Under the shadow of the iconic Dunlop Bridge, Team Motors Events Bodyguard AMT Assurances won the Superstock class of the Le Mans 24 Hours Moto on Dunlop tyres this weekend to take them to an unassailable lead in the FIM Endurance World Cup with one round remaining.

The class winning #50 Suzuki GSXR finished two laps ahead of fellow Dunlop team Maccio Racing with Junior Team Suzuki LMS taking third to make it a sea of Dunlop caps on the Superstock podium.

In the overall race standings, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) took second to put them back into the lead of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) heading to the season finale.

Dunlop tyres, using NTEC and Multi-Tread technology, endured the constant pressure of 24 hours of intense battle at the Le Mans Bugatti circuit at a consistently warm and dry 34^th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours Moto.

Despite injuries affecting their race team line-up, meaning that regular riders Vincent Philippe and Freddy Foray were not in action, the SERT squad of Anthony Delhalle, Sakai Daisaku and 22 year-old Baptiste Guittet – drafted in from the Junior Team Suzuki LMS – finished just one lap adrift of the winning team who completed 834 laps of the 4.18km track.

In the Open class, Dunlop tyres were on the winning Metiss JLC Moto bike, which finished in 12^th position in the overall standings and 46 laps ahead of its nearest rival.

Dunlop tyres were also on the fifth-finishing Honda TT Legends Team who became the first team to run electronically-controlled Combined ABS at World Championship level in this event. It is the Dunlop partner team’s first season of the EWC.

The most prevalent tyres for competitors in the Le Mans 24 Hours Moto were Dunlop, with 22 teams, with three other tyre manufacturers represented across the 56 motorcycles which took the start.

Defending champions, SERT, who scored an historic eleventh consecutive win for Dunlop at the season opening Bol d’Or 24 Hours race at Magny Cours, France, now head to the season finale at Doha, Qatar with a nine points lead atop the EWC standings.

The FIM Endurance World Championship and Endurance World Cup conclude on November 11 with the QTEL FIM Endurance World Championship 8 Hours of Doha, Qatar, where 30 points are available to each class winner.

Dunlop quotes

Patrice Ormond, Dunlop Motorsport Director, Tyre Technology Motorsport and Motorcycle:

“Congratulations to all our teams, especially the Motors Events Team for winning the FIM Endurance World Cup. The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team also fought so well for the overall win despite the late changes to their rider squad. Any small mistake from our riders or teams or lack of performance from our tyres would have been highlighted here, so this is a fine performance from all. For Dunlop endurance racing gives us the best proving ground for our tyre development, in a competitive environment. Twenty-four hours of racing gives us all conditions and temperatures that riders on the road can face so the lessons learnt are highly applicable, and the technology developed cascades down to our commercial product. We look forward to the season finale.”

Peter Chapman, Dunlop Motorsport Service Engineer:

“For Motors Events to win the FIM Endurance World Cup with one race to go is a fantastic result.

We had a fast-paced and exciting race in very good conditions. Our teams demonstrated utmost professionalism as seen by the minimum amount of time in the pits over the course of the 24 hours. I am happy with our tyre performance across the categories. To dominate the Superstock podium using racing tyres that are either commercially available for our customers or soon will be is a real achievement. SERT were faultless despite the late change to their squad. In the open class Metiss did a superb job to win and finish 12th overall. And our D211 team finished in the class top ten using our D211 slick trackday tyre.”

Chris Valentine, Dunlop Motorsport Senior Tyre Engineer (Motorcycle Race):

“Conditions at Le Mans were warmer than we expected, particularly overnight when the heat of the day remained in the air and on the track longer that normally seen. That said, it was within the range we expected and tyre performance was strong across our range of tyres and compounds. Particular mention should be made of the Honda TT Legends Team who debuted their electronically-controlled Combined ABS in this race. Dunlop always strive to develop our technology so it is particularly rewarding to work with a team who has a similar philosophy.”

Team quotes

Dominique Meliand, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team #1 Team Manager:

“For a good result in endurance racing you need good riders and a good motorcycle, but the tyre is the only part of the bike which makes contact with the road and turns the power into motion. If you don’t have good tyres you cannot achieve good results, no matter how strong the rest of the package. The weather was interesting as it remained very warm through the night so for the first time we used the same tyre compound throughout the race without using a night compound for cooler conditions. That Dunlop’s compound could cope with the full range of conditions across 24 hours is fantastic.”

Anthony Delhalle, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team #1, Rider:

“It’s a good result and I’m very happy for the team to be on the podium especially after Vincent’s crash at the beginning of the week and with Freddy unable to ride. To finish second and so strongly with almost a new team of riders is a great achievement. Dunlop’s tyres performed very well and this was essential for all riders to get the most from them. We were able to fight for the win for the whole race. We used the day tyre through the night too as it was so warm and I must say the front tyres were very, very, very good! I was very confident with the front of the bike and able to brake very hard and late which made me very happy.”

Mathieu Gines, Motors Events #50 Rider:

“We are very happy because we had very good tyre performance from Dunlop throughout the race. The bike was very fast and if the rules allowed us to modify the bike to be able to change tyres as quickly as the EWC class would could have finished in the top five today. We pushed very hard to win the race. For me it has been very interesting running with endurance tyres as it is so impressive how hard you can push the tyres, even when they slide.”