GMT conquer Le Mans

17/4/2005

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!"

2005 Le Mans 24 hours - results

 1 Yamaha GMT 94 (Yamaha)                  830 laps
 2 Suzuki Castrol 1 (Suzuki)               830
 3 Suzuki Castrol 2 (Suzuki)               823
 4 National Motos 5 (Honda)                809
 5 Team Acropolis EMS 99 (Yamaha)          802
 6 Bolliger Team Switzerland 8 (Kawasaki)  795
 7 Team AM Moto Racing 110 (Suzuki)        793
 8 JLC Moto Ulteamatum 45 (Suzuki)         793
 9 Decibels Endurance 33 (Yamaha)          791
10 Team DAP Moto 91 Mobil 1 (Honda)        786