The Kawasaki ZX-10R started the race from third place on the grid of the 8th Bol d'Or. Throughout the first half, Gregory Leblanc, Fabien Foret and former MotoGP star Randy de Puniet rode their stints right up in front, waging an out-and-out battle on the bike in the lead. But things started getting complicated for Gilles Stafler’s team in the middle of the night when the bike developed a technical problem, forcing Randy de Puniet to push it back to the pit box. The mechanics changed the swing arm in record time: the ZX-10R was in the box for merely 9 minutes. But when it went back out on the track, the SRC machine had dropped from 2nd to 9th place. The entire team threw itself into climbing back up, and did so brilliantly
Gregory Leblanc, Fabien Foret and new recruit Randy de Puniet started riding very fast stints. And by the end of a 24-hour race in which strong winds and a demanding track took their toll on both riders and bikes, the Kawasaki SRC had managed to wrest back second place on the podium. Gilles Stafler’s squad are satisfied with the result, though they were obviously aiming for a new victory after winning the last four Bol d’Or races.
Next race: 24 Heures Motos, 15 and 16 April 2017 Gregory Leblanc“No team is unbeatable, but it has to be said that SERT was stronger than us in this race. So I’m happy with our second place. Sometimes you have to be able to lose gracefully so you can come back stronger …” Fabien Foret“We came here to win, but it wasn’t possible. My message to our rivals: see you at Le Mans, where we’ll be more determined than ever to get our revenge!” Randy de Puniet“I’d like to thank the team and my teammates, who helped me find my feet this last week. It was really a pleasure working with them. I was happy to race the Bol d’Or, and frankly it’s made me want to do more endurance races.” Gilles Stafler, team manager“I’m delighted with Randy’s work. He’s a genuine rider. He just got better and better, throughout the week and during the race. I also appreciate the way he interacted with the whole team.”