YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL BATTLES THROUGH TO 6th AT THE 24 HEURES MOTOS
Yoshimura SERT Motul faced huge challenges at the first round of the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship. With very wet track conditions and, despite several crashes, the reigning world champion showed great determination to finish the 24 Heures Motos in 6th position.
The 48th edition of the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans was marked by a series of twists and turns and a record number of crashes due to the extremely tricky wet weather conditions, throughout the weekend.
Gregg Black started from second on the grid and, once again, showed his talent by getting the better of his rivals, taking a superb holeshot. He led the race for five laps before being caught out by the precarious grip on the track. The resultant crash forced him to return to the pits for just over 5 minutes. When back on track, the #1 Suzuki was in 51st place, with an uphill battle ahead.
When Black handed over to Etienne Masson, the Yoshimura SERT Motul team had pulled through to 12th place. Masson showed his competitiveness by setting the fastest times in the wet, enabling the Suzuki GSXR1000R to move up to 6th position.
During the first part of the race, Black and Masson shared the stints. This strategy paid off as, by the third hour of the race, the team was back towards the front. Unfortunately, the changes between lighter rain and heavy showers saw Masson slip and, after a 10-minute pit stop for repairs, Cocoro Atsumi restarted in 22nd position. Like his team-mates, the Japanese rider put in a string of fast laps and gained places as the race went on but, it was his turn to make a mistake after four-and- a-half-hors of racing. A heavy crash caused major damage to the GSX-R1000R, which was left immobilised in the pits for several minutes. Once again, the team had to make an heroic comeback.
Black did his utmost to get back into the top 15 early in the night, but the track conditions remained just as tricky, resulting in further crashes during his stint. Throughout the night, the three Yoshimura SERT Motul team riders were relentless in their attempts to secure as many championship points as possible.
As daylight dawned, all riders were on it with Black posting the best lap time for the whole race. To finish sixth, after so many crashes, is a testament to the strength and commitment of the team and the astonishing resilience of the team’s Suzuki GSXR1000R!
Yoshimura SERT Motul team left the Bugatti circuit with 28 points and 6th place in the provisional championship standings.
Yohei KATO – Team Director
“It was a completely crazy race. There were countless crashes, including six for us alone. It’s something of a record for the team. In the end, of course, the result didn’t live up to our objective. I’m obviously disappointed. But that’s the race. At least we gained points. The mechanics did a great job during the race and all the problems they had to overcome brought valuable experience to the whole team. The bike we’ve improved this year looks very competitive. We’re going to fight to get back into the championship standings as quickly as possible.”
Damien SAULNIER – Team Manager
“It’s obviously a disappointment because we were hoping to win again this year. The track conditions didn’t make things any easier, we crashed six times, it was very tricky but that’s part of racing. After that, it’s not just the final result that counts, it’s also the sporting performance. The work of our technical team was exemplary. I have the utmost admiration and respect for what the guys have done throughout these 24 hours. The mechanics gave 100% and the riders left every time with the determination to get the bike to the finish. It was a great team effort and a great sporting adventure. We scored some valuable points, but we’re behind in the championship. Now we’re going to have to get out in front at the next race.”
Gregg Black – Rider
“Of course, the outcome was not what we had hoped for. That’s racing. What I’ll take away from this year’s race is the incredible amount of work put in by the whole team, despite the difficulties. As far as the riders are concerned, we gave it our all in every stint. That’s also the strength of our team. We don’t give up and we proved that today with 6 crashes and a 6th place finish. So it’s a good result considering all the things that happened in the race.”
Etienne MASSON – Rider
“All these crashes and repairs are unheard of for us! But the team worked really well to get the bike back on track every time. That’s the positive point. The other satisfaction is that we showed we had the right pace in the race. The negative point is that all these crashes have deprived us of a podium finish or even victory. We lost a lot of points in the championship. We made some mistakes, and we need to learn from them to come back even stronger at the next race.”
Cocoro ATSUMI – rider
“I’ve never finished a 24-hour race before, so I’m pleased to do this. I got caught out in my first stint. However, after that, I managed to adapt my riding a lot better to the track conditions which enabled me to make progress. It was a big responsibility for me to replace Dan Linfoot when I was the reserve rider. I had a bit of pressure on my shoulders but I worked hard and gave it my all.”
