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INBOX: Team Suzuki News Service (77 of 89)
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Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 10:07:25 +0100
From: Suzuki Racing
To: [email protected]
Subject: Team Suzuki News Service
From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI 1 & 3 AT BRNO 6 HOUR

The Brno 6 Hour round of the FIM World Endurance Championship has been won by the Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Zongshen Team, ridden by Warwick Nowland and Stephane Mertens. Second place went to GMT94, and third place was taken by Suzuki GB Phase One, also using a GSX-R1000.

The race was run in two three-hour sessions, with the result decide on aggregate time. Suzuki GB Phase One rider Olivier Four led for part of each session, setting fastest laps in the process, but fuelling problems caused the team to slip down to third at the end of the second session. His team mate Jason Pridmore was injured in a crash during qualifying but still managed to record consistently fast laps, backed up by a strong performance from team newcomer Jimmy Lindstrom.

Suzuki GB Phase One team manager Russell Benney: “This wasn’t one of our best races; it was a very up-and-down weekend. We saw an outstanding ride from Olivier Four, and at least we managed to end up on the rostrum. We’ve stretched ahead of third place in the championship, although we need to push hard now to catch the leaders; we’re well up for it.”

The split-race format led to intense competition between the leading teams, with the race developing into two three lap sprints. Fuel strategy played a vital part in the result, with the eventual winners making one less stop per session to save valuable time. Weather conditions were excellent for the race, with lap times quickly falling to the levels set in qualifying.

GSX-R1000s totally dominated the race, taking six out of the top ten places and fourteen out of the top twenty. Suzuki also hold the top three places in the World Championship standings, with Zongshen Team on 66 points, Phase One on 56 points and the French Police Nationale squad – who are Suzuki mounted for the first time this year – on 33 points.

The next round of the championship is at Albacete on the 28th and 29th of June. The Spanish race is a non-stop 12 hour event which runs overnight from 9:00pm on Saturday to 9:00am on Sunday.