September 20th, 2026. 




YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL IN STRONG FINISH AT BOL D'OR

Yoshimura SERT Motul concluded the 2026 FIM EWC World Championship season with another outstanding performance at the 89th Bol d’Or. After 24 hours of intense racing at the Paul Ricard circuit, the #12 Suzuki GSX-R1000R crossed the finish line in second place, enabling the team to finish the season in third place in the overall standings.

From the very start of the race, Gregg Black confirmed the dominance of the #12 Suzuki by taking another holeshot. The early stages of the race were, however, disrupted by a minor setback during the first pit stop, which cost the team around fifteen seconds and saw the team drop back to fifth place.

The crew immediately refocused on a strategy of disciplined recovery and, as Black, Etienne Masson and Dan Linfoot completed their stints, the team gradually made up lost ground. Running fourth at the start of the evening, Yoshimura SERT Motul quickly joined the leading trio before consolidating its third place at the end of the first eight hours of the race, picking up eight bonus points in the championship in the process.

During the night, the team climbed into second place. Powered by the steady pace of Black, Masson and Linfoot, and the reliability of the GSX-R1000R, it then managed to withstand the pressure from other teams and held onto this position as the hours passed. At the end of the sixteenth hour, this solid performance was rewarded with a further nine points in the provisional championship standings.

In the final hours of the race, the Yoshimura SERT Motul trio continued their efforts with the same rigour. Without making any mistakes and relying on a high-performing and reliable Suzuki, Black, Masson and Linfoot held on to second place right up to the chequered flag.

After 24 hours of a particularly demanding race, the #12 Suzuki GSX-R1000R crossed the finish line at the Bol d’Or in second place, securing the Yoshimura SERT Motul team its fourth consecutive podium at the event.

Yoshimura SERT Motul team has finished the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship season in third place in the world championship standings with 137 points. After a difficult start to the season, disrupted by technical problems in Le Mans, followed by a series of races marked by challenging racing circumstances, the team has demonstrated remarkable consistency. Despite numerous setbacks, Yoshimura SERT Motul remained in contention for the title right up to the final round and managed to finish in a strong position regardless of the difficulties encountered throughout the season.

The team's ability to maintain high performance, remain competitive and stay focused in all situations is based, above all, on the cohesion and commitment of the entire Yoshimura SERT Motul team. Riders, technical staff and team members remained fully united and focused during the entire season, demonstrating fighting spirit, rigour and perfect solidarity in the face of every challenge. Combined with the performance and reliability of the Suzuki GSX-R1000R, this collective strength has enabled Yoshimura SERT Motul to conclude the season once again amongst the top teams in the FIM EWC World Championship.

Yohei Kato - Team Director
"Once we secured second place, we pushed together to close the gap to the leader, but ultimately, we were unable to fight for the victory. I am very proud of the efforts made by our riders, the technical expertise of our pit crew and the dedication of every team member working behind the scenes.

Everyone played an important part in this result, and I would like to sincerely thank all those who gave their best for Yoshimura SERT Motul. Thank you all very much.

To our fans, who continue to support the team throughout every race, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks. Your support gives us the strength to overcome these extremely demanding races. We look forward to having you with us again next season. Thank you for everything this year. See you next year!"

Damien Saulnier - Team Manager
"We’ve had a great week. After the pre-Bol tests, we still had two or three small things to fine-tune on the bike, particularly to find the best balance between the tyres, the riders and the machine. We quickly found the right direction. That didn’t necessarily result in an exceptional performance in qualifying, even though we set the third-fastest time, but it did lead to a very strong performance in race conditions.

However, we had to contend with a very fast #37. There’s inevitably a touch of frustration, but we can’t be disappointed. The race was very demanding, with a very high pace right from the start, no safety car, and the #37 immediately taking the lead. We also had a great battle with the #5. In the end, there were few twists and turns, but the race was very intense and we really had to fight hard every lap to stay with the leading group.

All things considered, given the conditions, we’ve done very well. There were more than 20 retirements and, for our part, we managed to avoid all the pitfalls to secure a fine second place and finish third in the championship. Obviously, this isn’t the result we had hoped for. Having won the Bol d’Or in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and finished as world runners-up last year, we were hoping to do better than third place, both for Suzuki and for our partners. But every season is different. This second place is nonetheless a fine reward for our riders and for the entire technical team, who did an exceptional job throughout the week, including some remarkable pit stops. I’m also thinking of our partners and the whole hospitality team, who accompanied and supported us in the best possible way. I’m extremely proud of everyone who’s part of this wonderful project."

Gregg Black - rider
"First of all, I’m very pleased with this second place. This season hasn’t been easy for us and we arrived at the Bol d’Or with a significant gap in the championship standings. Our aim was to win the race, but we finished second after facing some very strong competition, which is still a good result. I managed to get off to a good start and stay with the leading group, but the pace then stepped up at the front. By the time we had overtaken a few riders, the gap had widened slightly, but it didn’t end up costing us too much.

During our first stint, we also encountered a minor issue whilst changing the front wheel. This is very rare for the SERT, but it can happen, even to the best teams. Then, as the temperatures changed, we stuck with the hard tyres, which weren’t necessarily the best suited to the conditions for Etienne and Dan. So we lost a bit of time at the start of the race, but once we had the right tyres fitted, we regained our pace and managed to gradually work our way back up the pack. We had some great battles throughout the race. There was a huge amount of pressure between the teams and the riders, but it really was a fantastic event."

Etienne Masson - rider
"We were a bit surprised by how the bike performed at the start of the race on the hard tyres. We weren’t able to set the pace as we’d have liked. As soon as the temperatures dropped slightly and we were able to change tyres, things really improved. From then on, we performed very well, both in the pits and on the track. Unfortunately, the #37 was very strong this year. They didn’t make a single mistake and maintained a very high pace throughout the race. For our part, we kept them under pressure and tried from start to finish to force them into a mistake, but they were exemplary. Well done to them.

Now we need to get back to work, keep looking for solutions and continue to develop our bike. See you next year!"

Dan Linfoot - rider
"Of course, we would have preferred to finish on the top step of the podium, but overall, we had a good race. We didn’t make any mistakes, either from the riders or the team. We simply lacked that little something extra to really challenge the #37 in this race. Nevertheless, we must be proud of what we’ve achieved. We’ll learn from this race, carry on working and strive to improve. It’s certainly not the campaign we’d hoped for at the start of the season, but we’re concluding with two second-place finishes in both 24-hour races. We’ll take that with us and keep moving forward to come back even stronger."

Ends.

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Pictured: 1. Yoshimura SERT Motul podium at the2026 Bol d'Or. 2. Gregg Black leads YART. 3. Etienne Masson sets a fast pace. 4. Dan Linfoot keeps the team's Suzuki GSX-R1000R steady as the sun sets. 5. Gregg Black rides through the classic Paul Ricard Circuit lines. 6. Etienne Masson with super-quick pitstop. 7. Dan Linfoot on a charge.