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2011
MONZA

72nd BOL D'OR 2008

2008 BOL d'OR ENTRY LIST - LIVE TIMING HERE - ONLINE LIVE VIDEO HERE

2008 BOL d'OR - FINAL RESULT - GUESS WHO WINS AGAIN...

2008 BOL d'OR PODIUM - SERT 1 AND 2 WITH YAMAHA AUSTRIA 3rd

POINTS PDF - WITH ONE RACE TO GO...

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:
After the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team takes another double at Nevers Magny-Cours. The Suzuki 1 of Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa took victory with a gap of six laps over Suzuki 2 of William Costes, Guillaume Dietrich and Olivier Four. On the same occasion, SERT 1 takes the 2008 Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship title, for the fourth time in a row and the ninth in total.

Nine laps behind the winner, Yamaha Austria Racing Team took the third place and is the championship runner-up. Igor Jerman, Gwen Giabbani and Steve Martin rode remarkably well after being involved in a collective crash at the beginning of the race. Kawasaki France tried to make a come-back on the podium but YART offered great resistance. On the Kawasaki France, Ivan Silva, Erwan Nigon and Julian Mazuecos did the show at the beginning of the race, when they were following closely the Suzuki 1. In his first shift, Julian Mazuecos signed the lap record for the race, in 1’42’’336 at his eleventh lap. But the ZX-10R lost contact later on with several crashes.

The trickiest part of this 72nd Bol d’Or was to keep the rhythm and stay on two wheels. Phase One Endurance scored big points at this game. The British Yamaha takes fifth place between two official bikes, Kawasaki France and Yamaha GMT 94. That gives to Phase One a move from ninth to sixth place at the Formula EWC championship. The GMT 94 of Sébastien Gimbert, David Checa and Steve Plater were also playing for victory at the beginning of the race, but a broken radiator and a very unusual crash (Gimbert would have been hit by a bike without its rider’s control) sent back the Yamaha in the middle of the pack. Folch Endurance (Dani Ribalta, Pedro Vallcaneras and Jose-Manuel Luis) held tight against the Suzuki Junior Team, who came back after a crash. The first bike in the Superstock class, the Junior Team was in the Top-5 at the beginning of the race. Bolliger Switzerland, who always been in the Top-10, ends up in ninth place.

After a breath-taking finish, Honda RMT 21 Racing and Suzuki RT Racing Moto Virus finish respectively in tenth and eleventh place. In twelfth, Qatar Endurance Racing Team IJT is the second machine in the Superstock class. The Qatar Endurance Racing Team IJT is then the winner of the 2008 FIM Superstock World Cup, since their main contender, LTG 57, had to retire after several crashes.

This 72nd Bol d’Or was particularly difficult. At the beginning of the evening, the rain caused many crashes and forced many teams to retire. This was the case for Kawasaki Raffin Motos and the bioethanol powered Honda Thorn Bikes, as well as the Suzuki ABG Performance, the Kawasaki Runner Bike and the Bihr Metiss, who was leading the Open Class. After three crashes at the beginning of the night, the Yamaha of LTG 57 was also too damaged to carry on racing. Diablo 666 Bolliger also threw the towel in the beginning of the night with some electric problems. They could not make one of the two compulsory headlights to work. Honda National Moto also lost ground with a ongoing electric problem, and had to retire at 9 am when their crankshaft broke down. However, some other teams managed to get through a difficult race, like La Fortezza Amadeus X-One, delayed by many mechanicals problems, or Endurance Moto 45, fifth in the Superstock class despite five crashes.

The next round of the 2008 Qtel FIM World Endurance Championship will take place in November, 8th for the 8 Hours of Doha.

GMT94 - SO CLOSE...AND SO FAR...

GMT94 BOL d'OR REPORT:
David Checa (E), Sébastien Gimbert (F) and Steve Plater (GB) thought they had got the best weapons to put their YAMAHA R1 in a nice final position. Lap record for Sébastien Gimbert, followed by the best lap time in the warm-up: we were confident. But as soon as the race started, bad luck started striking.
"I couldn’t recognise my bike," Sébastien Gimbert commented when finishing his first stint. "It is not the same anymore..." David Checa confirmed when finishing his. Lap times did not look too bad though, as our YAMAHA remained close to the leading machines. But everybody was expecting better performance. What a disappointment not to match our practice lap times! Even if victory was still totally feasible. At the start of the evening, David Checa pitted in with an overheated engine: a small stone had dented the radiator and the machine was at a standstill in the pit.
The riders rejoined the race in 22nd position, seven laps behind the leader. Soon after they were in third place again! We were riding faster than the N°2 and were aiming at 2nd place as the remaining gap to the N°1 was 7 laps. This was really unfair as we thought we could be faster. But the sight of a podium kept a smile on our faces. Some time later, Steve Plater crashed in the pouring rain after a fabulous stint and incurred a minor injury in the elbow. And here we were again, for another chase back to the top of the pack. By the way,– thank you to these wonderful PIRELLI rain tyres for their help! In early morning GMT had come back to third position when Sébastien Gimbert got hit in the rear by a crashing N°45. He jumped back on but crashed a little later due to a broken brake lever. He came back in complaining about bruised ribs and a sore back. So one more time, we had to produce some effort to reach the top of the result screen again. As the fifth position was in sight at last, Sébastien was the victim of yet another, incredible incident: the N°11 Kawasaki crashed in front of him, shotblasting his hands with pebbles. The pain was so unbearable that he had to stop. Steve Plater took over for the two last stints.

Michel Guerre then tried to understand what had made our riders’ life so difficult. He quickly discovered that the right tube of the fork had an obvious technical problem causing the bike to be quite unstable when braking or in the bends. Our riders sounded relieved at the news: these unpleasant sensations on the bike had found an explanation! Nevertheless, the team will remain very frustrated even if they can be proud of finishing such a difficult race.

ADDENDUM - THE PLATER REPORT...
Following a few problems throughout the 24-hour Bol d’Or race at Magny-Cours, Steve Plater and the GMT94 Yamaha team completed the penultimate round of the World Endurance championship in sixth place on Sunday. After qualifying in second place, just 200th of a second away from pole, team-mate Sebastien Gimbert started the race for the team and led briefly in the early stages...but after refuelling and handing over the David Checa the problems began for the team. Just two hours into the race a stone holed the radiator and an unscheduled pit stop to replace the radiator followed.

Next up on the bike was Steve who eventually fought his way back up to third. But after handing over the Gimbert once again the bad luck continued. A riderless bike took Gimbert out as he tipped into the hairpin and he was very lucky not to be badly injured. Once more a fight back began and the team managed to get back up to sixth position as the light faded. Going into the night session the weather took a turn for the worse and the rain continued until daybreak. Because of his injuries Gimbert was only able to complete a further two sessions and Plater rode three double sessions of two hours each, which made it a long and exhausting night.

STEVE PLATER ON THE GMT94 YAMAHA

The race continued throughout the morning and GMT94 finally crossed the finish line for sixth place at 2pm GMT. “We had a very eventful time of it out there,” said Steve. “Sebastien Gimbert is a bit battered but he will be ok for his World Superbike ride with the team at the weekend, he was very lucky as it was a big crash. The rain didn’t help our cause either, and doing a double stint on the bike each time made it seem forever till the chequered flag was waved at us. I did make good time through the night but it was obvious we were never going to be in contention for the win – which we should have been.”

Steve returns to the Yamaha Austria team for the final round at Doha/Losail where, although he cannot win the title, the team are still in contention for the runner-up spot.

DAMIAN CUDLIN AND THE BRITISH PHASE ONE YAMAHA TEAM

Taree’s Damian Cudlin took a superb 5th place finish in the most gruelling race on the World Endurance Championship Calendar, the Bol’Dor 24 Hour.

Teamed with former World Supersport Champion Jorg Teuchert, and current World Supersport campaigner Graeme Gowland, Cudlin found himself in good company in the Phase One Yamaha squad, as the trio turned in a solid qualifying performance in both wet dry conditions. Elected to start for the Phase One Team, Cudlin set off on the 73rd Bol’Dor 24 hour in good shape, setting the teams fastest lap and pitting in 8th after the 1st round of stops, however the Phase One crew struck their first problem when a Brake Calliper failure required an urgent replacement. The set back dropped the trio to 48th place, setting up another long fight back, a scenario all too familiar for the Phase One Team this season.

Teuchert took over from Cudlin and began the steady climb up the leader board. Slowly but surely the Phase One R1 took more and more positions as rain began to fall. Equipped with Dunlop wets, Cudlin turned in a brilliant stint, lapping fastest on the circuit for the majority of the 90minute stint. Teuchert and Gowland followed suit and in a miraculous surge, Phase One stormed to 3rd place by the halfway mark, trailing only the 2 official Suzuki‘s. The race continued in the trying conditions and the squad maintained their podium place until a defect rear tyre cost the team valuable time and 2 extra stops, dropping them behind YART and into the clutches of Team Kawasaki. A small crash from Gowland in the early hours of the morning allowed Kawasaki to overhaul the Phase One Team, but a gritty performance saw the Brit carry on, despite the damage to the bike.

As daylight broke through, Phase One pushed onto the finish, holding off the final advances of GMT and taking a well deserved 5th place finish. “This is a great result for us and a real team effort.” Cudlin explained. “We all rode well and my crew did a great job keeping us going for 24 hours. This is the hardest race on the Calendar and just to get to the finish is an achievement, so we’re happy to be the 5th ones home.”

CUDLIN CODDLING THE PHASE ONE YAMAHA

The team now move to 6th in the World Championship standings with the 8 Hour of Qatar race still remaining. “I’m delighted with the 5th place finish.” Team owner Russell Benney enthused. “There were a few little glitches that prevented us from being 3rd, but that’s an ‘if only’ story. We’re ready to get on rostrum in Qatar and finish the season on a real high.”

PHASE ONE OFFICIAL REPORT:

Phase One Endurance entered a team comprising Damian Cudlin, Graeme Gowland and Jörg Teuchert (plus Pawel Szkopek as 4th man) for the 5th round of the World Endurance Championship, the Bol d’Or, held at the Magny Cours circuit, on 13th / 14th September 2008. The team ended a hard fought 24hrs in a very respectable 5th position sandwiched between the Team Kawasaki France bike in 4th and the GMT 94 Yamaha which finished 6th.

The highlight of the race involved a five way battle for 3rd place between TKF, GMT94, Phase One, YART and Folch, which raged all night and all of the next day. The battle really hotted up at midnight when Phase One were third, inherited from YART and GMT 94 who had suffered problems. The night was a wet-dry, wet-dry affair but the team held its nerve and with some great riding and good strategy, particularly on tyre calls, came out solidly in 4th, unable to match the riding and the speed of the YART bike, which allegedly possessed an official Yamaha France engine.

During the second day, the summation of three small problems earlier in the race (a detached front caliper piston magnet, costing 2 laps, two wet tyres that failed to work, costing 3 laps and a small crash with repairs costing 1.5 laps) came home to roost. However, the team held off a spirited challenge by GMT94 in the closing hours, but those lost laps made 3rd place unobtainable. Rivals Folch and Bolliger were beaten again, but Folch still remain in 5th place in the WEC, a clear target for the final round in Qatar in 5 weeks time. Again, the team were happy with a very business-like, points scoring performance, one which elevates them to sixth in the WEC. This was another big performance for a little team. !

Pre-Bol...
The pre-Bol test was held in late August. The team took Damian Cudlin and Graeme Gowland and it proved very useful indeed, although it also served to open some unanswered questions. The first day was cut short with bad weather, but still 80 laps were achieved, which allowed the riders to equal last year’s race times and get themselves back to full familiarity with the circuit. The second day was spent on set up and tyre testing – and successful testing at that, achieving a good race front and rear compound and carcass choice. Furthermore, by the end of day 2, the team had achieved 215 laps and had the race suspension and geometry set up for wet and dry as well. So, all seemed good; except there was still a nagging question. There were two fundamentally different gearing options available and we simply couldn’t decide which was best…it wasn’t just down to the stopwatch; both options returned exactly the same lap time. By the end of the day it was still outstanding. It would have to be decided on race week!

Pre-Race
Jörg Teuchert, 2000 World Supersport champion was a great addition to the Oschersleben pairing of Cudlin and Gowland. At 38 years, he brought a fantastic bank of world level experience to the team and in addition he was also a modest and very pleasant character. He enjoyed his meeting with the team and particularly beating GMT94 in the race (he had previously tested with them) and vows to be back for more next year. Graeme Gowland and Damian Cudlin set the pace in free practice and qualifying based on their previous testing and it was really only in the later stages of the week that Jörg’s speed materialised. The pre-race sessions, which were very wet and dry, served to show the usefulness of pre-race testing; if we had left it to race week it just could not have been properly achieved. The gearing issue was also resolved, in favour of the high first, five gear set up…..oh for a kit gearbox! Our fourth rider Pawel Szkopek, the Polish WSS competitor, did a great job qualifying on the spare bike in a time of 1.43.7secs. For him, this was not to be his race, but the relationship with the team is now formed and I am sure that we shall see more of him in the future.

Qualification times were; Jörg Teuchert 1 min 43.09 secs
Damian Cudlin 1 min 43.26 secs
Graeme Gowland 1 min 44.26 secs (Very limited dry qualification time)

Overall, using the three rider aggregated system, the team were 9th,
with a time of 1 min 43.54 secs, 0.09 secs behind Bolliger and 0.049 secs in front of Folch.

Race Report
Before even telling our story of the race, it is worth telling you now that it was totally, yes totally, dominated by the SERT number one entry of Lagrive, Phillipe and DeCosta. They led after hour 1 and they led at the flag. Works team or not, it was a fantastic display of modern endurance racing and one which brought manager Dominique Melliand yet another race win and world championship. Congratulations to them all.

Damian Cudlin started in dry conditions, although we all knew that the forecasted late afternoon rain was not far away. He displayed his craft to the full and brought the bike home after 52 minutes in 7th position. At pitstop 1, the first of three significant race incidents occurred. A pad retention magnet had become un-glued during the session and had jammed between a caliper piston and the pad, preventing the new front wheel being inserted. This necessitated an unplanned caliper change, which despite the new caliper being ready, cost some additional 163 seconds, dropping the team well into the mid field. Jörg rode next and solidly supported by Graeme and Damian, their faultless riding saw the team back in contention, in third position by 23.00 hrs.

Then came event number two. The evening had been a wet and drying affair where tyre choices had played a crucial part in getting the team to a podium position. Now it was to play against them. A change in conditions meant that a new compound rear wet was fitted for Damian at 00.10 hrs. This should have been routine, but it certainly wasn’t. The tyre simply did not kick in, whether it was temperature or construction or compound we did not know. What we did know was that we were losing 8 seconds a lap to the opposition and we had to bring Damain in. 20 minutes later, he was back, complaining that it felt like an oil leak; it wasn’t and he was sent on his way with a new tyre – regrettably of the same type. This time he stopped at will, and our tyre advisors knew there was a problem and fitted an old style tyre with known performance. Jörg returned to track, cautiously, gradually gaining confidence and continued on his way. The whole incident had cost approximately three laps and dropped the team to fifth position.

More solid riding consolidated 5th place and things were steady until the 04.20 stop when it was evident that what we thought was a minor run-on by Gowland had in fact been a minor off. Unfortunately, that minor off had broken a front mudguard bracket which would have to be changed. This was our third and final incident. At 04.53 the bike was pulled in and this planned work was undertaken in 113 seconds.

During the rest of the morning 4th position was retaken and held for five hours, until relentless pressure from Team Kawasaki France reclaimed it at about mid-day. The final 3 hours of the race saw a further challenge for fifth from GMT94 which was ably resisted by the absolutely shattered Phase One three. Jörg Teuchert crossed the line at 15.00 hrs, his first WEC 24hrs race success...a great effort and a great race.
 

MAGALI LANGLOIS AND THE 3A RACING TEAM - FRENCH REPORT HERE

BMW - THE FINAL RACE IN WORLD ENDURANCE

BMW Motorrad Motorsport ended their two-year HP2 Sport race programme at the Bol d’Or 24 hour race at Magny-Cours today by winning their class. Bike number 71, ridden by Sebastien Le Grelle, Stephane Mertens and Brian Parriot took number one in the Open Class, some 43 laps ahead of their nearest rivals, the Ducati of Thierry Capela, Fred Notte and Pierre Solari, and finished 29th in the overall classification.
It was not such a good day for their team mates, Richard Cooper, Rico Penzkofer and Thomas Hinterreiter, on bike number 17. With eight hours or so to go, the bike lost power and although it was ridden back to the pits, the fault could not be safely repaired and the team had no choice but to call it a day and retire. At the time, the bike was in 14th place overall and closing in on the three teams in front of them, so it was a bitter blow to the whole team. The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team of Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien da Costa won the race, completing 747 laps in the process, with their number two team of William Costes, Olivier Four and Guillame Dietrich second. The race was a rain-afffected, crash-ridden affair with just 36 finishers out of the 55 starters.

Bike 71 - 1st (Open Class), 29th (overall)
Sebastien Le Grelle
"That was a very tough race and not helped by the weather. I had two problems, the first was when the fuel light didn’t come on and I was forced to ride slowly back to the pits. The second was a crash! I went a bit off-line at a downhill chicane and went straight on to avoid crashing. But the run-off area was slippery tarmac and down I went, fortunately without damage to myself or the bike. Later on, Stephane crashed and the team had a lot of work to do before we could go out again and that lost us time and positions. We fought our way back up the field and finished 29th in the general standings, but at least we won our class."

Stephane Mertens
"The weekend started very well for me, but we decided to use bike number two for the race because of a possible problem with bike number one. My crash was unfortunate, but it took quite a long time to get the bike back on track and we had slipped down the order. Maybe I had been going just a little bit too fast, but it happened and that’s that. I am disappointed that this project has come to an end, but I am not disappointed because I am very happy and proud to be part of this great team and be able to end with a finish in such a tough race."

Brian Parriot
"I am very happy to be part of this project and so happy to finish such a tough race - even though Endurance is not really my thing. But these guys are great and if they called me, I’d be happy to do it again. The weather conditions made it tough for everybody and in my first stint in the rain my visor misted up and I couldn’t see where I was going! I had to lift it up on the straights to clear it and then carry on. I guess I was the lucky one this time, because I had no problems when I was on the bike. I’d like to dedicate our class win to the memory of our former fuel-filler Franz and to Tim Johnson from San Jose BMW."

Bike 17 - DNF (retired)
Richard Cooper
"I am disappointed we didn’t finish because I really believed we could get a good result here. We did all the hard work through the night and then didn’t finish. A top fifteen was our goal before the race, but I think that we could’ve maybe had a top ten if everything had worked out OK. But racing is all about ifs and buts and sometimes doesn’t go the way you plan. I love riding this bike and I have got very used to it over the two years. I am happy that I was the fastest of all the BMW riders in every session and stint and I don’t think I’d like to do this race on any other kind of bike. The bike has made a lot of progress since the project started and I am happy that I was on the bike at its last race with this great team."

Thomas Hinterreiter
"The bike was running perfectly until one of my sessions, when it suddenly lost power as I shifted from fifth to sixth. I got it back to the pits and the team spent a lot of time trying to find out if they could get it back out again. There were no oil leaks, but obviously something had happened and as we couldn’t take the whole engine apart and put it back together, we had to stop. I’m very sad that we ended this way, but I think we showed everybody how good the bike is and we’ve had a lot fun along the way. It’s been great fun being underdogs and pulling off some surprises and the whole experience is one that I would not have missed. I would like to thank Berti and the whole team for giving me a chance to do this."

Rico Penzkofer
"There were no problems when I was on the bike and the crash of Thomas was of no significance. in the wet we did a good job and we got up to sixteenth place I think before the stoppage. It’s disappointing way to finish because our goal had been a top 15 and we had got up to 14th place. Over the two years, we’ve had a lot of fun and the team has been great to work with. I know we’ve worked hard, done a great job and have been well-received by everybody worldwide."

Berti Hauser (Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
"This weekend has had all the ups and downs imaginable. We were so close to our target of finishing in the top fifteen and if we’d had a problem-free race, it would have been achievable for sure. It’s hard to believe that we didn’t get closer to our expectations this weekend but even with one bike out we fought to the end of what is probably the toughest race of the year. I would like to compliment everybody for all their hard work, particularly Thomas Eckardt and Witec. The main target of this two year adventure was to confirm the potential of the HP2 Sport as a sports bike and I believe we did that. In two years and nine races, we took six class wins( including two doubles), finished four twenty-four races and took an amazing fifth and sixth at Daytona against top American opposition. Racing with a Boxer is an emotional thing, but it is one that has given us all a great deal of enjoyment and so it’s a bit sad to come to end of this project. This is the end of BMW Motorrad Motorsport in the World Endurance Championship with the HP2 Sport, because we now have to fully concentrate on the World Superbike Championship. We hope this project will inspire and motivate other teams to race a BMW in this category for the benefit of race fans worldwide."

DIABLO 666 FORCED TO RETIRE

OFFICIAL DIABLO PRESS RELEASE FROM BOB COPARE:
Diabolical news for all Diablo 666 friends and supporters and of course the Team out here in Magny Cours, France. After 6 hours the Team have been forced to retire from the 72^nd Bol d’Or here in France. Just after 9:15pm Team principal, Miles Hutchins was forced to withdraw Diablo 666 from the race with only one front and one rear light working. “Purely on safety grounds we could not continue. Sooner or later we would have been forced to stop in any case by the authorities”, commented senior mechanic Geoff Randall. Diablo 666 had started from 25^th on the grid and Michael Weynand had the honour of starting with the traditional endurance start and sprint across the track. As the 55 riders came round at the end of the first lap Michael had already blasted past 3 riders to cross the line in 22^nd. During his first stint, where he was lapping in 1:45’s, he climbed to 20th position and handed over to Alex Cudlin . Within 3 laps Alex had climbed to 17th and depending on the fuel stops of other teams for the next hour Diablo 666’s position ranged from 16th to 22nd. Alex had consistently been lapping in the 1:57’s.

After just under two hours Alex handed over to James Hutchins as the skies became darker and darker and massive rain clouds formed overhead. Would it rain after what had been a beautiful start to the race with clear blue, cloudless skies? Only time would tell. This might well play into Diablo’s hands as all three riders love riding in the wet. At the end of James’ run and at the end of each of the Diablo 666’s riders first stints the Team were lying in 22nd place but on the same lap as some ten other teams. There was still a very long way to go…………

The race at this stage was being led by once again the No. 1 SERT works Suzuki Team followed closely by No. 94, the GMT 94 Yamaha and the works Kawasaki bike No. 16. Diablo’s sister team, Bolliger Kawasaki were lying in an excellent 7th place just one lap behind the leading trio. Once Michael was back on the bike he straight away got the Diablo 666 Kawasaki back into the 1:45’s. It was now though looking very bleak outside and the temperature was noticeably colder as night began to close in. Sure enough dead on five it started to rain and Diablo 666 pitted for rain tyres. However, it was discovered that an electrical fault had caused a front light to short so the bike was sent out with only one front light operating. For safety reasons obviously both front lights are necessary to be working and on the next stop the bike was brought into the garage to see if the fault could be found. After five minutes no such luck and out once again the bike was sent out with only one front and one rear light working!

After six and a half hours the weather was getting worse and again the bike was brought into the pit to see if the offending light could be fixed. Unfortunately this was not the case and Team Principal Miles Hutchins had to take the only choice open to him and to withdraw the Team from the race on safety grounds. Lying in 24th place after the two stops, a further lengthy stop to trace the fault would have only meant dropping still further down the field with little chance of getting back into the points. If the other remaining light had failed whilst out on track the consequences for the rider could have been dire! As it was shortly after withdrawing there was an unbelievable downpour which caught out a number of the teams out and crashes were now becoming widespread!

The mood in the Team understandably was sombre.

BOL d'OR REPORT No.3

08:00 SUNDAY MORNING:
After a wet and hectic night, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team is still leading the Bol d’Or. At 8 am, the SERT 1 of Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa has a five lap lead over SERT 2 of William Costes, Guillaume Dietrich and Olivier Four.

Yamaha Austria Racing Team have run a fantastic race so far with Igor Jerman, Gwen Giabbani and Steve Plater. After a difficult start due to a crash, YART is now holding tight to its third place, eight laps behind the leaders. Should the race end up in that order though, SERT would be crowned Qtel FIM Endurance World Champion for the fourth time in a row, the ninth time in total. Phase One Endurance is also having one of their best races of the season. In fourth place this morning, fourteen laps behind the leaders, the British Yamaha is fighting off Kawasaki France. The night had been hard for the favourites. All riders had some dark hours on a wet track and the main priority was to stay upright.

Many favourites made mistakes. Team Kawasaki crashed three times around midnight and lost contact with the leading bikes. Yamaha GMT 94, then chasing Suzuki 2, crashed twice in the early hours this Sunday and is facing the same challenge as the Kawasaki. However, in sixth place this morning, Yamaha Folch Endurance seems to race between rain drops, like the Kawasaki Bolliger Switzerland in tenth place, ahead of the Suzuki Junior Team, who lost ground after a crash around midnight.

Honda Moto Revue was leading the Superstock class but they have just been notified a time penalty for not sticking to Sébastien Charpentier’ rest times (which has to be at least two-thirds of his racing time). The Honda 60 will have to come back to the pits and stay 20 minutes there. In a battle with the Honda for the Superstock podium, Qatar Endurance Racing Team is then going to lead the class, and take a serious option on the Superstock FIM World Cup. Many bikes had to retire from the race. Well placed from the beginning, Igol AM Moto Racing had to retire after a crash, as did LTG 57, and Raffin Motos retired, short of spare parts. The Italian Kawasaki Runner Bike and Suzuki ABG Performance are also out.

MACO MOTO No.4 GO BACKWARDS

BOL d'OR - REPORT No.2

MIDNIGHT:
The rain came back at around 11 pm on the Magny-Cours race track and caused drastic change on the race order. Still leading the race from the first hour, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 1 is now followed by the SERT Suzuki 2. The Kawasaki France, who was targeting Suzuki 1 for several hours, crashed twice just before midnight. They are now in sixth place. Phase One Endurance did not miss that opportunity to take the third place behind the two official Suzuki. The British Yamaha started the beginning of the race in the middle of the pack, due to some problems with the brakes. Just behind them is Yamaha Austria Racing Team, also doing a great come-back after a crash earlier on.

Yamaha GMT 94 is in fifth place, six laps behind the leaders. After a few hours spent in the leading trio, the Yamaha 94 lost some ground after 7 pm when they had to change the radiator (it was holed by a stone - RC.).

Suzuki Igol AM Moto Racing is holding tight its seventh place, ahead of many Endurance regular teams. Behind them is Yamaha Folch Endurance, who lost some ground in the evening with a wrongly tightened wheel axle, and the Honda Moto Revue, who is now the first machine in the Superstock class. In fact, Suzuki Junior Team lost their class lead after a crash around 11 pm. Qatar Endurance Racing Team is now second in the Superstock class. There had been many crashes under a long-lasting rain this evening. Yamaha Igol Acropolis Moto Expert lost its fifth place and LTG 57 is also far away from the leaders. Honda National Motos is also at the back of the pack -  they keep having electric problems. (Word in the pits is that this is the Achilles Heel of the latest Honda Fireblade...something not quite right with the alternator/crankshaft layout is thought to be shouldering the blame - RC.)

BOL d'OR - REPORT No.1

19:00 SATURDAY EVENING:
Suzuki Endurance Racing Team took the lead from the first hour of the race. Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa, current World Champions on the Suzuki 1, are ahead the Kawasaki of Erwan Nigon, Ivan Silva and Julian Mazuecos at 7 pm. After a fantastic first shift, where Guillaume Dietrich took the lead, SERT Suzuki 2 is just behind the official Kawasaki and manage to hold off the Yamaha GMT 94. On the official Yamaha, Sébastien Gimbert, David Checa and Steve Plater lost a bit of time after a wrong tyre choice. But the Yamaha GMT 94 remains ready to ambush. "This is not yet the right time to push," said Christophe Guyot, team-manager of the 94.

One lap behind is the Yamaha Igol Acropolis Moto Expert, sticking to a great fifth place behind the favourites, and ahead the first Superstock machine, the Junior Team LMS. In seventh place, Yamaha Austria Racing Team is fighting hard to come back at the front. After a fantastic start from Gwen Giabbani, Steve Martin was involved in a collective crash with two other bikes. Then YART lost some time with a rear brake calliper problem (and a crash...RC.). At 7 pm, YART was leading over Kawasaki Bolliger Switzerland and Suzuki Igol AM Moto Racing.

Yamaha Folch Endurance made a great come back to tenth place: the team had to start with their spare bike after their engine broke down during the warm-up, and they also had to face a stop and go penalty. Great come back as well for Phase One up to twelfth place, after being at the end of the pack from the first hour of the race. The British Yamaha, with Damian Cudlin, Grame Gowland and Jörg Teuchert, had to face problems with the front brake callipers.

In thirteenth place, Qatar Endurance Racing Team is also second in the Superstock class, ahead of LTG 57. Endurance Moto 45 had problems to move from the starting grid. Starting then from the last position, the Suzuki 100 lost some ground with a problem from the fuel tank breather hose. At 7 pm, they were in twenty-seventh position. The race was short for some teams. In the start mayhem, the Ducati 1098R Endurance Racing Team 98 crashed at the end of the pit straight. Injured, rider Louis Bulle managed to bring back the bike into the pits but could not carry on racing. The Kawasaki Raffin Motos 16 and the bio-ethanol powered Thorn Bikes Honda also had to retire from the first hour, after their riders collided. Raffin Motos was too damaged to carry on and with four crashes this week-end, the team was short of spare parts. On the Thorn Bikes, rider Stéphane Lacaze was too injured to bring back the bike into the pits. The latest retirement is from Honda Education Racing Team Lycée Jacques Brel, after a over-heating problem. The rain just made an appearance over Magny-Cours and might disturb the established order.

FINAL QUALIFYING - ALL CHANGE!

FINAL QUALIFYING TIMES

Yesterday’s hierarchy changed late this morning when the track dried up at the end of the second qualifying session. The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 1 of Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa put their hands back on the pole position, due to a strong improvement of Julien Da Costa’s performance. SERT 1 is slightly ahead of Yamaha GMT 94 of Sébastien Gimbert, David Checa and Steve Plater, who also improved his lap times this morning. Sébastien Gimbert remains the faster at Magny-Cours, with his 1’40’’826 lap made yesterday.

The race will be tight between the SERT Suzuki 1, current World Champion, and 2007 Bol d’Or winner Yamaha GMT 94. They are not the only contenders for victory, however. Yamaha Austria Racing Team took third place on the starting grid with Igor Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani. YART is also leading by a small margin the Kawasaki France ridden by Erwan Nigon, Ivan Silva and Julian Mazuecos. The first four bikes on the starting grid are all below the 1’42 mark on the average time of their three riders.

Fifth on the starting grid, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 2 remains in ambush ahead of Honda National Motos, who improved significantly their times with a great performance of Thomas Metro. Still doing great, the Suzuki Junior, engaged in the Superstock class with Kenny and Freddy Foray, and Emeric Jonchière, is in seventh place. Behind them are a group of permanents teams within the top-ten. Kawasaki Bolliger Swtizerland and the Yamaha Phase One Endurance and Folch Endurance are all within a few hundredth of a second.

In the Superstock class dominated by the Suzuki Junior Team, are then on the starting grid the Honda Moto Revue with Jean-Michel Bayle, Sébastien Charpentier and Thierry Traccan and the Yamaha LTG 57. However, LTG 57 will have to do without their fastest rider: Franck Millet had a crash with another rider this morning and suffers from a broken leg and a abdomen concussion. Then comes the Suzuki Qatar Endurance Racing Team IJT, who made strong impression this morning as its rider Mashel Al-Naimi took the best lap of his qualifying session on a wet track. The Qatari rider, who had never been at Magny-Cours before, received congratulations yesterday already for his performance, with a 1’44’’015 clocked from his first session.

The Bihr Metiss remains the fastest machine in the Open class, ahead of the Ducati Endurance Racing 38 and the BMW HP2 Motorrad 1 and 2. The traditional pit-lane visit will take place today as from 5 pm. The start of the Bol d’Or, penultimate round of the 2008 Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship, will take place tomorrow at 3 pm.

BMW - REPORT FROM THEIR LAST RACE

BMW MOTORRAD MOTORSPORT AIMING TO END ON A HIGH.
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport two bikes qualified in 30th and 32nd for the 72nd edition of the Bol d’Or 24 hour race, starting tomorrow afternoon at Magny-Cours circuit, and are looking forward to finishing their World Endurance campaign on a high. The team know they have a better chance of good results in a 24 hour race than an eight hour, thanks to their superb teamwork and longer spells on the track between fuel stops, but also know that 4.411 kilometre track is more suited to four-cylinder bikes of their opposition. The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team of Philippe Vincent, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa took pole position after qualifying, with a time of 1:41.493, ahead of the Yamaha of Sebastien Gimbert, David Checa and Steve Plater. BMW Motorrad Motorport’s Richard Cooper was the fastest of the BMW riders and will start the race on bike number 17, partnered by Thomas Hinterreiter and Rico Penzkofer. BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s bike number 71 will be ridden by Stephane Mertens, Sebastien Le Grelle and Brian Parriot.

Bike 17
Richard Cooper
"The cancellation of night practice didn’t really bother us, because we’ve all ridden here in the dark before. I had no problems in practice and the bike is working well. This will be a tough race because there are lots of long straights and that doesn’t suit our bike so much. But we’ve got a great team and we’ll all be doing our best to finish in the top fifteen. It’s a little sad, because this is our last race with this bike. I’d really like to end this experience with a good result and, if we have no problems and are lucky with the weather, who knows, we may even be able to surprise a few people."

Thomas Hinterreiter
"Everything has gone well in practice, except that I had a very slow speed fall in qualifying. I lost the front in the second last turn, but there was no damage to me or the bike! In all the years I have ridden a Boxer bike, I've never ever lost the front end, so this was a rare experience. I was on a fast lap, so maybe I was going in a bit too fast at the time. If conditions are wet in the race, as forecast, it’s possible we could end with a very good result. Otherwise, I think a top fifteen finish would be good."

Rico Penzkofer
"Everything in practice has been OK and I’ve had no problems at all really. I hope we can end this great experience with a good result, but even if we don’t, we know that we had tried our hardest and given our very best. If we have no crashes and no problems, we could finish in the top fifteen for sure and maybe a top ten if everything went our way. You can be sure that we’ll be going all out to get the very best possible result this weekend."

Bike 71
Stephane Mertens
"I feel in much better condition - physically and mentally - then earlier in the year and I feel fit, relaxed and ready to race. In practice, I’ve had no problems with the bike and I’m happy with its set-up. I think I could’ve gone faster in qualifying, but there was a lot of disruption due to crashes and red flags. But the grid position is not so important in a twenty-four race and the important thing is to be consistent and not have any problems. If we can do that, a top fifteen is a distinct possibility. But it is my dream to finish in the top ten and, if we are lucky with the weather and have no problems, this could happen."

Brian Parriot
"I took it fairly steadily in practice and concentrated on finding a good rhythm and getting 100 per cent comfortable with the bike. I am happy to have had the chance to ride this bike in a World Championship with such a great team and will miss it in the future. I think a top 12-14 place is achievable, if all goes well and there are no major problems, but a top ten would be fantastic."

Sebastien Le Grelle
"All has gone OK so far and now we are ready for the race and hopefully a good finish. The four cylinder bikes have an advantage round here because of the fast straights, but we can make up some of the time on our longer time on the track between pits-tops. I’d like to think we could get into the top fifteen without too much of a problem, as long as all goes well."

Berti Hauser (Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport)
"We entered this championship as absolute rookies and I am so proud because all members of the team have reached the highest level possible. I am very happy about the good feelings and sympathy everybody has given us and the feedback has been very, very positive. Racing is full of ups and downs, but I know we’ve done our best at every race. To end our very first Le Mans 24 hours in 16th was amazing and then to get both our bikes in the top ten in the Oschersleben 24 hour was very special and a real highlight. We wanted to appeal to spectators worldwide and I think we have done that and hopefully we will continue this way in our next project. For me, Endurance is a special type of competition - one where the bike and the whole team must work together and with a very high level of concentration. I think we have achieved this and it is a good basis for anything we try in the future. This weekend is going to be another tough challenge, but we have shown that we are not afraid of such challenges. Our target this weekend is to bring both bikes home in the top fifteen, though if one of them could get into the top ten that would be a dream come true."

DIABLO 666 QUALIFYING REPORT

Diablo 666 Kawasaki have arrived at the famous Formula 1 circuit of Magny Cours for the 72nd running of the classic 24hrs race, the Bol d’Or. After excellent race results at the two previous rounds at Suzuka, Japan and Oschersleben in Germany, the Team are really hopeful of a good result here in France to lift them up the Championship table. The weather forecast for the weekend has been dreadful and sure enough for the first days free practice on Wednesday the heavens opened but all three riders, Belgian rider Michael Weynand, now almost “regular” Diablo 666 rider, James Hutchins and young Aussie Alex Cudlin were all really pleased with how the Diablo Kawasaki ZX –10 bikes handled and were going in the wet free practice.

Thursday saw the weather take a serious turn for the better and the first day of qualifying saw all three riders struggling in the second session of free practice in the dry conditions. Many of the other teams had been here for the official practice sessions some two weeks ago and had their settings sorted. After the second free practice Diablo 666 were in 23rd position so had a lot to do to improve Saturday’s grid position. As first qualifying approached all three riders were still hesitant about final settings and with the temperature being 30 in the 30’s the Teams wet settings were now a distant memory.

James was first up and was really struggling and finished well down the order in 42nd place with a time of 1:47.74. James would be hoping for a better 2nd session on Friday morning. Next up came Michael Weynand who put in a much more encouraging time of 1:44.372, putting him 17th in his session. Things were looking up. Alex was also struggling but put in a 1:46.826 to put him in 27th position in group three. Combining all three times from 1st qualifying saw Diablo 666 provisionally starting from 26th on the grid. Just as first qualifying ended the clouds gathered and what had been forecasted suddenly arrived, torrential rain, flash floods and lightning just as certain folk were heading off to the hotel on their road bikes to check in!

The adverse weather unfortunately put paid to Thursday evenings night practice, normally a safety requirement at such 24hrs race meetings. This was cancelled as the weather was atrocious. Overnight Diablo 666’s chief mechanic and lead magician, Geoff Randall, changed the gearbox in the Number 1 race bike and it was hoped that this would help the Team improve its starting position. Friday morning and the track was damp but drying. Too wet for slicks and too dry for intermediates. James Hutchins went out but the track was just still far too wet for James to be able to improve his time. In fact the fastest rider in this group only managed to record a 1:51.357.

As the second session started a dry line was beginning to form and Michael Weynand was able to record an amazing 1:46.754, the 11th fastest time but still way off his Thursday time. As Alex Cudlin went out it was back to being 30 degrees, clear blue shies and the track was now dry! After only a couple of laps however the No. 25 Honda had a massive crash and the session was red flagged. Check out our good friend Martin Gelder’s website, www.race24.com for some amazing photo’s of this spectacular crash. The session was postponed for a good twenty minutes while the track was cleared and Alex put to good use the dry track, putting in an excellent 1:45.486. The final result of qualifying would mean that Diablo 666 would be starting 25th on the grid. Not the best starting position of all time but not a disaster either. There would still be thirty other teams behind us on the grid and it was after all going to be a very long 24hrs race.

This is the Team’s third visit to the Bol d’Or and on both previous occasions the Team have failed to finish due to mechanical problems. Fingers crossed that this year will see us cross the finish line and in the points.

BOL FIRST QUALIFYING

Yamaha GMT 94 took today a serious option on the pole position. The Yamaha of Sébastien Gimbert, David Checa and Steve Plater took the lead from the average lap time of its three riders. Sébastien Gimbert even beat everyone with a best lap of 1’40’’826. He was the only rider below the 1’41 mark today. The best qualifying time last year was obtained by Vincent Philippe in 1’41’’118.

Despite several minor technical problems, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 1 managed to score the second best time of this first qualifying session, just behind GMT 94, with Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa, but SERT don’t seem to be in a very good mood at the moment. With the great performance of riders Gwen Giabbani and Steve Martin, Yamaha Austria Racing Team took the third place, but Igor Jerman could not really ride properly as his two sessions had been interrupted by red flags. Team Kawasaki France had to satisfy themselves with fourth place, with Erwan Nigon, Ivan Silva and Julian Mazuecos. Behind them is Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 2, suffering from the same front fork problem that is also affecting Suzuki 1.

The first Superstock machine is in sixth place, the Suzuki Junior Team is faster than many, theoretically more powerful, Formula EWC bikes. Freddy and Kenny Foray, and Emeric Jonchière are ahead of Kawasaki Bolliger Switzerland, Britain's Yamaha Phase One and Spain's Folch Endurance. In tenth place comes the first Honda, National Motos team, with Sébastien Scarnato, Thomas Metro and Josep Monge, still battling with some front end problems.

In the Superstock class, dominated by the Suzuki Junior Team, are also the Honda Moto Revue of Jean-Michel Bayle, Sébastien Charpentier and Thierry Traccan in twelfth place, the Yamaha LTG 57 in seventeenth place despite some over-heating problems and a crash, and the Suzuki from the Qatar Endurance Racing Team, eighteenth in this first qualifying session.

In the Open class, the Bihr Metiss took advantage of the two BMW HP2's who are to be seen in Endurance for the last time at the Bol d’Or. The weather forecast plans some rain for tomorrow, so starting  from 10:15 am, the chances are slim that anybody can improve their lap times.

FIRST QUALIFYING TIMES

BOL FIRST FREE PRACTICE

Drama action took place instantly at Nevers Magny-Cours for the first free practice session of the Bol d’Or, fifth round of the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship. Team Kawasaki France got the best lap time with a 1’41’’845 performed by Erwan Nigon during the second heat, ahead of a very fast Yamaha Austria Racing Team. With Gwen Giabbani (who took over from Steve Plater, engaged with Yamaha GMT 94 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Bol d’Or) YART did a respectable 1’41’’948.

Last year’s Bol d’Or winner Yamaha GMT 94 took the third best time in 1’42’’388, ahead of the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team 1 of Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa (1’42’’704). The SERT still needs to work on the set-up to go down to 1’41. We can, however, trust the current World Champion and series leader to improve their lap times for the next qualifying sessions and the race. Like the SERT, Maco Moto Racing Team, fifth in the free practice, did their best lap in the first morning session. Still hesitating about the choice of their Michelin tyres, Honda National Motos managed to get the sixth place with a 1’43’’280 lap, ahead of the SERT Suzuki 2, who is facing the same difficulties as their team mates, and the Yamaha Folch Endurance, who lapped in 1’43’’983.

The first machine in the Superstock class is the Honda Moto Revue of Jean-Michel Bayle, Sébastien Charpentier and Thierry Traccan. Jean-Michel Bayle was fastest in 1’44.059. They are ahead of the Yamaha Igol Acropolis Moto Expert, engaged in Formula EWC, and another Superstock bike, the Suzuki Junior Team LMS.

Some teams had to face a few crashes and some mechanical problems. Amongst others, the Yamaha LTG 57 broke down their rear shock during the first morning practice session. LTG 57 went back on track with the shock from their second machine, which was built with a different set-up. Hence, they could not do any better than 1’44’’591 in the second free practice session.

The first qualifying session will take place from 4:30 pm.

FREE PRACTICE 1 - FREE PRACTICE 2

SERT WANT TO WRAP IT UP

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team could clinch the 2008 World Endurance Championship with one round remaining at this weekend's Bol d'Or fifth round. The reigning champions and current series leaders - Mathieu Lagrive, Vincent Philippe and Julien Da Costa - hold a 31-point advantage over Yamaha Austria on the SERT GSX-R1000. Also entered for the penultimate round is the second SERT team of William Costes, Guillaume Dietrich and Olivier Four who currently hold fourth place in the series despite only competing in the opening round at Le Mans in France - a race they won.

BOL d'OR - ONE WEEK TO GO

The penultimate round of the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship, the Bol d’Or will start from next week on Thursday 11 September, with the first free practice session. As the competition will be harsher than ever, and the gap will be small between all the podium contenders, it will give us the first opportunity to have a look on all the team’s performance.

Current World Endurance Champion, title owner for the last three years and 2008 series leader, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team remains one of the favourites. The SERT and its riders, Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Julien Da Costa have the experience and a background of nearly two years as teammates. The SERT 1 will also have the back-up support of the SERT 2, with William Costes, Guillaume Dietrich and Olivier Four, to trust the road to victory or take some big points from some other title contenders.

Yamaha GMT 94 is another potential winner. 2004 Endurance World Champion, GMT 94 also took victory at the 2007 Bol d’Or. The GMT, also engaged in World Superbike, developed its R1 all along the season; they are in shape for victory, with the trio of riders, Sébastien Gimbert, David Checa and Steve Plater, who was set free from Yamaha Austria Racing Team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Bol d’Or. To complete the team with Steve Martin and Igor Jerman, Yamaha Austria is back with one of their former rider, Gwen Giabbani. As they will be looking to keep the dynamics from their second place at the 8 Hours of Oschersleben, YART is another top team to look at.

The Yamaha clan has more cards to play. New permanent team in the 2008 Qtel FIM World Endurance Championship, the 100 % Spanish Yamaha Folch Endurance revealed themselves as strong contenders, with Dani Ribalta, Pedro Vallcaneras and Jose Manuel Luis. Last but not least, Phase One Endurance come with greater ambitions, as they asked German rider Jörg Teuchert to team with Damian Cudlin and Graeme Gowland.

Kawasaki France took victory at the last round, at Oschersleben. Erwan Nigon, Julian Mazuecos and Ivan Silva aim at taking another victory on the official ZX-10R. In the Kawasaki clan, Bolliger Team Swizterland will try to kill the black cat, and get rid of all the mechanical breakdowns they had to face during the last two races, with David Morillon, Patric Muff and Eric Mizera.

Under the Honda banner, National Motos can surprise. Not enough developed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the CBR 1000 RR seems in better shape. The team will be on the starting grid with Sébastien Scarnato, Thomas Metro and Josep Monge. RMT 21 Racing Team (Matti Seidel, Tomas Miksovsky and Thomas Roth) will also have some word to say. But the most popular Honda will be undoubtedly the Moto Revue with Jean-Michel Bayle, Sébastien Charpentier and Thierry Traccan.

Another interesting bike on this 72nd Bol d’Or is the Honda Thorn Bikes. Engaged in the Open class, this CBR 1000 RR is fitted with a Bio Flew Power system and runs on second-generation bio-ethanol. It’s a premiere on an international event. Bertrand Stey, Stéphane Lacaze and William Milios will be behind the handlebars.

DON'T FEAR THE REAPER - FEAR THE LOSS OF EUROSPORT COVERAGE IN 2009

No Eurosport at the Bol d'Or this year - so no pictures from the track, no video, no TV...and what a year not to be there! 2008 sees the return of Bernard Rigoni's Honda France team, admittedly under the banner of French Motorcycle magazine Moto Revue, the team that fielded Kevin Schwantz not so long ago...

This time it's a serious effort and also a preliminary shakedown before a full assault by Honda France next year. The 2005 and 2006 World Supersport Champion Sebastien Charpentier and former GP star Jean-Michel Bayle (who raced at the Bol in 2002 and 2003) will be joining Thierry Traccan on the No.60 Superstock-class CBR1000. The engine and chassis have been prepared by Ten Kate, so don't imagine for one moment that, because it's Superstock, it will be slow.

Olivier Four has moved from his berth at Yamaha Austria and joined Guillaume Dietrich and William Costes, replacing Barry Veneman on the SERT No.2 Suzuki. Veneman is unable to ride at the Magny Cours track because it's also a World Supebike and Supersport track and it is not one of his official designated training tracks. French policeman Gwen Giabbani has rejoined the YART team as Olivier's replacement, an arrangement perfect for both YART boss"Mandy" Kainz and SERT Suzuki's Dominique Meiland.

It's also the 25th anniversary of the riders' insurance company Mutuelle Des Motards, one of GMT94's long-time major sponsors, so there'll be a lot happening this year...and as for the usual off-track entertainment, it just gets better and better with the seminal Blue Oyster Cult as one of the bands playing in the World Endurance rock fest...

Here's the official Press Release:
The fifth round of the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship, the Bol d’Or will certainly be decisive and breath-taking. As there are sixty-five points left to allocate during the last two rounds of the season, of which thirty-five for Magny-Cours and the last thirty for Doha, in Qatar, the current World Champion and Series leader Suzuki Endurance Racing Team leads by only thirty-one points over Yamaha Austria Racing Team and thirty-five over Team Kawasaki France. The battle between those three teams will be the central spot of the next 24 Hours race. On the GSX-R number 1, Suzuki keeps the same usual trio, Vincent Philippe, who recovered after his Suzuka injuries, Julien Da Costa and Matthieu Lagrive. Kawasaki France will start with the recent winning trio in Germany, Julian Mazuecos, Erwan Nigon and Ivan Silva. Last but not least, Yamaha Austria reinforced its team (Igor Jerman and Steve Martin) with one of its previous pillars, Gwen Giabbani.

Let’s not forget about Phase One Endurance, who recruited Jörg Teuchert to complete the team with Damian Cudlin and Graeme Gowland. There is also the Le Mans winner, Suzuki 2 with Guillaume Dietrich, William Costes and Olivier Four. The come back of Olivier Four with Suzuki resulted in various changes in the teams. Initially planned with Yamaha Austria, Olivier Four is now with the SERT. Then, expected on the Honda National Motos, Gwen Giabbani is back with YART. On the National Motos, he will be replaced by Josep Monge, seen at the beginning of the season on the MV Agusta Midi-Pyrénées. Patrick Piot, another former MV Agusta rider, will ride the Yamaha Endurance 38 with Cyril Brivet.

In the Superstock class, the battle should occur between Le Mans winner Suzuki Junior Team, FIM World Cup leader Qatar Endurance Racing IJT and serious contender Yamaha LTG 57. In the Open Class, BMW Motorrad enters their two HP2 Sport. They will compete against the Birh Metiss and two 1098R from the Ducati Endurance Racing Team.

The Honda Moto Revue will definitely catch a lot of attention. On this CBR 1000 RR, engaged in the Superstock class under the number 60, Honda France and Moto Revue magazine enter with Jean-Michel Bayle, Sébastien Charpentier and Moto Revue’s editor Thierry Traccan. “Ten Kate did the engine and chassis for us”, said Honda France Racing Manager Bernard Rigoni, “but we go there without any pressure. We just want to pay a tribute to Honda 60 years old birthday and prepare the official comeback of Honda in World Endurance. In 2009, we will be at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Bol d’Or”.

The first qualifying session will take place on Thursday, September 11th, for this 72nd Bol d’Or.