After a superb late victory charge during Friday’s Race 1, 18-year-old Lehman once again pounced at precisely the right moment to secure his second win of the weekend and ensure he would be the overall winner of the Yamaha R7 European Cup SuperFinale.
After impressing in their respective national R7 Cups and Challenges, 28 riders from 11 different countries lined up on the grid for Saturday’s Race 2 in front of the tens of thousands of fans watching on from the grandstands at the 87th edition of the historic Bol d’Or in Le Castellet, France.
Once more, the 5.777km Circuit Paul Ricard layout, which saw the R7 riders riding the full track with the chicane halfway down the Mistral straight, provided the perfect setting for some dramatic racing action thanks to its fast, flowing nature.
Starting from pole, Lehmann got a superb jump off the line to lead into the first corner and over the opening laps, there was an intense battle at the front, with a leading group of 14 separated by less than 2.8s and constantly swapping places, as the slipstream down the Mistral straight allowed for any breakaways at the front to be quickly countered.
In the early stages, Manuel Margarito, Eric Molina, and Devis Bergamini looked to be in control at the front, with Lehmann dropping down as low as ninth at one point. As the race progressed, Peristeras and Folger manoeuvred themselves into podium contention, and slowly but surely, Lehmann started to pick off the riders in front. The German rider hit the front, with his compatriot Folger in hot pursuit and Peristeras chasing hard,just before the red flag came out on lap seven due to a crash.
Having completed two-thirds race distance, that meant the results were based on the riders’ positions as they crossed the line at the end of lap six. This saw Lehmann awarded the victory by 0.387s ahead of last year’s winner Folger and Peristeras in third, just 0.736s off the win, with the Greek former R3 World Cup rider repeating his result from Race 1.
Highlighting the close racing on display for the fans watching at the track and on Yamaha Racing’s YouTube channel was the fact that only 1.868s separated the top eight riders.
In the Yamaha R7 European Cup SuperFinale, the points from both races are combined to give the overall standings. This meant that, after winning both races, Lehmann was crowned the winner with 50 points, while Folger, who finished fourth in Race 1, was second overall with 33 points, and Peristeras was third with 32 points, as the overall results matched the podium from Race 2.
Lennox Lehmann
Yamaha R7 European Cup SuperFinale Winner
“Wow! This feels amazing. I have really enjoyed the whole experience, the bike, the track, and getting to race in front of all of these fans was incredible. It has been a lot of fun. I have made some new friends here, and the whole atmosphere in the Yamaha R7 European Cup SuperFinale village has been great. Going home as the winner always feels good, and winning both races and taking the overall victory is incredible. I want to thank Yamaha, my team, and everyone involved with the Yamaha R7 European Cup SuperFinale for an awesome weekend.”
