The 21st Mondial du Quad of Pont de Vaux took place in Pont de Vaux (Ain) saw the victory for the second consecutive year of the Belgian team Piron, on a Yamaha 450 YZF ridden as last year by the trio Alexandre Piron/Stéphane Piron/Guy Meertens.

With 120 teams who have represented more than 20 nations, this unmissible event in the world of ATV had gathered the top riders with many winners of the previous years. A third of the competitors is made by pilots who are under 18, a proof of the increasing interest for this race.

The 3 rounds (3 hours on Saturday, 5 hours by night and 4 hours on Sunday) have seen many surprises on a so hard, fast and technical track. We have believed during a long time that the young trio Romain Couprie/Clément Jay/Anthony Jay maybe the fastest on the track, would have win. But in an endurance race, surprises are numerous.

In addition to the main event, the 12 Hours and its little sister the PDV Quad Contest, for the 1st time this year bike s could race on the mythical circuit of Pont de Vaux for the Défi Motos. Many activities as well as in Pont de Vaux than in the QuadExpo have attracted the public who was very numerous. Stephane Peterhansel was also there for making shows on the track with a Mitsubishi Pajero of the Paris Dakar, made as you know in Pont de Vaux.

This year, the organisation gave its best and wish to see you on August 22, 23 and 24 2008 on the meadow of Bresse for an event which is know as a very important date for the World ATV scene.

Christophe GARCIA

                     The Mondial 07 video

Pont de Vaux sauvé des eaux ! Regarding the track conditions, we perfectly know our ground and the professionals who are in charge are specialists in the site. We have been financing from several years, from the end of August the repairing of the track redrawing it and with a very deep harrowing of all the surface. This site has always been classified as a flooding area, and is subjected to regular and yearly floods. These ones are making a hydraulic compaction which is very good during the Spring. During the weeks before the race, since the last years we have been using several technics among which the most appreciated is a new light harrowing and immediate compaction. (According to the selected period, grass is growing very fast, if works aren't been done too early (ex 2006) pilots generally are inquiring about a grassy track ? !) Our experience proves that the grass roots are contributing to the maintenance of the track in the time. Grass disappears very soonly but the roots delay and protect against the damages of the track. For this year, after the usual harrowing of September 2006 : There was no flood of the meadow, the Winter was unusually cool and the floods of the Saone river were very slight. This disturbance has caused an alarming dryness of the clay since in April, clay which is the raw material was immediately turning into a thin dust. As we were thinking about the evolution of the works, bad weather arrived with steady rains between May and August. At your level and at the pilots level who are complaining you have to know that since more than 30 years, the 2007 Summer has beaten the records for rainfalls and even has beaten the 1977 record everybody remembers it ! (national weather sources : available for everybody on internet). For eg, on Monday evening (September 17), in less than 1 hour it rained more than the average of a September month (weather sources). However that may be and I repeat you the conditions of the track this year with water at less than 20cm under the surface (see the level of the Saone with its affluents Reyssouze and canal and the rising of the water by seepage), it was impossible to use the machines with their drivers on the track. An attempt has been made on Saturday morning, on the back part of the corns and had to be stopped because the grader immediately got stuck (see the tracks imputed wrongly to Peterhansel's Mitsubishi). In the valley, the meadow which is at our disposal for the 12 Hours is only made of clay which layer is varying between 2 m and 4m (between Chalon sur Saone and near Lyon). Underneath there is constantly water even during the dry years. To this you have to add, the excess of rainfalls during several months over a large part of France and Northern Europa, which has caused an important flood of the Saone river in August. In these extremely rare cases for the Summer season even if we act on the floodgates which are on the river walls, water arrives by infiltration (as a comparison : the clay layer is acting like the lid of a pressure cooker). The miracle is that from Wednesday evening 10.00pm after we had the last local rainfalls, the good weather was back for 5 days ! If the bad weather has been held : 1° Maybe the race would have been cancelled 2° At best,maybe we would have been compelled to put back the setting up in the paddocks and certainly the race would have been shortened with neutralizations during the 3 rounds. We will let you know about the next facilities voted for 2008 in addition to all what has been done on the site for the last 21 years (security, lights, electricity, water, visitors access etc...). We are very sorry for having been unable to offer the pilots a track with the quality they are used to. All our team is working hard during 11 months in order to make this event develop, succeed since more than 20 years, in making it exist and progress in the face of the problems we are confronted with every day. We spare you the authorizations concerning security, environment questions for the Euro areas Natura 2000 and Bio Top etc..., the many administrations, taxes. Our race direction, the Union Motocycliste de l'Ain, is working hard to manage this event with for this organization an incomparable experience concerning the bikes and quads domains. Please note that for this year, there was only one minor injured pilot during the first round ! and some are talking about security ! We have also improved security with more airing in the paddocks making free the area on the right side of the safety lane and with 12 new marshalls (from ASA automobile). We thank all the pilots who have been attending Pont de Vaux for several years without whom nothing could have been done and we assert our wish to always make everything for the success and the development of the ATV sport. We hope to everyone a better 2008 season and a very good 22nd edition.

Mondial round 3
Sunday 26, 01h00pm - 05h00pm
Piron, deux fois !

After 12 Hours and a very hard battle, the Belgian team Piron is very proud to be the winner of Pont de Vaux, two years consecutive.

The rhythm of the start of the 3rd and last round of this 21st Mondial du Quad was crazy. At less than one lap ahead the Belgian team, last year winner, the Jay’s Brothers and Romain Couprie know very well that mistake is not admitted. Very close to their adversaries, the Frenchmen fight very hard from the start whereas the Honda TRX n°8 hasn’t repaired his failure occurred 10 minutes before the end of the night round.

However the Polaris of Doug Eichner and Pascal de Palma is there : in less than 6 laps he came from the 75th to 24th place after 40 minutes racing. The most impressive at the beginning of the race is Gregory Lassaigne who is eager to come back after the difficulties during the night. Very quickly he takes the lead followed by the Wtec n°87 of the Belgian Brem/Vlaeymans and the Dutchman Hofmans. These last will fall further the assaults of the Yamaha n°117 Maessen/freund/Beda who disappeared at the end of the ranking during the 2nd round and succeed in taking the 1st place at the end of these 4 last hours.

After a very exceptional performance (24th of the 2nd and 23rd after the addition of the two rounds), the Suzuki LTR n°29 of Sylvain Gonod/Cyril Clavier/David Sousa refuelled with ethanol is fighting hard. With a very bad start, slowly they came back from the 69th place to the 28th place. But fighting hard in Pont de Vaux means also damages. The Polaris n°5 Eichner/De Palma gave up after several failures, the YZF n°10 Couprie/Jay/Jay gives up because of a problem with the oil radiator whearas the swing arm of the n°3 Lassaigne/Broyer breaks down.

It’s very hard to mention all the performances of the different teams as the Suzuki LTR n°110 Monin/Bonnard/Ciclet or the steady rhythm of the YZF n°1 as the LTR n°103 Gilli//Frederick/Holz. With a nice finish they escape all the dangers, the winner team in 2006 renews his exploit that only the GB/US team ATV World-Duncan Racing performed before.

Christophe GARCIA

Photos : Stephane Galliez / Sportimage.fr

Photos : Bill "WBGO" Lanphier

Photos : Stephane Galliez / Sportimage.fr

Mondial round 2
Saturday 25 / Sunday 26,
08h00pm - 01h00am
Piron, une fois !

Only a few minutes to wait before Pont de Vaux changed the deal, a secret it used to, with the Belgian Team Piron who have a great hope to renew their last year exploit.

Indeed just before the first refuellings planned by some teams at the beginning of this night round, the final ranking was totally changed with the lasting stop of the n°10 in the pits. Because of electrical troubles it only started at the 81st position but are going to reach the 6th at one hour before the night round, then second : a real festival !

Big troubles too for the n°3 since Lassaigne/Broyer/Lassaigne are slown down by an electrical problem and then exhaust. Came from the 34th to the 2nd place (!), they will be delayed at 11.30 pm. Big heat for the YZF n°108 Hartout/Debouck/remacle pointed at the 2nd position at midnight, such as the n°103 4th at the same hour.

Despite a puncture the n°8, will remain the leader during all the round. Then at less than 30 minutes before the arrival, the swing arm broke down and made an hole in the motor casing. For Polaris n°5, the diagnostic was serious with a change of valve decided by the team. Doug Eichner won’t win for the 8th time in Pont de Vaux this year. The Polaris started again at 11.00 pm, certainly for testing and to try to be present in the 3rd and last heat.

The other Outlaw n°116 Chevrot/Adam/Adam save the honour with the 5th place at 1h00am. Very nice come back for the Spanish team Farres/Planella/Guzman of Trivimon (YZF n°9) 4rd after having been in the middle of the rankings at 9.00 pm.

Guy Meertens with his teammate Alexandre and Stéphane Piron took the lead of the night heat but game isn’t over. After 2 heats the Yamaha YZF n°10 remain the leaders but is followed very closely by the Belgian team. The battle of the last heat will surely be very hard.

Christophe GARCIA

Photos : Stephane Galliez / Sportimage.fr

Mondial
1st round
Saturday 25, 03h00pm - 06h00pm

Tonnerre de Bresse !

Christophe GARCIA

Photos : Stephane Galliez / Sportimage.fr

Mondial practices
Saturday 25, 10:00am - 12:00am
With Summer weather conditions, at 10.00 am on Saturday 25 of August, the 120 teams have started for 2 hours before the 21st Mondial du Quad.

On a very muddy track, all the riders have tested the riding conditions during more than 1 hour, at the frontline are teams that have never been noticed by the public during the past years. Since last year, the deal has been changed as the 2 stroke engine Yamaha Banshee has been beaten by another Yamaha model the 4 strokes engine YZF 450. This year a new era has begun with only one 2 strokes engine, the Yamaha Banshee n°22 of the Scottish team “Out of Control “.

It’s only at the end of the session that things get clearest with the pole position realised at the last minutes by Yamaha Motor france n°10 Romain Couprie/Clément Jay/A. Jay with 2’57”832. At the second position is the Honda TRX n°8, Honda France with A. Sousa Borges/C. Lamet/J. Natalie (USA). Among the first ten, the TRX and 3 Suzuki LTR are with 6 Yamaha YZF.

All the big riders are in the meadow : Lassaigne, Broyer, Couprie, Jay or Lamet for France, against Eichner (USA), Piron, Mertens (B), Vinara, Vega, Farres (ESP), Maessen (NL), Davies, Tordof (GB), Reid (Irll). It’s impossible to give all the name of the World top riders who came to fight for a victory, the absolute consecration.

Christophe GARCIA

Photos : Christophe GARCIA

Quad Contest
race
Sunday 26, 09h00am - 11h00am
There was no doubt concerning the ambitions of Gregory Anique and Jean Baptiste Chaudot who took the lead over the PDV Quad Contest race, which took place from 9.00 to 11.00 am on Sunday 26 of August.

However Gilles Abgrall for whom it was a come back with the Dutchman Hugo de Vries made a good race with his VLS KTM n°28.

From the start, the Yamaha 450 YZF n°3 took the head but the gap with the VLS n°8 get stabilised very shortly. Victim of a serious injury several years ago, Gilles Abgrall has shown how he was talentous.

The Suzuki LTR N)25 l4Huiller/Grappin changed between the 3rd and 7th position before finishing at the 6th whereas the Kawasaki KFX Libolt/Bonnet was in danger until the end by the LTR Martin/Guiou.

All over the ranking there were very nice fights between the riders very well prepared for an event which remains a real step before entering the Mondial du Quad of Pont de Vaux.

Christophe GARCIA

Photos : Stephane Galliez / Sportimage.fr

Quad Contest
practices
Saturday 25, 09h00am - 09h30am
The AMPV (Association Motocycliste de Pont de Vaux) has been organizing the PDV Quad Contest since 10 years at the same time as the Mondial du Quad. The race is a real promotional formula, a first step before the main event.

If the 60 teams are essentially French pilots, it’s worth noting the participation of a Dutchman (RST KTM n°28), a Spanish rider (Goes n°60), a Swedish (RS KTM n°59), Italians (Honda TRX n°56) and English riders (VLS Rotax n°26). From 9h00, the Quad Contest has been launched for half an hour timed practices on very muddy track due to the bad weather conditions until the beginning of the week. However from its second laps the team L’Huilllier/Grappin/ (Suzuki LTR n°25) made its best time 3’25’’360 but couldn’t avoid Anique/Chaudot (Yamaha YZF n°3) to realise the pole position at its 7th and last lap 3’19’’834. If these last seem to be unreachable for the Sunday race between 9h00 am and 11.00 am, it’s not the same for the following 10 teams. But we know that the PDV track is very selective. Surprises may occur and there is no doubt that the practices hierarchy will be changed during the race.

Christophe GARCIA

Photos : Stephane Galliez / Sportimage.fr

Défi motos
round 2
Sunday 26, 11h45am - 12h15pm
Les duettistes

For this 2nd race , Sébastien Midali n°18 and David Sousa n°17 were obviously the leaders with their Suzuki RMZ.

The result however uncertain since the second named took the lead since the beginning and stayed ahead Midali during nearly half of the race.

The 18 took advantage on the 17, and took the lead until the end maybe because Sousa was tired after the hard fight. However they finished in the same lap. Behind them the battle was superb.

Franck Boulisset and Jérôme Lagrange kept their 3rd and 4th place but several pilots finished the race with only a few seconds between them. After half an hour on a difficult track, the duals were very nice . According to pilots this experience has to be renewed as the pleasure was great and let’s bet that there will be many entries for the Mondial du quad 2008.

Christophe GARCIA

Photos : Stephane Galliez / Sportimage.fr

Défi motos
round 1
Saturday 25, 06h45pm - 07h15pm
The same riders but not the same places

The 1st race of the Defi Motos was very surprising. David Sousa who outrageously was the leader of the practices has been surprised by Sebastien Midali. This one apparently had a better knowledge of the track deeply damaged by ruts after the 1st heat of the Mondial du Quad.

The 2 Suzuki have finished at more than one lap before the 3rd Jérôme Lagrange Yamaha YZF n°6, who hadn’t reach the 5th position at the end of the practices.

Richard Devevey (KTM Exc n°1) finished at 15 seconds after the n°6 at the end of the half an hour rac, that is to say 18 laps for the 2 firsts. It’s worth noting that the riders didn’t ride on the totality of the circuit but only on the part in front of the pits and the QuadExpo.

However the track is made of long straight lines, curves, an excellent combination of what the cross is made of. The second race will take place on Sunday 26 from 11h45 am to 12h15.

Christophe GARCIA

Photos : Stephane Galliez / Sportimage.fr

Défi motos
practices
Saturday 25, 02h00pm - 02h15pm
Among the innovations of this 21st Mondial du Quad, Maurice Maingret and his team have imagined to organise a race for the bikes on the mythical circuit of Pont de Vaux.

With 17 bikes on the start line, each rider could discover a fast and technical track but had to ride with the tracks left by the quads which are not necessary adapted for 2 wheels. However all agreed with the fact that it’s a real pleasure and a great experience . Within this context David Sousa n°17, realised the pole position before another Suzuki RMZ, (Sebastien Midal n°18. The KTM n°1 of Richard Devevey is at 10 seconds after the leader. But times are very close at the end of the practices, suspense will be there on the race of Sunday.

Christophe GARCIA

Photos : Christophe GARCIA