Le Mans (AFP)

Suzuki returned to victory at Le Mans by winning on Sunday the 44th edition of the 24H motorcycles with the Yoshimura-SERT-Motul team on the famous Bugatti circuit, which had not happened since 2015 for the Japanese brand.

"I came to win" warned Sylvain Guintoli before the race.

"Winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, during my first participation is a challenge, this race remains a myth for the pilots, but I'm here for that" explained simply the world champion Superbike 2014, member of the crew of the motorcycle N.1 just like the Franco-Briton Gregg Black and the Belgian Xavier Simeon.

- SERT controls -

Admittedly, the Yart with the number 7 Yamaha R1 had an illusion by qualifying for pole position and then delivering a fantastic mano to mano against the N.1 team during the first hours of the race on Saturday afternoon.

But around 11:30 p.m., the official Yamaha team was forced to retire after a severe engine failure.

# photo1

The team was not the only one to suffer: the unusually high temperatures (27 or even 28 degrees in the air) apparently played tricks on some.

Moto Ain, private Yamaha team N.96, which was notably piloted by the Frenchman Randy De Puniet, also had to give up following an engine overheating.

"But we can be proud of what we have done" tempers Pierre Chapuis, the director of the two-time world endurance champion in Superstock and who has just joined the top category.

A total of twelve withdrawals out of the 46 starters were deplored.

In 2020 there were 39 starters.

With the Yart out of the race, all that remained for the Suzuki N.1 was to manage its lead and simply take advantage of the setbacks throughout the weekend of the defending Honda N.5, between crashes and mechanical problems.

With this victory, the Hamamatsu firm recorded its 13th success in Sarthe, tied with the Japanese giant Honda, but still one unit behind Kawasaki.

# photo2

The Kawasaki N.11, victorious in 2019, is second, the BMW N.37 3rd, after having also crashed at the start of the race and made a spectacular comeback.

The N.5 of Team FCC TSR Honda France with in particular Mike Di Meglio on its handlebars finished 10th.

- behind closed doors -

The start of the race, just after the pilots had set off running towards their car, was marked by an accident involving three motorcycles, which required the intervention of the safety car, before a new launched start was made. given.

In the Superstock category, the CBR1000 N.55 of National Motos finished first, and 5th in the general classification, two laps ahead of the Kawasaki ZX10R N.24.

The 44th edition of the 24H motorcycles at Le Mans was postponed to the weekend of June 12 and 13 last spring, due to the health crisis.

The race took place for the second year in a row behind closed doors while it traditionally welcomes tens of thousands of spectators.

© 2021 AFP