Gregg Black ahead in the suspended Sepang 2nd round15Fast-forward to December 14th for the inaugural 8 Hours of Sepang EWC race in Malaysia and proceedings were halted again on safety grounds because of a deluge of rain; almost half the race was lost, in fact.However, SERT, who qualified 11th under reasonable conditions, proved the reliability of the GSX-R1000 and their ‘never give up’ attitude to fight back through the 50-rider field in the shortened race, moving steadily from a mid-pack position to finish flfth (fourth-best on extra points awarded) in the EWC Class; a position that increased SERT’s lead in the championship to 15 points moving into 2020 and the final three races in France, Germany and Japan.TEAM SUZUKI RACING NEWSfollowing the safety car for a number of laps for the three remaining hours, the conditions were still very diflcult, with many teams subsequently pulling out or crashing.extremely-wet track, but during SERT’s two first stints, the weather improved, allowing Black to find his usual blistering pace. When team-mate Masson took over, SERT had climbed from 11th to fifth position, but the track remained diffcult until the end of the race, the team completing a total of 79 laps with three pit-stops to lead into the next round, the historic Le Mans 24-Hour, the From the re-start at 18:00hrs local time, Black started the race cautiously on an team’s home race, in France on April 18th. Team Manager Saulnier summed up, saying: “When you are not on the top step of the podium you always wish you had a better place, but for this race with tricky conditions, our goal was a Top-5 and the job has been done. I am satisfied with the work we’ve done during the week while being aware that there is still some more work to do. The team keeps on growing up and everyone works hard. We are also very pleased with Yoshimura’s engineers support.“I would like to say a word for Vincent Philippe, who didn’t race today because of the circumstances. He is a very professional man and I had great confidence in him. I am filled with emotion, but also proud to have been able to work with this remarkable rider.”The Sepang race was also a special moment for SERT, which is now managed by Damien Saulnier, as their longest-serving rider Vincent Philippe retired from the team after helping secure 10 of SERT’s world titles.Etienne Masson during Sepang Qualifyingbefore the weather turnedVincent Philippe in action in his last race at Sepang.2019 Winter Issue“When you are not on the top step of the podium you always wish you had a better place, but for this race, our goal was a Top-5 and the job has been done.” – DAMIEN SAULNIER2019-2020EWC
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