The first round of the 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship took place in Le Mans, France last weekend where the Yoshimura SERT (Suzuki Endurance Racing Team) Motul drew first blood by winning the opening round. The entire weekend has been good for the Suzuki endurance squad where everyone can agree that they dominated qualifying and race in great fashion.

Starting the race from P2, the first rider who took the whole shot and battled it out for the first few hours was Gregg Black. Black set a good pace for the team's other two riders to follow, the very experienced Xavier Siméon and Sylvain Guintoli. Quick pit stops throughout the night were also key to the team's first-round success, taking the lead from the third hour of the race.

Overall, the three riders collectively clocked in 855 laps within the span of the 24-hour race combined with 24 successful pitstops conducted by the Yoshimura SERT Motul crew. The team was also awarded 40 bonus points thanks to their efforts during qualifying as well as leading the race at the eighth and 16 hours of racing. They now lead the championship with a total of 64 points. 

According to Damien Saulnier, Yoshimura SERT Motul's Team Manager, "Suzuki is back to winning at Le Mans, a mythical race, and this is a huge satisfaction. We are at the beginning of a great adventure with Yoshimura and our association is already working perfectly. Yoshimura's experience in 8-hour races and SERT's experience in 24-hour races means that we can be fast and durable. The package also works thanks to Suzuki's development work, the quality of the Bridgestone tyres and of course the consistency of our riders."

Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar finished second with a total of 48 points collected, followed by the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team in P3 with 44 points. Three rounds remain in the 2021 FIM EWC championship season where the next race will be the 12 Hours of Estoril that'll take place at the Portuguese Circuito do Estoril on 17 July 2021. Stay tuned for more updates.