Clutch Fault Leaves Steve sidelined at Le Mans

After leading the Le Mans 24-hour race by just under a lap, Steve was disappointed to find the bike developed a clutch problem causing the team to withdraw from the event after just two hours on track.

Qualifying had gone well for Steve who was part of a three man team racing for the French World Endurance Team, GMT94 Yamaha and along with David Checa and Sebastian Gimbert, Steve powered the Yamaha through to second place on the grid for the start of the 24-hour race on Saturday.

The weather affected the qualifying times and also played its part during the race with sunshine and then intermittent heavy showers causing teams a headache for tyre choice.

Checa started the race for the team but stalled the engine on the starting grid and was down in 26th position at the end of the first lap. He soon recovered and made progress through the field, posting some fast lap times until the rain began to fall. He pitted for a change of tyres at the end of lap seven and handed over to Steve who was to ride for the next hour.

Steve was quick to capitalise on the situation and began to move through the field, finally taking the race lead as the SERT number two bike left the track for a change of rider.

As soon as he got his nose in front Steve began to pull away and was leading the race by nearly a full lap when he handed over to Gimbert who continued to extend the race lead. But disaster struck at Dunlop Bend a few laps later when the clutch exploded leaving Gimbert stranded and out of the race.

“I am so disappointed to be out of the race after just two hours. Although we had a long way to go, 22 hours, we had a commanding lead and would have been on for at least a podium finish if not the win.

“The whole team has put so much effort into this weekend of racing and this is a disappointing outcome for all of us. But the positive thing is that we know we can run at the front of the pack and we will determined to continue in the same vein at the Bol d’Or 24-hour race in September where we will be looking for a strong finish.”

Steve returns to action with AIM Yamaha on May 6 when he will ride the R1 Superbike in round three of the British Superbike championship.

STEVE BAGS SECOND ON GRID FOR LE MANS 24 HOUR RACE

Steve will start the first round of the FIM World Endurance championship, - the Le Mans 24-hour race - from second place on the grid after his team – GMT94 Yamaha recorded a combined time of 1.38.802s – just 0.32s behind the reigning world Champions SERT who took pole.

“We started practice on Tuesday afternoon for 90 minutes shared between all three riders. All went well with good weather conditions which allowed all three of us all to be well on the pace,” said Steve.

“Grid positions were determined from combined practice times and we ended qualifying last night (Thursday) in second place, only three tenths slower than SERT Suzuki and eight tenths faster than Kawasaki France.

“ The first session was dry (Gimbert fastest), second session spitting with rain (Checa second fastest) and my session also spitting (second fastest).

“We’re competitive on race tyres and confident, but the biggest enemy is the weather with showers forecast all race.”

The 24-hour endurance race will begin on Saturday at 3pm CET – (2pm BST) with the three riders, David Checa, Sebastian Gimbert and Steve taking turn about to ride the bike throughout the 24 hours.