SERT shows strength at Spa

The Yoshimura SERT Motul team finished fourth at the weekend's 8 Hours of Spa, despite an early race crash.

 

The team started in fourth place after a day of mixed weather during qualifying, but Gregg Black made his trademark lightning start and led the race during the early laps. During the first 30 minutes he was involved in the battle for the lead, but suffered a crash at the half an hour mark.

 

After a pit stop, Etienne Masson began climbing up through the order, taking the team from last to 28th after the end of the first hour.

Approaching the halfway stage of the race the weather conditions added an extra layer of complexity, yet the team managed the changes from showers to dry with the professionalism and experience that has made them the most successful team in EWC history.

 

At half race distance the riders had put their GSX-R1000R into seventh place in the standings, and by the sixth of eight hours they had climbed to fourth, where they would remain to the chequered flag.

 

Black said after the race, "We have to take the positives from this race because our primary objective was to score strong championship points, and we achieved that. I felt very comfortable on the bike at the start and wanted to stay with the leaders, but unfortunately, I got caught out. The incident cost us several minutes, but the mechanics did an incredible job to get us back on track quickly.

 

"The bike was extremely competitive, including in the wet conditions. My teammates also completed very strong stints to bring us back into contention for the podium. We are now looking forward to Suzuka, where recent testing of the 2026-spec machine has been very encouraging and gives us hope that we can challenge for victory."

Dan Linfoot commented, "We have to focus on the positives and be proud of the incredible comeback we achieved. Incidents can happen to anyone in endurance racing, as I experienced myself at Suzuka last year. The entire team committed fully to fighting back from deep in the field to finish fourth. Those are extremely valuable championship points.

 

"Of course, as riders we always want to stand on the podium and win, but today we achieved the maximum possible result. As always, the pit stops were executed flawlessly. We are now fully focused on the Japanese round, where our objective will be to score as many points as possible."

 

Masson added, "There is inevitably some disappointment because we had the potential to achieve a great result. The competition was extremely strong and made no mistakes but, on our side, we also made the right calls, particularly regarding tyre choices. Our pace was very solid, and the bike performed brilliantly in all conditions. The early incident was unfortunate, but the team did an incredible job to get the bike back on track in record time. In the end, this fourth place rewards a fantastic collective effort and allows us to score vital points for the remainder of the season."