The Kawasaki ZX-10R number 11 ridden by Grégory Leblanc, Fabien Foret and Mathieu Lagrive has won the first round of the prestigious 24 hours endurance Le Mans race. The team Kawasaki SRC has made 28 pit stops doing 819 laps in 24 hours. They have won the race with 9 laps ahead of the second classified team participated in the Le Mans Endurance World Championship 2016.The 39th edition of the world famous endurance race “24 Hours of Le Mans Moto” taken place on the French track of Le Mans Bugatti Circuit. There were more than 70,000 spectators present to witness the endurance skill of both men and machines. The Kawasaki SRC team has won the Le Mans for the fifth time in the last seven years. The Kawasaki ZX-10R bike ridden by three riders of team Kawasaki SRC almost exclusively used Pirelli standard DIABLO™ Superbike SC1 tyres both at the front and rear end.
The Kawasaki SRC team made 28 pit-stops in 24 hours achieving a total of 819 laps. They have completed the race with a lead of 9 laps on the runner-up, the Team “April Moto Motors Events” shod by Dunlop, and 11 laps on the team which finished third, the F.C.C. TSR Honda on Bridgestone tyres.The Kawasaki ZX-10R began and finished the race on the standard Pirelli tires with the exception for the rest of the race where the rain has forced the Kawasaki riders to use the wet tyres DIABLO™ Rain and DIABLO™ Wet. The tyres performed with great versatility and superior performance even when, during the night, the air temperature had fallen below zero degree.
To complete the entire race during the tenure of 24 hours the bike number 11 of the Kawasaki SRC team used a total of 28 rear and 14 front tyres. On an average every front tire lasts for 244 Kms whereas they need to change the rear tire after every 122 Kms distance traveled. In the 24 hour marathon which is held regularly since 1978 on the "Bugatti" circuit of Sarthe, France, the Kawasaki SRC team has achieved the highest podium finishes by winning this fifth edition after those won in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
By: Farhan Kashif
