Xavier Siméon at 24 Hours of Le Mans Motorcycles: “To honor our first place”

This weekend the FIM EWC kicks off and as tradition dictates, this new season begins with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will be followed in full live video on RTBF Auvio and RTBF.be/sport.

The 45 version that looks promising with a particularly strong lineup. Among the pilots involved, we clearly found Xavier Simeon. The Brussels driver who was crowned world champion last year with SERT, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, will have the number one wearing privilege.

It’s the smiling and relaxed Xavier Siméon we meet in the pastures at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans. Thanks to his World Champion title with SERT Team Suzuki, the Etterbeek native is relatively confident before tackling this new season: “I arrive in the best possible conditions to handle this 24 Hours of Le Mans. The SERT team is still ambitious. I still have the same bike and the same crew, the French Greg Black and others . The team worked well over the winter to improve on some small details that may not have been perfect last year. So we will be competitive but we still have to keep our feet on the ground. The event is still running for 24 hours and we know a lot can happen during the double rotation of the clock.”.

We strive to achieve duality in Le Mans

A double course clock that Xavier knows well and especially appreciates since the Brussels native actually won at Sarthe last year…. “It’s true that it’s a race that I like. We got on the podium two years ago and won last year. That victory was a catalyst for the team that then won the Bol d, and we’ll still be aiming for the podium, or even winning this year because I repeat, it’s still the 24 Hours.” It’s very very long and it will be very hot this weekend in Le Mans.So we have to see for now but we have very clear instructions from SERT and the Japanese from Suzuki.We will have to stay careful and do the job without getting too excited.We have three races for 24 1 hour this year, including the return from Spa in June, plus 8 hours from Suzuka so the most important thing here is to get back as many points as possible. We can expect a very good race. We saw in qualifying that a lot of teams broke the record “It is important. I think at least five teams can win. I think especially for factory bikes like Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda. and BMW cars “

It’s a positive pressure that pushes us up

With this case #1, the SERT team will have to manage the pressure, which doesn’t really seem to be a concern to Xavier Siméon and his colleagues, who are used to this situation: “That’s not a problem for us. Last year, there was already pressure on SERT which underwent major changes and that was expected to happen. That will be the case again this year, sure the pressure is there but it’s positive pressure pushing us up. I And my teammates are ready. We have prepared well during the winter to get to the top here at Le Mans but as I already said you have to keep your feet on the ground and this will be the case every time before the endurance race. Hopefully we can go to the end of these 24 hours with a good result in the key”.

boiling hot crowd

So the goal is clear for Xavier Simeone and his SERT team, to keep this world title and this number 1 on the bike with why not a good result in the cauldron of the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans where more than 70,000 spectators are expected this weekend. The ultimate in Brussels driver fun: “The last two editions were organized behind closed doors for the reasons we know. This year, it’s really good to be back with the audience. The spectators and motorcycle enthusiasts are very present. On Friday, they were already many in the parking lot for the autograph sessions. The audience is boiling. I rarely saw this I hope Suzuki fans will lead us to victory….”.