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LE
MANS 2001
2001 World Endurance Championship - Round 1 - Le Mans - April 14-15
Weather, Saturday dry and
cold. Sunday, drizzle from 2.30. am. Crowd 95,000.
The VTR1000-SP1 Honda of Fabien Foret, Sebastien Charpentier and Sebastien Gimbert finished a fighting second at the Le Mans 24 Hourrace held in France over Saturday and Sunday. The big Honda twin was forced into second place by the Sports Production GMT94 Suzuki of
Guyot, Scarnato and Dussauge. A second Sports Production Suzuki machine took third place with Lavieille, Morrison and Van den Bossche at
the controls.
The race had began well for Honda with Fabien Foret racing at close quarters with the much fancied Yamaha of Delatang, Maillot and
Holon, and the GMT94 Suzuki. The three machines swapping the lead as the first hour drew on. At the end of the hour the Yamaha led from the
race winning Suzuki, the VTR a close third.
At the four hour stage the race had adopted a definite pattern. The Yamaha had crashed spectacularly, badly damaging the chassis, which
ended their efforts. The VTR was now a lap clear of the number two Suzuki with Guyot, Scarnato and Van den Bossche third.
From that point on Foret, Charpentier and Gimbert steadily increased their lead over the Suzuki's and the Yamaha R7 of Jeandat, Morllion and
Brian. As the race passed the midnight mark the VTR was building a handsome lead, at one point the team held a four lap advantage. At
2.30.am the drizzle started to fall making the conditions a lottery and the crashes came thick and fast. Hardly a team escaped a fall,
that fact confirmed by a pit lane full of battered and broken fairings.
At 16 hours the lead was less than two laps due to the constant drizzle that had produced fearsome track conditions.
Rain - and previously spilt oil - made an ice rink of the track and the numerous crashes
disrupted the riders race rhythm and concentration.
With five hours to go Foret slid off the VTR at the last corner of the 4.305km circuit, the scene of numerous mishaps for the leading teams.
Foret pushed into the pits but the team lost over eight minutes to the Suzuki effecting repairs, returning to the track four laps down. They
fought back heroically and were helped by the Suzuki having a brake problem
with 40 minutes to go.
The Suzuki lost three laps but as they returned to the track with rain again
falling, but they had rain tyres fitted while the VTR was still on slicks. Hard as the VTR pushed it was all to no avail and the team were forced to accept second on the track, one lap down on the GMT94
Team at the end of the 24 hours.
They had not won the race outright but the Endurance World Championship category was won by the VTR. But the disappointment of not
taking outright victory was there for all to see on the faces of the team, riders and management alike.
Team manager Bernard Rigoni said of the race. "Of course I am disappointed for the team that we did not win this race, a very special race
considering the weather and the track conditions. But on the other hand I am happy to have won the World Endurance
class race. The VTR is an unbelievable machine. It steers very well, has an excellent braking system and is relatively easy to ride fast. We had a small problem with
the gear shifter late in the race but that's all. The VTR has a very high potential."
Sebastien Charpentier said. "I'm very disappointed with the result, we came here to win. I had a tyre problem early on but once I found a
compound for the conditions. We also had a shift problem late in the race which
cost us time."
Sebastien Gimbert said. "I'm happy to finish second. I've just recovered from injury so to race with the front runners was a surprise. We
had a few little problems with the bike, tyres, and the shifter, but we were unlucky in the end."
Foret was not available for comment as he was rushed to the Airport of Paris to catch a night flight to Australia where he
would contest the World Supersport Championship race at Phillip Island the
next Sunday.
Race Results:
1 94 GMT 94 / F/ SUZUKI GSX R 988
(superproduction) Ch. GUYOT / F/ S. SCARNATO / F/ N. DUSSAUGE / F 759 laps
2 111 HONDA - ELF / F
111 HONDA VTR 1000 SP1 999
(superbike) S. CHARPENTIER / F/ F. FORET / F S. GIMBERT / F 758 laps
3 11 SUZUKI-CASTROL RACING TEAM / F 11 SUZUKI GSX R 998
(superproduction) CH. LAVIEILLE / F/ B. MORISSON / GB/ A. VAN DEN BOSSCHE / F 755 laps
4 12 TEAM FREE BIKE PERFORMANCE / F /12 YAMAHA R7 749
(superbike) E. MIZERA / F/ C. FERNANDEZ / F /M. LAGRIVE / F 747
5 22 TEAM 22 POLICE NATIONALE / F /22 KAWASAKI ZX 9R 900
(stocksport) G. GIABBANI / F /Ch. ROCHE / F /T. KISHIDA / J 730
6 35 TEAM MOTO SHOP 35 / F /35 KAWASAKI ZX 7RR 748
(superbike) CH. HAQUIN / F /S. WALDMEIR / F /CH. MICHEL / F 726
7 44 TEAM MOTOREP NANTES / F /44 SUZUKI GSX R 749
(stocksport) G. JOLIVET / F /R. MOISAN / F /ST. MILLOCHAU / F 718
8 33 TEAM CHALON MOTOS / F /33 YAMAHA R1 1000
(stocksport) B. RULFO / F /N. JAULNEAU / F /X. ALBERTINI / F 717
9 76 COTTARD MOTO-AXE / F /76 SUZUKI GSX R 1000
(superproduction) A. MORILLAS / F /J.E. GOMEZ / F /O. ULMANN / F 716
10 38 ENDURANCE MOTO 38 / F /38 YAMAHA YZF 1000 R1 998
(superproduction) B. CUZIN / F/ PH. DONISCHAL / F /A. KEMPENER / B 714
11 85 ARDOUIN MOTOS / F/85 KAWASAKI ZX 7RR 748
(superbike) M. ROBERT / F /E. LENTAIGNE / F /S. DISS / F 714
12 86 MOTO START / F /86 YAMAHA RN 044 998
(stocksport) F. BOUTIN / F /CH. LOUSTALET / F/D. BRIERE / F 712
13 26 STAND BIKE / F /26 KAWASAKI ZX 9R 899
(stocksport) CL. DESMARIS / F /J.P. LEBLANC / F /W. VEILLE / F 709
14 9 HUREFIKA NV/WIN MOTORS RACING DIVISION / B /9 HONDA SP1 999
(superbike) L. NAVEAU / B/A. AERTS / B/H. PLATACIS / AUS 704 55 T 1:48.249
15 89 OCTOPUSS/MPC - PATRICK PONS / F /89 YAMAHA R1 1000
(stocksport) E. PSCHERER / F/JPH. GUINANT / F /M.P. VINTAER / F 702 57 T 1:49.836
LE MANS PICTURES HERE!
56
entries......35
finished
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