The GMT 94-Yamaha Racing Ipone Team completed the eight hours of the second round of the 2011 FIM Qtel World Endurance Championship in Albacete yesterday, in second place. The YZF- R1 of David Checa, Kenny Foray and Matthieu Lagrive crossed the chequered flag, just missing out on victory by 31 seconds. Yesterday?s strong performance saw the GMT 94-Yamaha Racing Ipone Team take their first podium of the 2011 season, following a fourth place start off the grid on Saturday afternoon. Checa, Foray and Lagrive put on an impressive display of racing, battling throughout the eight hour race, regularly interchanging positions with BMW Motorrad France 99 and Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, to take home a well-earned second place on the podium. Following this weekend?s sensational performance the GMT 94 Yamaha Racing Ipone Team has jumped up from eighth position in the overall classification to third.
The Yamaha YZF- R1 proved to be a powerful machine once again, featuring four times in the top six to complete the race. The R1 ridden by Igor Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani of the Monster Yamaha YART Racing Team crossed the line in fourth position, just missing out on podium following a delay due to a fuel issue mid race. They were immediately followed by Jason Pridmore, Gregg Black and Gr?gory Junod of Maco Racing Team taking fifth place ahead of the Yamaha YMES Folch Endurance of Dani Ribalta, Pedro Vallcaneras and Jose Manuel Luis Rita in sixth.
The next stop on the 2011 FIM Qtel World Endurance calendar will be Japan on 31st July for eight hours of Suzuka.
Christophe Guyot - GMT 94-Yamaha Racing Ipone Team, Team Manager
?Right from the start of the race, our bike always appeared in the top three in the standings. At the end of each hour, we were even in the lead position as we were the last of the leading teams to pit in, thanks to a lower fuel consumption compared to our competitors. At the end of the race, our bike had spent a total of 3'46" in pit stops after eight hours of racing, making us the fastest team in the pit lane. The GMT 94 mechanics reached a new level of efficiency and competitiveness in pit stop operations.
The riders were fantastic and our Michelin tyres performed perfectly. It should be noted that the French tyre manufacturer also earned a well-deserved victory, taking the first two places in the race. Their investment and the competence of each technician involved definitely deserved this reward. Our Yamaha R1 also performed flawlessly. It was both fast and reliable and allowed us to compete with the best teams and score a great result. Of course, we would have preferred to win but we came 31 seconds short of the winning team after eight hours of racing. Perhaps we could have made up for the difference with a slightly more aggressive strategy. But after a few unsuccessful races, we are sincerely happy to be on the podium and have no regrets.?
