Editorial Note: Roadracing World columnist Melissa Paris and her Alpes Endurance/Girls Racing team finished the test 53rd out of 59 teams with a best time of 1:42.763 on their Yamaha YZF-R1.
YART YAMAHA SETS THE PACE AT LE MANS
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team dominated the two days of preliminary testing for the 24 Heures Motos. The Austrian team – with Bridgestone as official tyre supplier in 2017 – made good use of the enhanced grip on the resurfaced Bugatti circuit.
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team further improved its best time during the second day of tests, to 1’36.866. The support of the Japanese engineers from the Austrian Yamaha team’s new tyre supplier Bridgestone undoubtedly contributed to this performance. The lap time is close to the record clocked in 2015 in qualifying by Sheridan Morais, also riding for YART: 1’36.578. The new surface of the Bugatti circuit – the grip in dry conditions was much appreciated by all the riders – makes it likely that the record will be broken at the 40th edition of the 24 Heures Motos on 15 and 16 April, assuming rain does not spoil the party.
Team SRC Kawasaki, winner of the 2016 edition, turned in the second best performance of the two days of testing. The Pirelli-shod factory Kawasaki clocked a 1’36.934 lap, followed by Suzuki Endurance Racing Team with a 1’36.977. These were the only three teams to come in under the 1’37 mark. Next in line were Team Tecmas BMW (Pirelli) with a 1’37.321 lap, and GMT94 Yamaha (Dunlop) with a 1’37.364 lap.
Yamaha Viltaïs Experiences on the offensive
The big surprise was Yamaha Viltaïs Experiences (Michelin). The Superstock team #333, running a beefed-up line-up of young speed championship riders (Axel Maurin, Bastien Mackels, Florian Alt and Olivier Depoorter), completed a fastest lap on Wednesday morning of 1’37.436 to place ahead of the Dunlop-shod Honda Endurance Racing team on the time sheet (1’38.069).
Free practice for the 24 Heures Motos will start at 10am on Thursday 13 April. Serious business gets underway on Thursday afternoon at the first qualifying.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team Completes Le Mans Test On Top
During the two-day test for the 2017 Le Mans 24 Heures Motos this week the YART Yamaha Official EWC Team dominated the time sheets with their four official riders on track.
The focus of the Austrian team was to get to grips with the resurfaced Bugatti circuit as well as the development of the partnership with Bridgestone – the official tyre supplier in 2017.
Aboard their YZF-R1 machine with Bridgestone tyres the riders Broc Parkes, Kohta Nozane, Marvin Fritz and Max Neukirchner put in several racing simulations as well as shorter stints to focus on outright performance.
The dry conditions during the test helped the team set the overall fastest time on the second day of 1’36.866. A clear indication that the efforts of the team and its partners are working towards even faster times during the qualifying sessions.
GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team with Mike Di Meglio, Niccolò Canepa and David Checa enjoyed a positive test overall. The double World Championship winning squad have been further developing the YZF-R1 from the Bol d’Or in 2016 and have worked on the overall performance and endurance.
With the focus on race simulation and the challenging conditions the Le Mans 24HR faces, the team tested the various new parts and Dunlop tyres brought to the test.
Testing from 9am onwards proved to be the ideal setting to test the various track temperatures and find the right compounds for the race. With all riders putting in various race simulation stints both teams managed to complete a significant amount of laps in total.
The 24 Hours Motos race will start on Saturday 15th of April at 15:00 CET with on-track activities getting underway from Thursday April 13th onwards.
Max Neukirchner
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team
“For us it was the perfect test. We managed to put in a lot of laps, possibly the most of all teams attending. The times we managed to set where fast but Broc was amazing. Considering that it was the first time on track for both Marvin and Kohta, they where only a few tenths slower and fast from the start. We also found a very good suspension setting. In combination with the great support from Bridgestone and YEC, we tested a wide variety of compounds and found the best tyre for the race. Not only for the warmer conditions but also in the cold. The team as a whole is really great. We all have the same goals and ambitions, it feels like a proper family!”
Mandy Kainz
YART Yamaha Official EWC Team Manager
“We are very happy with the results of the tests. All four riders have the speed and the consistency. Kohta Nozane and Marvin Fritz are getting to grips with the track lay-out and are doing well but this is a team effort and all riders are contributing to the result these two days. We did not take any risks overall but still the lap-times where incredibly fast, very close to the lap record set by Sheridan Morais last year on our YZF-R1. The support of Bridgestone and the Yamaha engineers is clearly paying off and we are very confident for the 24 Hour Le Mans race.”
Christophe Guyot
GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team Manager
“Overall it was a positive test for us. We have done a lot of work on the bike compared to last year and made a clear step forward. With the resurfaced track our main goal was not to focus on lap times but overall race and tyre performance. The suspension package we have from Ôhlins is really good, the same for the electronics, although we made some improvements there as well. The riders are very easy to work with. Mike Di Meglio is a very good addition to the team. Niccolò Canepa and David Checa are very strong and solid riders. We have a lot of pleasure and are very motivated. A dream team!”