World Endurance
champions Yamaha GMT94 fulfilled a life-long ambition by winning one
of the world's most prestigious races - the Le Mans 24 hour - this weekend.
The R1 squad and
their championship winning riders David Checa, William Costes and Sebastien
Gimbert won a pulsating race, defeating rivals Castrol Suzuki by just
over 20 seconds at the end of 24 hours and a record 830 laps of the
famous circuit.
Starting from pole
position, the GMT trio displayed their famous consistency to lead the
early stages, until Checa was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop
to repair his gear lever after four hours.
But by midnight
the Yamaha team regained a lead it would never lose, due in no small
part to the team's lightning fast pit work. A cautionary pit stop in
the final hour to investigate a possible oil leak allowed the Suzuki
team to close the gap but with men and machine showing few signs of
tiredness, Checa was able to maintain his fast pace to the very end
to fend off a late challenge from his rivals.
Yamaha also won the Stocksport class, with Belgian team Acropolis finishing
fifth overall with 802 laps completed.
David Checa:
"There has never been any doubt in my mind that we could win Le
Mans this year. We have tested for this, we knew we had the machine
that would win, we knew we had the tyres and I knew that my friends
William and Sebastien were just as happy as me with the whole package.
When we came to Le Mans I knew that, as a team, we were faster than
Suzuki and there was just no doubt in my mind that we would win, no
doubt at all"
Christophe
Guyot:
"We have all worked so hard for this, not only the riders but everybody
in the team. GMT94 is more like a family than a team. We have put our
hearts into this. When I made the decision to go with Yamaha I knew
that this moment would come, I had no doubts in my mind. But it's only
the first, there will be more!"
RACE RESULTS
2005 Le
Mans 24 hours
