Hindle Pro Sport Bike Champ makes strong Bol D’Or Debut
Canadian Kenny Riedmann did more than just survive at the 79th running of the Bol D’Or 24 Hour classic Endurance event, held at Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France last weekend, September 19 and 20. The two time and reigning CSBK Hindle Exhaust Pro Sport Bike National Champion put up a very strong showing aboard the Atomic Motosport Suzuki GSX-R1000, his squad placing ninth overall, two laps ahead of tenth position, and fifth in the Superstock category.
In front of an announced attendance of 74,000 spectators, Riedmann got the honour of taking the final stint, the Suzuki in for a splash of fuel and a rider change 15 minutes from the finish.
“There are no words to explain how crazy things were on the last lap, on the cool off lap, on the way into the pits,” explained Riedmann. “I couldn’t take it all in. The atmosphere, the enthusiasm, this is something you really have to see to believe.”
Conditions for the sometimes storm-lashed event, return to the south of France this year to try and take advantage of better weather, were reasonably warm and sunny (23 degrees C) during the day and 12 degrees, somewhat damp, at night.
With usual lead rider and former World Superbike ace Giovanni Bussei sidelined with an injured shoulder, Riedmann was a last minute addition to the “Atomic 68” effort. Riedmann frequently did double stints, almost always staying out on used tires.
Atomic’s data engineer considered Riedmann’s ability to handle a full fuel load and worn tire to be critical, Riedmann running within two second of his new tire/light fuel Q time for his 40 minute stints. The team used a Physiotherapist and two Massage Therapists to keep the riders in reasonable shape, the pilots not allowed to sleep during the duration of the 24 Hrs.
The team also performed a couple of major services on the bike during the course of the event, for instance changing the entire calliper, not just the brake pads!
Typically, the team’s Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 Superstock entry would pull at top speed of between 310 and 315 kph on the famously long and challenging (and sometimes camp fire smoke-shrouded) Mistral straight, but at times slipstreaming could add to that outright speed number. Riedmann got one double draft to run an amazing 339.4 kph through the traps!
The event was won by the SRC Kawasaki of Fabien Foret, Gregory Leblanc and Matthieu Lagrive, the team’s fourth straight Bol D’Or overall Superbike class success. The team made a total of 27 pit stops over 684 laps of the 5.8 km long Circuit Paul Ricard, and won by over two laps after a day and night of competition.
Second spot belonged to outgoing World Endurance Champs GMT94 Yamaha, David Checa, Kenny Foray and Matheiu Gines at the controls of their YZF-R1, completing 682 laps. Third overall, and taking this year’s World Endurance Championship, was SERT (Suzuki Endurance Racing Team) with a GSX-R1000 piloted by Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and Etienne Masson, with a total of 677 laps.
Honda Endurance Racing Team of Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray and Sebastien Gimbert lead much of the race, but retired with engine issues at 10 AM Sunday morning.
Top Superstock squad was fourth overall Tati team Beaujolais Racing, their Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja turning a total of 673 laps. The biggest difference between the two 1000cc classes, Superbike and Superstock, involved quick change set-ups in SBK but not STK, so the Superstock runners make fewer tire changes.
