Racing

2013 Bol d’Or 24-hour Race Results

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While we were busy getting sunburned in Austin, on the other side of the globe in Magny-Cours, men and women road motorcycles around a french track for 24-hours straight, in a little something called the Bol d’Or.

With SRC Kawasaki making a return to the pole-position, the French squad made it two years in a row at the winner’s circle, giving them a fantastic start to the World Endurance Championship. At the helm of their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R were Gregory Leblanc, Loris Baz, and Jérémy Guarnoni, who battled through rain and the cold night to put the Kawasaki on the top step.

Finishing with a comfortable nine-lap lead over the Monster Energy Yamaha YART squad from Austria, SRC’s position at the front was closely contested early-on by the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) and Yamaha France GMT94. They team had a solid ride from Igor Jerman, Broc Parkes, and Sheridan Morais (who replaced Josh Waters), and looks to be in good shape for the rest of the EWC season.

The same consistency cannot be said for SERT, which four hours into the race already had two crashes to its name. The first crash was with Anthony Delhalle, who was followed shortly after into the gravel by Vincent Philippe, who while being stretchered off the course, jumped out of the medics’ stretcher and refused to get in the ambulance. Ten hours later, SERT would be back in the podium hunt, and later would finish with a third-place result.

BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent also crashed twice, but couldn’t recover from the setbacks, leaving Sébastien Gimbert, Sylvain Barrier, and Karl Muggeridge had to throw in the towel at dusk.

Another impressive performance was put in by Yamaha France GMT94, who looked to be in the hunt for a podium as well. However, an electrical issue towards the end of the race saw the team slip back and fall out of contention — an unjust result for riders David Checa, Kenny Foray, and Matthieu Lagrive.

The Honda TT Legends squad also retired with a mechanical issue, 18-hours into the race. Sitting in fourth place throughout most of the Bol d’Or, Dunlop came into the pits with a bad heat exchanger. Fixing the machine, McGuinness then went out, but the damage had been done to the motor, and the bike had to retire.

Interestingly enough, Michael Rutter’s last-minute team change to the National Motos squad put The Blade on the top-placing Honda entry at the finish. Rutter was replaced in the Honda TT Legends squad by Michael Dunlop, after Dunlop set the fastest lap for the team in qualifying and worries in the team about Rutter’s injured leg making the race-distance abounded.

In the Superstock class, local man Jason Pridmore rode the Penz13.com Franks Autowelt BMW S1000RR, along with co-riders Pedro Vallcaneras and Steve Mercer, to a second place finish. Only 20 laps back from SRC Kawasaki at the end of the 24 hours, and 6th place overall, Pridmore and crew finished on the same lap as the first-place Superstock team, Junior Team Suzuki LMS, making it a tight race in the SST class.

Race Results for the 2013 Bol d’Or 24 Hours at Magny-Cours, France:

Pos. Team Bike Riders Class Time
1 Team Kawasaki SRC Kawasaki Leblanc/Baz/Guarnoni 808 Laps EWC
2 Monster Energy Yamaha YART Yamaha Jerman/Parkes/Morais -9 Laps EWC
3 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Suzuki Philippe/Delhalle/Da Costa -11 Laps EWC
4 Yamaha France GMT94 Michelin Yamaha Checa/Foray/Lagrive -15 Laps EWC
5 Junior Team Suzuki LMS Suzuki Guittet/Masson/Chevaux -20 Laps SST
6 Penz13.com Franks Autowelt BMW Vallcaneras/Pridmore/Mercer -20 Laps SST
7 Team R2CL Suzuki Giabbani/Dietrich/Buisson -23 Laps EWC
8 National Motos Honda Junod/Rutter/Four -24 Laps EWC
9 Team Motors Events Suzuki Fastre/Lucas/Savary -25 Laps SST
10 Starteam Pam Racing Suzuki Prulhiere/Maurin/Longearet -26 Laps SST
11 AM Moto Racing Competition Suzuki Loiseau/Maitre/Hardt -29 Laps SST
12 Metiss JLC Moto Metiss Michel/Huvier/Cheron -32 Laps Open
13 Atomic Motosport Suzuki Tangre/Jond/Camus -33 Laps SST
14 Yamaha Viltais Experience Yamaha Bardet/Besnard/Berthome -39 Laps SST
15 Maco Racing Team Yamaha Bouan/Cummins/Roccoli -39 Laps EWC
16 RAC 41 Yamaha Yamaha Charpin/Praud/Depoorter -41 Laps EWC
17 Bolliger Team Switzerland Kawasaki Saiger/Mita/Wildisen -42 Laps EWC
18 Racing Team Sarazin Kawasaki Guerouah/Kokes/Major -52 Laps SST
19 No Limits Motor Team Suzuki Casas/Boscoscuro/Rosso -56 Laps SST
20 Team Louit Moto 33 Kawasaki Marino/Savadori/Jonchiere -58 Laps SST
21 Team FMA Assurances Honda Black/Kerkhoven/Fissette -60 Laps EWC
22 Team Space Moto 37 Suzuki Nouvellon/Deneque/Roche/ -63 Laps EWC
23 AZ Motos Suzuki Mezard/Boue/Dupuy -65 Laps SST
24 3D Endurance Moto Center Kawasaki Salchaud/Egea/Holub -71 Laps SST
25 SPE Samurai Suzuki Teramoto/Fujishima/Piccolo -74 Laps EWC
26 Team 2CP Racing Suzuki Gelas/Descours/Petitjean -78 Laps SST
27 ACR 74 Suzuki Huguenin/Vial/Grippi -79 Laps SST
28 DL Moto Racing Kawasaki Morin/Thuillier/Saive -80 Laps SST
29 PL Performances Suzuki Lepand/Delanoe/Blanchet -84 Laps SST
30 BMRT Moustic Moto Expert 58 Kawasaki Mange/Elbachir/Burlin -89 Laps SST
31 Acro Racing Team Yamaha Jean/Grimber/Lucas -93 Laps SST
32 Team Racing + Ouifm Kawasaki Dubarle/Tabaries/Vigneau -94 Laps SST
33 Plusrace Suzuki Navarette/Jacoby/Monier -98 Laps SST
34 Dunlop Motors Events Suzuki Cholvin/Richert/Putin -106 Laps SST
35 TMS Racing Honda Farlet/Herniques/Majastre -107 Laps SST
36 JCB YDCG Racing Kawasaki Cahagnet/Deneque/Marle -120 Laps SST
37 Scuderia Deux Roues Ducati Francois/Ancelin/Teissier -164 Laps Open
38 BI-Meca Racing Team Kawasaki Feuillee/Morat/Durant -165 Laps SST
39 Racing Team 87 Yamaha Hamard/Viaud/Taillandier -174 Laps SST
40 Flembbo Leader Team Kawasaki Demarey/Prosenik/Ortiz -188 Laps EWC

Source: FIM

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