Yamaha Concludes 2016 FIM EWC Season with Double Victory in Oschersleben
. By Bikeland Staff
The GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team brought Yamaha its third victory of the 2016 FIM Endurance World Championship at this weekend's 8 Hours of Oschersleben race to end the season as the Vice-Champions for the second year in succession. The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team also fought like gladiators at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, but saw their championship challenge diminish when they were forced to retire after six hours due to a minor technical issue. Team 3ART Yam' Avenue delivered a brilliant performance to secure sixth place as the highest ranking SST team, giving Yamaha the FIM EWC World Cup Title.
GMT94 Yamaha's David Checa, Niccolò Canepa and Lucas Mahias did exactly what they had to do, having arrived at the final round of the 2016 FIM EWC season 16 points behind the championship leader, with 35 points still up for grabs.
Starting from second, Checa rode a cautious first lap, entering the first corner in fifth position. However, as soon as the tyres were warmed the Spaniard's confidence grew and it wasn't long before the French team cheered on their #94 bike at the front of the field.
Second rider Canepa had never been to the Oscherleben Arena before this weekend, but the track clearly started to grow on him as the week went on. Though he suffered from a lack of grip when the track temperature rose to 52 degrees Celsius on his first stint and he had to let the YART team pass, he still managed the gap to make sure the team could come back strong when the temperatures would drop in the later stages of the race.
Third rider Mahias was not only fighting for the team title but also for the rider title. He showed great spirit during his first stint as, despite feeling the pressure to perform, he pushed out steady laps. He made one of the highlights of today's race when multiple riders crashed in the triple left hander and he pulled off an amazing save, avoiding all riders, bikes and mechanics, at high-speed off-track, thanks to his off-road skills.
After getting away with the incident, it was plain sailing for the GMT94 team, who continued to pick up the pace towards the end of the race as Canepa predicted. They kept their heads down and, with their pit stop strategy planned to perfection, Checa rode a brilliant night session to take a glorious win by 21.315s and secure second in the championship.
First YART rider Broc Parkes, started from pole and came out of the first corner in third place. As the GMT94 team started to pick up the pace, the Australian wasn't shy to follow and rode a strong stint before handing over the bike to second rider Marvin Fritz.
The young German has a great love for the YZF-R1 machine and let it show. His riding did most of the talking. Being the only rider on track dropping consistent high 1'27 and low 1'28 laps, he was quick to take the lead in the race and pull away from his chasing rivals.
The pair of them rode the entire race, with third rider Sheridan Morais supporting them and waiting on the sideline in case either Parkes or Fritz would be unable to continue, which was ultimately not necessary.
YART rode on the limit for six hours straight without any mistakes, but their efforts ended early after the sixth hour. Despite their great pace they suffered a technical issue, which ended their challenge for the title.
Today's results see GMT94 Yamaha take home 35 points and finish the season in second place with 87 points in total, just one point behind the championship winners. YART holds sixth place in the standings with a total of 60 points.
Thanks to GMT94 incredible achievement over the last three races, Mahias secured the 2016 Endurance Rider World Champion title, while Yamaha also secured the manufacturers' title.
Team 3ART YAM' Avenue also added the Superstock title, thanks to an incredible performance that saw Louis Bulle, Alex Plancassagne and Lukas Trautmann ride a faultless race from start to finish to earned them 16 points and claim the FIM EWC World Cup Title.
Untitled Christophe Guyot - GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team, Team Manager
"I'm very sorry for not winning the title for Yamaha. Yamaha has won three races this season and two victories came from us, this gave Yamaha the manufacturer title and Lucas the rider title. It's our fifth time winning at Oschersleben, we won the 12 hours three times and the 8 hours two times now, in 2015 and this year, so we are very happy with our performance. I want to thank the team, the riders and Yamaha for their support and dedication and look forward to the Bol'dOr race at the start of the 2016/2017 season."
Untitled David Checa - GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team, Rider
"When I started my last stint we were 36 seconds behind and I managed the difference. Of course the target was to win the race. At the beginning of the race I tried to put pressure on Broc to see if he would make a mistake, but he didn't. Then I tried to push in second place and manage the gap to YART. I would have preferred to win, instead of them having a problem with their bike When they had a problem we stopped pushing as much as we did before they had a problem."
Untitled Niccolò Canepa - GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team, Rider
"I'm really happy because this was my first season in World Endurance and it's my first time here at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. I'm really happy because I had an amazing ride, which I didn't have before, and an amazing team. It's really incredible and the championship has a very high level. Regarding the race I'm very satisfied, because we came here to win and we did, so that's good enough in itself, but the most important thing is that we won two out of four races this season and this means that we are ready for next season. To lose the championship by one point is disappointing, but that's what endurance is like and at least we learned something."
Untitled Lucas Mahias - GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team, Rider
"I'm very happy about winning the title, but it's not just my title, because I rode for two teams this season. It's good for me personally, but it's not just my achievement. I want to thank my teammates and also Yamaha for the great experience."
Untitled Mandy Kainz - YART Yamaha Official EWC Team Manager
"Of course the team is disappointed to leave Oschersleben empty handed after what started as such a strong race for us. We were very competitive from the start of the weekend and we were leading the majority of the race after a good start from Broc. He kept his head cool under pressure and during the safety car situations, and we had some very fast stints from Marvin. We decided that Sheridan would only fill in as a replacement rider if either Broc or Marvin wouldn't be able to complete the race. It's unfortunate that their amazing effort wasn't rewarded the way it should have been. Instead we suffered a technical issue and couldn't finish the race."
Untitled Broc Parkes - YART Yamaha Official EWC Team, Rider
"It was really disappointing because we showed from qualifying that we had the pace to win and we did a great job until the sixth hour when we led the race. We chose to do it with two riders, Marvin and I, and we had a good pace. We knew that to win the championship we only needed to finish second to GMT94 so we just wanted to make consistent lap times and try to keep the lead. If GMT94 would have passed us, it wouldn't have been a big problem, but unfortunately we had a technical issue which was a major bummer because we were two hours from home. It's sad for the team and for us, because we were so close to being World Champion but sometimes that happens."
Untitled Marvin Fritz - YART Yamaha Official EWC Team, Rider
"The start of the race was really good. Broc did a good first session and then it was my turn. I was overtaking GMT94's Canepa and made a 30 or 40 seconds gap to him. It was a big gap and a really good stint. Then Broc and I did really good sessions, always fast and had the fastest lap time. Unfortunately, we had some technical issues and that all came together and it wasn't our day in the end. We deserved the title, I think. We were lapping the best and made it happen with only two riders all day, but that's endurance Now I look forward to Bol d'or and I think I can make a good start in the new season. The bike and the tyres were working well, the team was working hard all weekend. I wish Bradley a good recovery and that he can be back on the bike as soon as possible, and I want to say thank you to Yamaha for their support."
Untitled Lukas Trautmann
3ART YAM'AVENUE Rider
"This race went exactly right for us. It was the first time the Le Mans start worked well for us, it took a few times for me to get used to it. It was difficult to manage the tyre wear because in the Superstock class we need to use the front tyre for nearly four hours and the rear for two hours. With these high temperatures that's quite a tough thing to do, but my team mates have done a great job. I think it's amazing that the team is a front runner, while it's just a small private team, with some support from Yamaha. When you look around in the paddock, you see what happens on the EWC side with the big trucks, which is all incredible to me."
FIM Endurance World Championship standing
1. Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, 88
2. GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team, 87
3. Team April Moto Motors Events, 78
4. Honda Endurance Racing, 72
5. SRC Kawasaki, 60
6. YART Yamaha Official EWC Team, 60
7. F.C.C. TSR Honda, 56
8. TEAM 3ART YAM'AVENUE, 50
9. Team R2CL, 45
10. AM Moto Racing Competition, 38