The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team and the GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team set out to once again display the potential of the YZF-R1 at the 12 Horas de Portimão, held at the Autódromo Internacional Algarve, Portugal, on June 11th.
The YART Yamaha Official EWC Team used their professional and dedicated mentality to battle their way through the 24H Moto Le Mans and deliver a truly brave performance. Riders Broc Parkes and Max Neukirchner completed the entire race as a twosome after Iván Silva suffered an unfortunate crash and injured his shoulder on his first lap. Parkes and Neukirchner had nothing to lose when they rode their Yamaha YZF-R1 from 54th to a hard-fought 11th place.
This weekend the Austrian team is ready to build on that previous performance for the upcoming challenge. With ten points collected for their brilliant effort in Le Mans, they hold 13th place in the championship standings. There will be 35 points, plus ten bonus points for the team leading at the 8-hour mark, up for grabs at the upcoming round where Parkes and Silva will welcome Marvin Fritz as a replacement rider for the injured Neukirchner.
The GMT94 team also showed a strong race pace in France during the opening round and kept going despite three crashes, until they were forced to exit the race early. For the next round riders David Checa and Niccolo Canepa will be joined by Lucas Mahias as the third rider, who shares their full focus to secure first place and gain some crucial first points for the championship.
The French team is certain that their Yamaha will be prominently featured at the front this weekend, thanks to its handling and wide torque range which perfectly suits the long Algarve International Circuit, with its 32 different possible layouts that can make it either faster or more twisty and technical. Constructed in 2008, the venue can host up to 100,000 spectators, eager to see their favorite riders give their all during 12-hours of action.
Besides the official Yamaha endurance teams, the Parkalgar Racing Team will also represent Yamaha in the EWC class. Team 3ART Yam'Avenue will also be back in action this weekend to defend their current lead in the Superstock class standings. They will be joined by the Slider Endurance team, and Yamaha Viltaïs Experiences.
Source: www.yamaha-racing.com
