Without wanting to rub salt in the wound, the retirement at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the KM99 team made its first appearance, was painful. The morale took a hit! As true professionals, the entire team gathered together and identified the few malfunctions.
For the home race last weekend in Spa, the objective was simple: reach the finish at all costs, and of course, if it was at a good position, it would be the icing on the cake!
With three days of testing during the “Bikers Days”, the team prepared the best way they could to succeed in their home race.
« We are very happy with this result," confided Mario Küpper, the team manager. «With a completely new team, finishing in sixth position is truly a result we were expecting. We delivered a good race, our bike had no technical issues, and our Dunlop tires allowed us to maintain a high pace throughout the 24 hours. Of course, we can always have regrets. Without our two crashes, we could have finished in fifth position. However, aiming higher was impossible under normal circumstances, but endurance racing is unpredictable...»
When Mario mentions the two crashes, the first one by Bastien Mackels and the second one by Lucas Mahias, he quickly adds, "In our misfortune, we were fortunate. Those were spectacular crashes, and for the same outcome, the bike could have been destroyed or simply immobilized for a long time in the pit. Fortunately, we kept believing, and as the hours passed, we climbed up to the sixth position. Ahead of us are five factory bikes!"
We can say that the KM99 team is off to a good start
Establishing an EWC team is no easy task, but Gaëtan Schyns and Mario Küpper have succeeded. "There are many people in the team," Mario continues. "Each one had to find their place. For them, it's also a reward. I also want to extend a big thank you to YMRE, who represents the Yamaha Racing service, for their support. We can feel that the brand takes us into account, and it's really uplifting!”
In the first week of August, the KM99 team will head to the eight hours of Suzuka. It's a tremendous challenge that will allow the team to further improve!
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