LeGros first in Suzuka

From MotoStep Racing

SUZUKA, JAPAN -- Canadian road racer Shane LeGros piloted his MotoStep Suzuki GSX-R1000 to an SP class victory and 32nd overall at yesterday’s Suzuka 300km race.

This years’ race, contested by 75 teams was won by the pairing of Yukio Kagayama and Atsushi Watanabe of the Yoshimura Japan team. The 300 is contested by a variety of machine classes and is a yearly lead up to the Suzuka eight-hour endurance race. LeGros was one of less than 20 riders who opted to do the race solo.

SP or ‘Super Production’ class rules allow modifications to all areas of the bike providing that the engine itself remains stock.

LeGros, a former regular in the R.A.C.E. Super Series and Parts Canada Superbike Championship before moving to Japan in 2004, took the SP class lead and set a new class course record in the early going. LeGros was closely shadowed by Naoki Yamada of the Z-Tech team. Yamada relegated LeGros to second in SP when his tail section support failed, leaving his tail section dangling from the back of his bike.

MotoStep crew chief Motoo Furukawa quickly had the damage repaired, the bike fuelled and tires changed allowing LeGros to rejoin quickly.

The tailsection damage forced LeGros to pit early putting his stops out of sync and would have forced a second stop for fuel later in the race were it not for some luck in the form of the safety car, which came out twice in the later stages of the race due to crashes. This allowed LeGros to conserve fuel enabling him to finish the race on one stop.

“It was real close," LeGros admitted. "The fuel light was on for six laps. The bike started sputtering on the cool down lap.

“What can I say? Furukawa-san did his usual perfect job in prepping the bike and managing the pits. It’s not like you can forsee something as strange as a failure like we had today. It’s great to have a guy like Furukawa; you know the bike will be perfect and everything will be done.”

MotoStep Suzuki would like to thank Striker, Agras, Hyod, Elka, Design Factory, Nutec, RK, Dunlop, KDC, GP Suspension and Bickle Racing.

Full race results will be posted at www.motoracing-japan.com