The Suzuka 8 Hour race left a bitter aftertaste in the mouths of the SERT team due to Vincent Philippe’s crash an hour and a half before the finish. The 8 Hours of Oschersleben on 11/12th August allowed the 11-time endurance champions to wash away the memory and remind everyone they were the team to beat, achieving an unequivocal victory. However, the single lap in hand with which Suzuki crossed the finish line underlined the intensity of the battle with BMW Motorrad and Yamaha France, just behind SERT in the results. “After my fall at Suzuka which lost us a podium place,” Philippe recalled, “it was essential for me take the chequered flag as winner!” For Anthony Delhalle “it was a perfect weekend. We dominated practice and everything went perfectly smoothly during the race right to the finish.”
Also supported by Motul, the Honda TT Legends team grabbed a nice 4th place, improving on its 5th in practice. Right from the start of the race the Honda settled itself in fourth and didn’t relinquish it to the end, having a very steady race. “We were much closer to the leaders than we’ve ever been,” pointed out John McGuinness. “All the stops went well and none of the riders made any mistakes.” Donald Cameron was even more enthusiastic: “I’m extremely happy. As a team, we obtained a result we can be proud of. The bike is working well and we are really making progress.”
Amongst the other teams that Motul is providing technical support for, YART came in a good 7th while, in the Superstock class, DG Sport’s Yamaha achieved 9th overall and 4th in its class. The championship is still wide open and the conclusion to it is therefore eagerly awaited at one of the best races of the season: the Le Mans 24 Hours on 8/9th September.
Results
01- Philippe/Delhalle/Kagayama - Suzuki - Motul
02- Cudlin/Gimbert/Nigon - BMW
04- McGuinness/Donald/O’Halloran - Honda - Motul
07- Giabbani/Jerman/Martin - Yamaha
Standings
01- Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, 95 pts - Motul
02- BMW Motorrad, 76 pts
03- Honda TT Legends, 76 pts - Motul
07- YART, 42 pts - Motul
Photo credit: Suzuki.com
