From a press release issued by FGSPORT GROUP:

Brno 6 Hour Race – Part One Race Summary

Suzuki Zongshen No.1 Hold Overnight. Fuel Strategy Vital.

The first half of the Brno 6 Hour round of the World Endurance Championship finished with just 24 seconds separating the leading three teams after three hours of intense racing.

Hour 1

Igor Jerman on the Zongshen No.2 bike led the opening laps of the race, ahead of Gwen Giabbani on the Police Nationale Suzuki and Warwick Nowland on the Zongshen No.1 machine. Suzuki GB Phase One rider Olivier Four stalled on the line but set off in pursuit of the leaders, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 3 and closing in to fourth place as Warwick Nowland took the lead from Jerman. A five bike pack broke away from the rest of the field, with less than a second covering Zongshen No.1, Phase One, Zongshen No.2, Police Nationale and the DRE Ducati ridden by Marc Garcia.

Phase One were the first team to make a rider change and refuelling stop, shortly followed by Zongshen 2.

Zongshen 1 stayed out on a track a full ten minutes longer than their rivals, a factor which would come in to play later in the race. After all the leading teams had made their stops, the order was Suzuki GB Phase One first, Ducati DRE second, Zongshen 2 third, Zongshen 1 fourth and Police Nationale fifth.

Hour 2

Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 had been expecting to run at the front of the race but suffered gear selector and fuel injection problems which forced them to pit for repairs. For the rest of the competitors the race continued at “200 Mile Sprint” speeds, with very few reported mechanical problems or crashes. The rain showers which had been forecast stayed away, and track and air temperatures remained warm as the evening sun began to set.

After the second round of stops, Zongshen 2 were leading, Phase One were second and Zongshen 1 were third. Police Nationale had slowed after the bike began overheating; with Paolo Blora on board the front wheel was contacting the radiator. GMT94 had moved up to fourth place, their endurance experience and slick pit stops coming into play.

Hour 3

The final hour of the race saw more drama. Both Zongshen 2 and Phase One were forced to stop for a “splash and dash” fuel stop in the closing five minutes, losing the advantage they had built up over the Zongshen No.1 bike. The two stopping teams were in neighbouring garages and tension rose as the two bikes pitted together. Zongshen 1 took the lead in the race, reaping the benefit of their delayed pit stop at the end of the first hour; the ten minutes they stayed out on track then were enough to carry them to the end of the race without a third stop.

So when the flag dropped to mark the end of the first half of the race, Zongshen 1 were in the lead, just 12.6 seconds ahead of Zongshen 2 and 24.9 seconds ahead of Phase One. The only other team on the same lap as the leaders was GMT94 – the French team’s determination making up for the speed that their Yamaha R1 lacks compared to the three Suzuki GSX-R1000s which dominated the first half of the race.

In fifth place and a lap down was the DRE Ducati, followed by Yamaha Austria in sixth place and on the same lap. Two laps down on the leaders and in seventh place was Trackdaze 11, just ahead of Bolliger Team, Castrol Yamaha and PS-Schlesinger Endurance in tenth place.

Race Part 2

The bikes are being held in a parc ferme until the race re-starts at three this afternoon. Their will be a five minute opportunity for teams to refuel and fit fresh tyres before the race begins again, but the most pressing matter for the team managers will be calculating the fuel loads and consumptions of their bikes to avoid another last minute stop in the closing laps of the race; a stop which cost Phase One and Zongshen 2 the chance to win the first half of the race.

Suzuki GB Phase One refueller Mark Philips thinks that riding slowly on the warm-up laps might make a difference. “If we can save a couple of litres that way it might make all the difference in the race.”

The race will start again with the traditional sprint across the track, and the overall result will be decided on aggregate times for the two race halves. Based on the pace set in the first half, we can expect fireworks from the leading teams as soon as the action restarts…

2003, June 15

Brno 6 Hours general classification after 3 hours

Pos’n No. Team Nat. Bike Time/Gap

1. 1 Zongshen Team, CHN, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 3:01:16.471

2. 2 Zongshen Team, CHN, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -12.646

3. 3 Suzuki GB Phase One, GBR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -24.920

4. 94 GMT 94, FRA, Yamaha YZF-R1, -1:07.369

5. 5 Ducati D.R.E., ITA, Ducati 999R, -1 lap

6. 9 Yamaha Racing Team Austria, AUT, Yamaha YZF-R1, -1 lap

7. 11 Trackdaze 11, GBR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -2 laps

8. 8 Bolliger Team, SUI, Kawasaki ZX9R, -2 laps

9. 75 Castrol Yamaha, POL, Yamaha, -2 laps

10. 50 PS-Schlesinger Endurance, GER, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -3 laps