The Brussels rider won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Suzuki for the second year in a row. The reigning world champion has therefore won the first endurance race of the season with his two French teammates.
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Xavier Simeon from Brussels and Frenchmen Gregg Black and Sylvain Guintoli won the 45th 24 Hours of Le Mans Motos in France, on their Suzuki GSXR 1000 from the Yoshimura Sert Motul team.
Although very tired at the finish of this very demanding race that was hotly disputed this year, the Belgian was able to express his joy, "This is a beautiful victory. My teammates and crew did a great job. We've won for the second year in a row. As well as the Bol d'Or, that's three wins in a row in 24-hour races. It's exceptional. The race was very hard, nobody backed down until three hours from the end. It turned out in our favour, I'm so happy!"
Apart from running out of fuel at the entrance to the pit lane in the evening, nothing happened to hinder the three drivers' race. Leading from nightfall, they were able to resist the trios from the teams powered by the Yamaha YZF-R1 and the Honda CBR1000, which completed the podium on the Sarthe circuit.
With the firm intention of retaining his World Endurance Championship title, the Belgian driver will also have significant public support during the second round of the season, which will take place at Spa-Francorchamps with the return of the 24 Hours of Motos from 4 to 5 June.
