Motorcycle specifications SuzukiGSX-R 1000 endurance SERT 2011 Méliand's weapon

is there any need to introduce the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team? More commonly known as SERT, this team represents Endurance racing in its own right. An icon, a benchmark, which has often won, sometimes doubted, always fought to the end.

in this team, the two most emblematic figures are without doubt Dominique Méliand and the Suzuki GSX-R. Méliand is the team manager. Le Chef, as the members of the SERT call him. A man of extraordinary efficiency and aura: when he speaks, everyone stops moving and listens; when his bike is running, everyone watches to see what he's going to do. And when it comes to endurance, no one knows more than he does: he was around before the GSX-R 1000 existed, and even before the GSX-R 750 existed. His first victory dates back to 1980: the 1000 km of Zwelteg.
Since then, the SERT has won every type of event: Bol d'Or, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Liège, Nurburgring, Suzuka, Albacete, Doha, Mugello, Silverstone... The list goes on. On Dominique's shelves are 10 very special trophies: those of endurance world champion.

but the team is not invincible. Christophe Guyot and GMT 94 regularly steal the show and the victories. Kawasaki also gives it a hard time, then and now. BMW has recently joined the fray. But Le Chef has unrivalled experience and a first-rate weapon: the GSX-R 1000.

the GSX-R is linked to Méliand like a rear wheel to a swingarm. In fact, Suzuki considers the man to be the machine's uncle. Under its blue-and-white coat of arms, the Hammamatsu sports bike is one of the most followed motorcycles, both literally and figuratively. Anyone familiar with the SERT was taken aback by the 2011 livery. A healthy dose of yellow has taken over the bike's clothing. The explanation is simple: Dunlop has invested a lot more this year; in return, the SERT is giving it more visibility.
The GSX-R is not only imposing in its presence, but also in its size. It's not a small bike, far from it, but that doesn't stop it from being exceptionally agile. Super-light OZ magnesium rims and near-prototype tires have a lot to do with it. A good slimming treatment reduces the weight by almost 20 kilos, to 185 kg fully loaded.

In endurance racing, it's all about going fast, but the priority is to ride for a long time. In terms of power, the team modestly confesses to 195 hp. In reality, there's a lot more in the boiler, but the exact figures are a secret - indeed, none of the top teams specify the real power developed by their bikes. Finding horsepower, torque and, above all, engine availability, is the job of the ECU and the Yoshimura parts grafted onto this rocket (clutch, camshafts, etc.). A pair of Titanium Devil exhausts take care of the exhaust.
If you get the chance to get up close and personal, linger a long time and detail that superb front end. It single-handedly sums up 'endurance' and what it takes to venture out there. We're in the top league, of course, but the recipe for all teams is the same: save time. The Suzuki is equipped with gear that would make any tracker drool. It starts with a 43 mm Showa factory fork. Around it you'll find a sensor to inform data acquisition on tube penetration, Nissin 6-piston radially-mounted calipers connected to a Nissin master cylinder - between them, Staübli junctions allow hoses to be separated in 1 second. But check out the additional parts and plates on the lower fork. These allow the brake calipers to be swivelled without dismantling the mudguard, so the wheel can be removed in a flash. Try it yourself: disassemble the front axle and try to remove the wheel without disassembling either the mudguard or the calipers...... Less visible but even more complex, the rear wheel change system allows you to change the shoe in less than 5 seconds, the longest part being unscrewing and then screwing back in the axle.
Riding for long periods of time means changing your gumshoes and rider regularly and in a hurry, and refueling promptly. The 24-liter fuel tank is fitted with 2 Zenith valves into which fuel discharges at an average rate of 6 liters/second. With a full tank, the bike can run on the track for around 55 minutes.

however formidable a tool it may be, the SERT GSX-R 1000 is no absolute weapon. It won the qualifying rounds and the 2011 Bol d'Or, but was beaten to the punch in Albacete. Suzuka being the Japanese stronghold, let's not add it to the equation. 2 races remain, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 8 Hours of Doha, to determine who will be the 2011 Endurance World Champion. Like every year, the SERT is aiming for this goal, and will do everything in its power to achieve it. Will this ultra-prepared GSX-R do the job? Of course not! An Endurance victory is the work and commitment of an entire team. But when you've got a machine like this between your paws, what do you want to do but want to win?

M.B
Photo credits: Cyril Douyère - Yffic narbonne - Suzuki racing