The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team has won the FIM World Endurance Championship for the seventh time in eight years after holding off BMW Motorrad France 99 in a final round showdown in Qatar.
The series leaders had a far from ideal build-up to the final race with Daisaku Sakai picking up an injury days before the race. As a result, Vincent Philippe and Anthony Delhalle were forced to make up a two-man squad and although they couldn't secure victory, they did enough to clinch the title.
Yamaha France GMT 94 iPhone were victorious in the '8 Hours of Doha' after taking control in the second half of the race with SERT keeping a close eye on their BMW rivals in an attempt to protect their nine point lead.
With half an hour to go, the defending champions made a precautionary pit stop which allowed the BMW outfit through into second but that wasn't enough to take the title, with Delhalle following Erwan Nigon home 19 seconds behind, sealing the championship by four points.
Monster Yamaha – YART were a lap down in fourth while John McGuinness brought Honda TT Legends' impressive debut season to an end with fifth, matching their best result of the year. McGuinness was joined by Keith Amor and BSB EVO champion Glen Richards for the Losail event. With fifth places in the Bol d’Or and Le Mans 24 Hour event, the British-based squad finished seventh overall in the championship standings.