It was no longer a secret for anyone since the ouster of Étienne Masson from SERT last October, once the world title was acquired in 2020.
However, the new Franco-Japanese (or rather Japanese-French) alliance took its time to formalize the widely anticipated arrival of Sylvain Guintoli replacing the three-time endurance champion (2015, 2016 and 2020).
TEAM YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL READY TO DEFEND EWC TITLE IN 2021
Suzuki Team Press Office – January 19.
The restructured Yoshimura SERT Motul team has finalized its driver list to defend the 2021 FIM Endurance World Championship title.
The new four-driver team sees Sylvain Guintoli and Kazuki Watanabe join the team's current drivers, Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon, to form a team of proven talent and experience.
The Yoshimura SERT Motul team will begin its world title defense in the first round of the EWC class at the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans in France on April 17-18, 2021.
Yohei Kato – Team director:
« We are very happy to welcome these wonderful drivers including a test/reserve driver to our new team, Yoshimura SERT Motul.
In choosing riders for 2021, I focused on stability and dedication to the team, then speed and balance in the team. In making this decision, I respected the opinion of the team director, Damien, and I believe that we are able to have a very balanced team to protect the title.
Both Sylvain and Kazuki are very involved with the Yoshimura Suzuka 8 Hour team, and as you know, Sylvain was in charge of the development of Suzuki's MotoGP which won the world title last year. Kazuki is also the development lead for this project in EWC, and I am very grateful to him for his work.
Greg worked hard at SERT and led the team to win the championship title. Its start during Le Mans-type starts is always very impressive.
Xavier joined SERT in the middle of last year and has shown speed and consistency. During his career, he has honed his skills in the world's fastest speed competitions, such as Moto2 and MotoGP, and I expect further performances in 2021.
We are working very hard with our four drivers to defend the championship title. Thank you for your support. »
Sylvain Guintoli : " This new challenge is very exciting. I have already raced with Team SERT in the past (8 Doha 2010H) and three times with Team Yoshimura (Suzuka 8H), so it is great to be able to take on the challenge of the World Championship together. 'endurance. »
Greg Black : " After winning the World Endurance Championship in 2020, I am looking forward to the new season, especially with the support of Yoshimura, Suzuki and SERT. We also have a new collaboration with Bridgestone which will be very interesting. With the publication of the new official calendar, we now know that the first race will take place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in April, and I will therefore continue to prepare to be 100% for this first event of the season. »
Xavier Simeon : " I am very happy about the more intensive collaboration between SERT and Yoshimura. For 2021, the goal will be to keep this number one in the race. I feel at home with the Team and I enjoy riding the GSX-R 1000. I am also happy to welcome Sylvain and Kazuki to the Team, and with Gregg, I am sure we will make a good team. »
kazuki watanabe : " I am very proud and excited to be part of Yoshimura SERT Motul. I worked a lot to develop the bike for EWC last year. It was a new experience for me to focus on working as a test rider, and I was able to deepen my knowledge of the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-1000 R.
I'm really looking forward to hitting the track and would like to know how my teammates feel on the bike. It's a new challenge to compete in an EWC event other than Suzuka and I've never experienced a 24 hour race before, so I will do my best for the team »
