838 laps of the Circuit Bugatti, and, in one of the closest 24-Hours finishes ever, less than three minutes from winning the race.
The 42nd Le Mans 24 Hours saw Philippe bolt off the line to lead aboard the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and for three hours, Suzuki led the race. In the middle of the night, SERT slipped back slightly because of some colder temperatures that disrupted the working plans of the team and threw-up some small issues, but SERT continued to fight through the night and into Sunday morning to finish the event at 3pm after 25 well-calculated Pit-Stops and a total time of ‘Stops’ at 20:38.15 minutes – one of the fastest and most efficient during the race.
