Motorcycle specifications SuzukiGSX-R 1000 endurance Motors-Events 2011 From concession to victory

in the World Endurance Championship, 95% of racing is done in two categories: eWC, whose technical features are very similar to those of Superbikes, making it possible to compete at a very high level; and Superstock, whose regulations are more restrictive, but whose performance is nonetheless formidable.

it's in the latter category that the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 #50 of the Motors Events Bodyguard AMT insurance team has chosen to fight... and win. But before we take a closer look, let's have a quick debrief on the differences between the two worlds.
At the very beginning, you take a standard wheel, like the one available at any dealership. Then, if you've got the budget to match, you opt for the EWC option. You can change a lot of things: replace the forks with 15-bar Öhlins, add radiators, change the swingarm and brake calipers, optimize the engine, etc. All of which can save you 3 to 4 seconds per lap over the Superstock bikes. However, this category is also interesting because it demonstrates the real performance of a motorcycle, not just a rocket that's been kittenishly rocketed. Quite simply, you're limited everywhere in terms of what you can do on it! Just optimize it for endurance racing, but there's no question of turning it into a MIG-28 like the SERT or GMT.

would we go so far as to say that you can buy a big Gex on Monday and do the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the following Saturday/Sunday? No, we wouldn't. There's still a lot of work to be done to prepare the bike for an endurance race. Let's go to the workshop with Hervé Moineau (the team manager), prepare the tools, consult the racing parts catalog and call Mr Debrouille, Jin Provise and Dédé Merdetoi's buddy.
step 1: Get naked! Really? Oh, yes! We remove the fairing, the tank, the headlights, the pots, the.... Wait, wait, I thought we couldn't do anything. Not exactly, we're much more limited. Here's an example. In EWC, you can change the whole fork to a quasi MotoGP model - In superstock, it has to stay original but you can change what's inside, like the oil or the springs. While we're on the subject of suspension, the original monoshock is replaced by a Swedish TTX36.

let's go back to our listing and take a closer look. The original fairing, with all its screws and multiple parts, takes 6 quarters of an hour to replace. Now it's a two-part poly painted in the main sponsor's colors; 15 seconds to dismantle, 20 to reassemble. The fuel tank is subcontracted to a workshop to inflate its capacity to 24 liters, and allow a relay to catch the hour's ride. The rims are original, and the Dunlop tires mounted on them are available to all teams in the paddock. As for braking, it doesn't take much to improve it. The calipers are left untouched, but aviation hoses and an Italian PR19 radial master-cylinder offer much greater feel and consistency with less effort. Discs and pads are also replaced, and the hoses are fitted with Staübli fittings for quick replacement. In the same vein, the oil filler hole is not closed by a cap, but by a small valve allowing 2-second top-up via a small pressurized bottle.

the general idea is simple: go fast, and be able to replace everything quickly. The rider has not been forgotten, and is entitled to a whole series of little refinements for his comfort and performance. Mathieu Gines, Vincent Bocquet, William Grarre and Emilien Humeau are all seated on a saddle that's catapulted to nearly 300 mph. No two are the same size, so a compromise position has to be found for each. A pair of adjustable footrests will help them to find the most effective support possible. A few electronic reinforcements will make life a little easier: a shifter for shifting gears with a kick of the boot without stopping to accelerate, a pit limiter for setting the maximum speed allowedas the GSX-R offers neither ABS nor traction control as standard equipment, the team is not allowed to add this kind of co-driver. However, the regulations do allow such assistance if the manufacturer offers it on his road model. Nevertheless, the Suz is fitted with a Yoshimura kit harness that's simpler and more efficient than the original one (who cares about managing blinkers and other knick-knacks on a racing bike?)

let's get to the heart of the Gex: its engine. No need to dive in without its innards, it's the same as the one at the local dealer. By law, it has to be original, as does the radiator, and you're not allowed to install additional cooling. The 4-cylinder thus offers its standard output of around 185 hp; but the Laser pots (there must be two, as on the standard millstone) free up its breath, which must bring its ardour to around 190 bhp. Although the engine cannot be tampered with, mechanics can change the line and exhausts, and protect it with GBR crankcase parts.gBRacing crankcase components, and must install breather pipes connected to jars to collect the fluids.

that's enough to keep you busy for a good hundred hours in the workshop. This GSX-R 1000 isn't fundamentally different from any Gex L1 you'll come across on the road, but it's polished, optimized and fitted with a whole series of little extras that turn it into an endurance grinder. Once it's ready, it's checked, monitored and pampered throughout the week of the competition, only to be abused, whipped and sometimes maimed by its drivers in their pursuit of victory. This is where endurance racing comes into its own, where the weeks of hard work find their fulfilment: in the symbiosis of team and bike, in the fiery relays optimized by the work of the mechanics, in the constant stress that takes you from doubt to hope. In 2011, the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 was a tool - not the best, but the easiest, the most proven, the most consistent. And like all tools, it's not the tool that ensures victory, it's those who wield it. She's world champion, they're world champions!

M.B - Photos Greg Rattin

Editor's note: I'd like to thank Hervé Moineau for the time he gave me, the sympathy of the Mothré clan, and all those involved in the 2011 Endurance World Championship.