SERT wins World Endurance title

From Team Suzuki News Service

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team has won the 2010 World Endurance Championship after taking victory at the final round in Qatar on Saturday.

Team riders Sylvain Guintoli, Vincent Philippe and Freddy Foray led the 8 Hours of Doha from the start aboard their GSX-R1000 to clinch victory with 231 laps - four laps ahead of runners-up Yamaha Austria Racing Team.

Philippe took the holeshot from BMP Elf 99 and the battle between the two teams raged hour-after-hour. At the halfway stage, SERT and the BMW squad were separated by less than a minute and both on 116 laps. Third place at the four-hour mark was held by Yamaha Austria Racing Team on 114 laps with Honda's RMT 21 Racing Team a further 43 seconds adrift.

But in the second half of the event, the French squad's consistency and high lap times saw the trio open up a four lap lead that they maintained until the chequered flag.

This is SERT's 10th World Endurance title and comes in a season where it suffered a no-score at Le Mans in France and also did not start the third round at Suzuka in Japan.

SERT came into the final round trailing the private Kawasaki Bolliger team by nine points, but the Swiss squad was relegated to runners-up in the series after finishing fourth in the race.

The event was also cause for double celebration for Suzuki as eighth-place in the event gave Qatar Endurance Racing Team victory in the Superstock class ahead of fellow GSX-R1000-mounted Team Motors Events.

Results
1. SERT (Suzuki) 231 laps
2. YART (Yamaha) 227
3. RMT 21 Racing Team (Honda) 226
4. Bolliger Switzerland (Kawasaki) 225
5. AM Moto Racing Competition (Suzuki) 224
6. BMP Elf 99 Racing Team (BMW) 224
7. RAC 41 City Bike (Suzuki) 223
8. QERT (Suzuki) 223
9. Team Motors Events (Suzuki) 223
10. RT Motovirus Racing (Suzuki) 219

Championship Points
1. SERT 95
2. Bolliger Team Switzerland 90
3. YART 60
4. RAC 41 - City Bike 51
5. RT Moto Virus Racing 51