Racing

SERT Wins the 2016 FIM Endurance World Championship

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Any in racing series, defending the #1 plate is no easy feat, and when it comes to motorcycle racing, this statement is the most true in the FIM Endurance World Championship.

Composed of only four races for the 2016 season, the endurance championship still requires 52 hours of racing, and many more hours of practice and qualifying leading up to that figure.

To put that in perspective, it is roughly three-times more racing that MotoGP does in a season, and twice as much racing than what occurs in the World Superbike Championship.

All that extra racing time means there are more opportunity for where things can go wrong, and with only four opportunities to score points, it makes reliability, teamwork, and racecraft all the more important.

It is also worth mentioning the FIM Endurance World Championship is the only racing series where a tire war still exists, and it is also a battlefield where four factory-backed manufacturers can win at any particular event.

With all that considered then, we must give a well-earned congratulations to the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT), along with its riders Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle, and Etienne Masson, for winning the 2016 FIM Endurance World Championship.

This season was especially difficult, as going into the final round on the FIM EWC calendar, nine teams mathematically had a shot at the Championship title.

Finishing second at the 8 Hours of Oschersleben, SERT secured yet another victory in endurance racing, solidifying its position as an EWC powerhouse.

You could call the result a fluke, especially since SERT finished the championship only one point ahead of rivals GMT94 Yamaha (who scratched at the season-opener at Le Mans), but there is a reason that Suzuki riders have been on the top step at the end of the FIM EWC season, for the 15th time.

With the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 set to be unleashed later this year, we can only expect more dominance from the Japanese manufacturer. Once again, they will be the benchmark of endurance racing that the other teams will prepare for in the off-season.

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2016 FIM Endurance World Championship Results:

Pos. Team Bike Country FRA POR JPN GER Total
1 Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Suzuki FRA 21 38 0 29 88
2 GMT94 YAMAHA Yamaha FRA 45 7 35 87
3 Team April Moto Motors Events Suzuki FRA 45 21 2 10 78
4 Honda Endurance Racing Honda GBR 11 32 8 21 72
5 SRC Kawasaki Kawasaki FRA 60 60
6 YART Yamaha Official EWC Team Yamaha AUT 10 29 21 60
7 F.C.C. TSR Honda Honda JPN 44 9 3 56
8 TEAM 3ART YAM’AVENUE Yamaha FRA 22 12 16 50
9 Team R2CL Suzuki FRA 36 9 45
10 AM Moto Racing Competition Kawasaki FRA 18 8 12 38
11 YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM Yamaha JPN 35 35
12 MACO RACING Team Yamaha SVK 11 6 18 35
13 Voelpker NRT48 by Schubert-Motors BMW GER 20 15 35
14 Junior Team LMS Suzuki Suzuki FRA 8 17 9 34
15 Team Bolliger Switzerland Kawasaki SUI 16 7 6 5 34
16 Tati Team Beaujolais Racing Kawasaki FRA 0 21 11 32
17 Team GREEN Kawasaki JPN 29 29
18 Penz13.com – BMW Motorrad Team BMW GER 25 25
19 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI Shell ADVANCE Suzuki JPN 25 25
20 Lukoil BMW Motorrad CSEU BMW CZE 11 14 25
21 Starteam PAM-Racing Suzuki FRA 9 13 22
22 Moto Map SUPPLY Suzuki JPN 18 18
23 Team KAGAYAMA Suzuki JPN 16 16
24 TRICK STAR Racing Kawasaki JPN 14 14
25 Honda Team Asia Honda JPN 13 13
26 Racing Team Sarazin Kawasaki FRA 13 13
27 TEAM LOUIT MOTO 33 TRAQUEUR Kawasaki FRA 3 10 13
28 Yamaha Viltaïs Experience Yamaha FRA 5 8 13
29 AUTO TECHNIC SPORTS Honda JPN 12 12
30 au&Teluru . Kohara RT Honda JPN 11 11
31 TOHO Racing Honda JPN 10 10
32 TECMAS RACING TEAM – BMW BMW FRA 3 6 9
33 Cottard Motosport Suzuki FRA 8 8
34 Team Rabid Transit Yamaha USA 7 7
35 Space Moto 37 Suzuki FRA 7 7
36 Ecurie Chrono Sport Kawasaki FRA 0 6 6
37 TRT 27 / Bazar 2 La Becane Suzuki FRA 6 6
38 Team Tras 135HP BMW JPN 5 5
39 GERT 56 HMT by rs speedbikes BMW GER 0 5 0 5
40 Flembbo Leader Team Kawasaki FRA 5 0 5
41 Aprilia Grebenstein Aprilia GER 4 4
42 Motorrad Rennsport BMW JPN 4 4
43 Slider Endurance Yamaha FRA 0 4 0 4
44 Team 18 Sapeurs-Pompiers Kawasaki FRA 4 4
45 msd-steeldesign powered by Motorex BMW GER 3 3
46 Zuff Racing Team Honda SUI 3 3
47 Motobox Kremer Racing Yamaha GER 0 0 2 2
48 MOTOS ACTIVES SPORT 14 Kawasaki FRA 0 2 2
49 Parkalgar Racing Team Yamaha POR 2 2
50 WSB-Endurance Kawasaki GER 1 1
51 TEAM FRONTIER Honda JPN 1 1
52 Team LRP Poland BMW POL 0 1 0 1
53 MB MOTORS TEAM Yamaha FRA 1 1

Source: FIM; Photos: Suzuki Racing

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