2014 24 Hours of Le Mans Results
The four-round 2014 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) headed to France this past weekend for the 37th running of the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
And taking the win at the Hours of Le Mans were the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) of Vincent Philippe, Anthony Dehalle and Erwan Nigon. The SERT team, which won the EWC title the past four years, took the checkered flag ahead of Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin and Monster Energy YART Yamaha, respectively.
When the points were tallied, Yamaha Racing GMT 94 would take the title with a total of 141 points, 37 ahead of SERT.
The team aboard the SERT GSX-R1000RR took the lead early on Saturday evening after multi-time Le Mans winners SRC Kawasaki crashed-out and was forced to retire. All together, the factory ZX-10R Ninja led 200 laps.
From there-on, SERT – under the guidance of long-term Manager Dominique Meliand – was never headed, adding an extra 10-points at each of the eight and 16-hour stages in the race; which gave the team a total of 60 points SERT reports.
SERT clocked-up a total of 812 laps, two ahead of newly-crowned World Champions Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin, despite SERT being given a ride-through penalty for an alleged pit-lane speed infringement, SERT reports.
When the race completed, SERT took 28 pit-stops, one more than Yamaha GMT and third-placed Monster Energy YART; fourth-placed Superstock race winners Qatar Endurance Racing Team took just 25 pit-ins.
Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin is the other star of this team race at Le Mans. At the top of the provisional leader board going in to the race, David Checa, Kenny Foray and Mathieu Gines stayed with the pace set by the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team at the front. The race did not start well for Christophe Guyot’s team after a touch and a crash for David Checa in the first lap, but after attacking hard for the rest of the race, Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin takes its second world crown ten years after its first FIM Endurance World Championship title in 2004.
Third at the finish, Monster Energy Yamaha YART was also a major protagonist in the show at Le Mans with Broc Parkes, Michael Laverty and Sheridan Morais. They clocked up some breathtaking laps but were held up somewhat by a crash on Sunday morning. The two first Superstocks took the checkered flag in 4th and 5th. Qatar Endurance Racing Team with Anthony West, Alex Cudlin and Mashel Al Naimi were in control throughout.
The FIM reports that the start of the race was almost unprecedentedly dramatic. A series of touches from the first lap sent several teams to the back of the field including Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin.
Then Sylvain Barrier on the Open BMW of Penz13.com Racing Team took the lead ahead of the Formula EWC heavy hitters. This BMW, which was not in contention for the title, finished 7th overall. The weather conditions played a major role as intermittent rain and a track that remained tricky during much of the race led to numerous changes of tires.
Following are some post-race quotes from the 24 Hours of Le Mans:
Vincent Philippe, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team rider: “I haven’t won here for 11 years and 2014 was a difficult year for SERT and for me. On Friday, we would never have fancied our chanced to win but we shall be back fighting in 2015.”
Erwan Nigon, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team rider: “It’s my first win in a 24 hour race. I’d like to give a special mention to the team, my fellow riders and all their hard work. The track was tricky and we managed to avoid the pitfalls.”
Anthony Delhalle, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team rider: “It’s really nice to win at home. I live just 15 minutes away from the circuit. I have been watching riders on the Bugatti since I was a kind. This is the third time I’ve tried for a win and it finally paid off.”
Dominique Méliand, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Team Manager: “It’s a bit early to talk about 2015 but this win at the end of the season will open a few doors for us. We have already received congratulations from Japan!”
David Checa, Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin rider: “That was a very tough race. I was on the ground after 24 seconds and I’m World Champion after 24 hours! We are champions without a win but we went for it in every race. That’s the most important thing.”
Mathieu Gines, Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin rider: “It’s been an extraordinary human adventure!”
Christophe Guyot, Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin team manager: “We knew the SERT was a tough opponent but we are all competitors so we kept on fighting till the end.”
Mashel Al Naimi, rider of the Qatar Endurance Racing Team’s Kawasaki: “It was my first win in a 24 hour race. I’d like to express my admiration for Anthony’s performance. He set a really high standard from the start.”
Anthony West, rider of the Qatar Endurance Racing Team’s Kawasaki: “I got a very good start but I never thought I would find myself ahead of all the EWC Formula guys. But if I’d known just now tough the race would be I’d have started off a bit more gently.”
Baptiste Guittet, Junior Team LMS Suzuki rider: “We were aiming for the title but I made a small mistake this morning which cost us two laps.”
Etienne Masson, Junior Team LMS Suzuki rider: “The QERT riders were in a class of their own. We couldn’t follow Anthony who rode a fabulous first relay.”
Gregg Black, Junior Team LMS Suzuki rider: “For me it’s been a successful season with the title in the French Superbike Championship and the Superstock World Cup.”
Sylvain Barrier, who signed the fastest lap of the race on the BMW of Penz13.com Racing Team: “It was fantastic. We had a perfect bike to ride. I got ahead at the start without a second thought. We were just there to prepare the BMW project or next year.”
2014 24 Hours of Le Mans Results:
| L | Dossard | Pilot | Country | Manufacturer | Time | Delay | Score |
| 1 | 1 | SUZUKI ENDURANCE RACING TEAM |  |
SUZUKI | 24h0m42s444 | – | 60.0 |
| 2 | 94 | YAMAHA RACING – GMT 94 – MICHELIN | |
YAMAHA | 24h0m42s779 | 2 laps | 50.0 |
| 3 | 7 | MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA – YART |  |
YAMAHA | 24h1m26s116 | 8 laps | 43.0 |
| 4 | 55 | NATIONAL MOTOS | |
HONDA | 24h2m16s230 | 18 laps | 36.0 |
| 5 | 2 | TEAM R2CL | |
SUZUKI | 24h1m54s511 | 22 laps | 28.0 |
| 6 | 8 | TEAM BOLLIGER SWITZERLAND #8 |  |
KAWASAKI | 24h2m07s468 | 38 laps | 30.0 |
| 7 | 46 | FLEMBBO LEADER TEAM | |
KAWASAKI | 24h1m48s855 | 46 laps | 21.0 |
| 8 | 50 | TEAM MOTORS EVENTS APRIL MOTO | |
SUZUKI | 24h2m04s385 | 47 laps | 16.0 |
| 9 | 65 | MOTOBOX KREMER RACING BY SHELL ADVANCE |  |
SUZUKI | 24h1m22s647 | 60 laps | 13.0 |
| 10 | 27 | TMC CITY BIKE TRT 27 | |
SUZUKI | 24h2m33s068 | 72 laps | 11.0 |
| 11 | 37 | TEAM SPACE MOTO 37 | |
SUZUKI | 24h1m25s480 | 73 laps | 12.0 |
| 12 | 14 | MACO RACING TEAM |  |
YAMAHA | 24h1m34s856 | 80 laps | 9.0 |
| 13 | 71 |  |
YAMAHA | 24h2m01s410 | 98 laps | 8.0 | |
| 14 | 51 | ECS2 – ECURIE CHRONO SPORT 2 | |
KAWASAKI | 24h0m46s398 | 113 laps | 7.0 |
2014 Endurance World Championship Final Point Standings:
| # | Name | Country | Total |
FRA
|
JPN
|
GER
|
FRA
|
| 1 | Yamaha Racing – GMT 94 – Michelin | |
141.0 | 50.0 | 12.0 | 29.0 | 50.0 |
| 2 | Suzuki Endurance Racing Team | |
104.0 | 10.0 | 13.0 | 21.0 | 60.0 |
| 3 | Team Bolliger Switzerland #8 | |
100.0 | 37.0 | 8.0 | 25.0 | 30.0 |
| 4 | National Motos | |
80.0 | 32.0 | – | 12.0 | 36.0 |
| 5 | SRC Kawasaki | |
72.0 | 55.0 | – | 14.0 | 3.0 |
| 6 | Monster Energy Yamaha – YART | |
70.0 | – | 11.0 | 16.0 | 43.0 |
| 7 | Honda Racing |  |
63.0 | 19.0 | 0.0 | 35.0 | 9.0 |
| 8 | Team Motors Events April Moto | |
60.0 | 35.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 16.0 |
| 9 | Team R2CL | |
54.0 | 24.0 | 2.0 | – | 28.0 |
| 10 | Flembbo Leader Team | |
47.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 21.0 |
| 11 | MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO. |  |
35.0 | – | 35.0 | – | – |
| 12 | Team 18 Sapeurs-Pompiers | |
35.0 | 8.0 | – | 18.0 | 9.0 |
| 13 | Team Space Moto 37 | |
34.0 | 12.0 | – | 10.0 | 12.0 |
| 14 | Maco Racing Team | |
32.0 | 15.0 | – | 8.0 | 9.0 |
| 15 | TMC City Bike TRT 27 | |
30.0 | 19.0 | – | – | 11.0 |
| 16 | Yoshimura SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE | |
29.0 | – | 29.0 | – | – |
| 17 | Motobox Kremer Racing by Shell Advance | |
26.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 13.0 |
| 18 | Team Kagayama | |
25.0 | – | 25.0 | – | – |
| 19 | Monster Energy Yamaha with YSP | |
21.0 | – | 21.0 | – | – |
| 20 | TOHO Racing with MORIWAKI | |
18.0 | – | 18.0 | – | – |
| 21 | Honda Suzuka Racing Team | |
16.0 | – | 16.0 | – | – |
| 22 | Honda Team Asia | |
14.0 | – | 14.0 | – | – |
| 23 | ECS2 – Ecurie Chrono Sport 2 | |
14.0 | – | – | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| 24 | Honda Kumamoto Racing | |
10.0 | – | 10.0 | – | – |
| 25 | Team GREEN | |
9.0 | – | 9.0 | – | – |
| 26 | B P 2 R ENDURANCE | |
8.0 | – | – | – | 8.0 |
| 27 | CONFIA Flex Motorrad 39 | |
7.0 | – | 7.0 | – | – |
| 28 | RS Speedbikes Racing | |
6.0 | – | – | 6.0 | – |
| 29 | Honda HAMAMATSU ESCARGOT | |
6.0 | – | 6.0 | – | – |
| 30 | Team Tras | |
5.0 | – | 5.0 | – | – |
| 31 | DOG FIGHT RACING | |
4.0 | – | 4.0 | – | – |
| 32 | Team38 PS-K | |
3.0 | – | 3.0 | – | – |
| 33 | Honda QCT Meiwa Racing | |
1.0 | – | 1.0 | – | – |
