SRC Kawasaki wins 24 Hours Le Mans after fantastic duel with Honda

Bruno Gomes

April 22, 2019

The SRC Kawasaki France team won the 24 Hours Le Mans for the 11^th time and jump to the top of the standings in the FIM EWC.

The second round of the 2019 FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) happened last weekend at the famous Le Mans Bugatti circuit in France, where the iconic 24 Hours Le Mans endurance race was held for the 42^nd time. SRC Kawasaki France team won the event, and with this result, they jump to the top of the standings of the FIM EWC.

Using a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, the SRC Kawasaki team, composed by David Checa, Erwan Nigon, and Jeremy Guarnoni, crossed the finish line with a one-minute advantage over second place Honda Endurance Racing team.

The Honda Endurance Racing team, with riders such as Randy de Puniet, Sebastien Gimbert, and Yonny Hernandez, seemed to have the best over their rivals when the team made some great calculations using the better mileage than the Fireblade had over the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R.

Needing less pit stops to refuel, Honda took the lead of the 24 Hours Le Mans race with just 1h17m to the checkered flag, but the SRC Kawasaki, with Jeremy Guarnoni at the command of the Ninja, had a better pace and recovered the disadvantage to the Honda Endurance Racing team with when the Pace Car entered the track because of an oil spill.

As soon as the Pace Car reentered the pit lane, Guarnoni made the pass move over Yonny Hernandez, and from then on the SRC Kawasaki cruised to the finish claiming their 11^th win at the 24 Hours Le Mans race.

The final podium position went to the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT), with riders Vincent Philippe, Etienne Masson, and Gregg Black). On the Superstock class, the victory went to team Motors Events Suzuki.

The next race on the FIM Endurance World Championship will happen May 11^th at the Slovakia Ring, with an 8-hour race.