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Photos : Pascal Damiani
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This 23rd edtion has been won after a hard fight of Jean Michel Abfalter with his teammates Yoann Gilloin and Mathieu Bonnard on their Suzuki 450 LTR n°32. Ten years ago Jean Michel Abfalter was the winner of Pont de Vaux. Pont de Vaux has kept its promises and never riders have fought so hardly for the final result. A very good vintage which proves that big names of the Wolrd ATV are dreaming of winning in the meadow of Bresse.
After all the emotions, we are very pleased with the figures : |
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Photos : Pascal Damiani
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This 23rd edtion has been won after a hard fight of Jean Michel Abfalter with his teammates Yoann Gilloin and Mathieu Bonnard on their Suzuki 450 LTR n°32. Ten years ago Jean Michel Abfalter was the winner of Pont de Vaux. The American KTM N°2 realised the holeshot at the beginning of this third and last session, they really wanted to keep the first position reached at the end of the two first sessions. He was determined and was the first to go out the start grid for the 4 hours of this last session in front of the Honda n°108 Winrow/Beda/Waggott, the amazing Honda TRX n°31 of the Swiss Zimmermann/Stebler/Egli and the YZF n°111 Lassaigne. But after already 8 hours racing, riders and machines have hardly been put to the test thick and fast and by a track which is getting more and more difficult. After only 30 minutes, penalties one after the others are falling, with disapointments for many teams among whom are some favourite such as the n°2 and n°111, whereas the Ligier n°110 Mangieu/Bonnard/Estelle reaches the 6th place behind the Polaris n°21 Chevrot/Revoy/Adam. After the night, the Austrian brand was at the place of honour with the n°72 from Bresse who was ranked at the 11th place of the provisional ranking. At 1.30 pm this Sunday, Bouillet/Broyer/Fèvre were leaders and the Team Bresse Quad Racing finished at the 7th place of the final ranking.The Polish Rafal Sonik has been also very brillant as during a long time his YZF n°30 was at the 5th. After having changed their engine the Americans n°2, begin a last ditch struggle such as the n°4 Vinchon/Druet/Afflard and the n°5 Remacle/Lamet/Ternynck or the Suzuki n°16 Bertrand/Rame/De Palma. The more time is flying away the more the victory of the n°32 is obvious but we know that in Pont de Vaux nothing is sure. The American are definitely out of race and the French public is keeping an eye on the YZF N°102 Maessen/Ten Vregelaar and the W-Tec n°8 Vlaeymans/Brems/Hofmans. However the n°32 Team Comas Racing wont't give up and will win this final victory. This 23rd edition of Pont de Vaux has kept its promises and never riders have fought so hardly for the final result. A very good vintage which proves that big names of the Wolrd ATV are dreaming of winning in the meadow of Bresse. |
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Photos : www.fullgaz.com
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The riders who regularly take part to Pont de Vaux know all the good tricks of this wonderful race. Most of them stopped just before the checkered flag to refuel. Indeed the final ranking is often played during these five hours and the big riders are trying to impose themselves as soon as possible. However Jean Michel Abfalter, winner in 1999, is going to lead during the first laps after having made the best start before the quad n°2 but he will leave his place to the n°7 Wildamn/Baldwin/Bunce. However the timing post will show a ranking which will unexpectedly change. Indeed the American Yamaha n°104 is going to be in the deep rankings, the Can Am 111 and 23 are also slowing down their speed and the second hour begins in an unexpected ranking. The Polaris n°21 Thierry Chevrot leads the round before the n°41 and the YZF N°4 Vinchon/Druet/Afflard. The ranking is very important for riders as well as for the brands present at Pont de Vaux. The manufacturers know that a victory in Bresse is known the World over. At this end end of the 1st session 6 makers were among the first 8. Polaris, Honda, Yamaha, CanAm, W-Tec are fighting hard to be the first during this night in Pont de Vaux. In a endurance race it’s very hard to follow the ranking lap by lap, it’s all the more true during the night. The official timing shows however that the fight was hard for the first place. After one hour, the 23rd was only one lap behind the 1st n°21 and at the mid of the race there still was 4 machines in the same lap 8 The American n°2 was the favourite, whereas the N°4 Mickael Vinchon, Clément Druet and Sébastien Afflard with the n°32 are fighting hard against the KTM but is delayed by an electronical trouble. The n°97 Freund/Plante/Ristenbieter joined the fight like the LTR n°10 of the Belgian Leroy/Boland/Cluydts where the n°108 (change of engine) and 111 are excluded from victory even if Greg Lassaigne will offer a comeback to his team. The Suzuki n°103 allart/Hartout/Raimondi is doing more than fighting whereas n°77 seems to have not suffered of the start of fire in the pits during the first lap. One hour before the end of the night round the final ranking final is still unknown. A spécial award to this 23rd édition of Pont de Vaux, new pilots and very young riders have entered. Among them the KTM n°17 Helewell/Seal/Tyson (18 years), the YZF N°29 Vidal/Santos/Rodriguez (16 years), the LTR n °91 Martin/Mangeot (16 years)/Deus (15 years). The sprint will last until 1.00 am and places won’t stop changing. At the end this session the teams n°10, 32 and 2 finish in this order and the same lap on Sunday 1.00 to 7.00, the third and last session is very suspensfull.
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Photos : www.fullgaz.com
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So many people has never been seen before on the meadow of Bresse to attend the start of the first 3 laps of the Mondial du Quad. The round lasted 3 hours, the tricolor flag of the race manager Jean Louis Staelens dropped at 3.05pm to give the start to the 110 riders. Ten less than last year to allow a better access to the pits. Paul Winrow N°108 has been delayed by his circuit breaker. He was behind the KTM n°2 who made the holeshot ahead the Suzuki LTR n°32 Gilloin/Bonnard/Abfalter, the 450 Can Am of Lassaigne /Pelchat/Warnia n°111 and the 450 Yamaha n° 104 of the Americans Balance/Kiser/Sommers. When he passed the timing post for the first time, Lassaigne has already lost some places whereas Piwi reached the 4th. At the end of the first lap the ranking was as follows : the n°2, 108, 104, 32 and 1 (Jay/Couprie), a gap between them and the LTR n°7 of the British Wildman/Baldwin/Bunce and the YZF N°13 of the French Cheurlin/Marin/Puydauby not expected at a such good place. The first refuelings changed the rankings but everyone get back to his place after a stop in the pits. First coup de théâtre of the 12 Hours 2009 Clément Jay fell down after a jump. Romain Couprie went to collect the YZF n°2 and to bring it back to the paddocks whereas Clément slowly recovered. We also could note some teams in the leaders such as Honda n°41 Murphy/MacBeth, the Yamaha n°104 Balance/Kiser/Sommers or very nice comebacks such as Honda TRX n°106 of Clemente/Souza Borger/Torraco but above all the WTec n°8 of Vlaeymans/Brems/Hofmans at the 20th place at the end of the first lap. The n°108 lose some times before the end of the first hour whereas the Can Am n°109 Reid/McGilligan/Pareyn stopped at its 19th lap. At the end of this first session there was the first 6 who have realised the same number of laps, and very pretentious will be the one who could tell which one will be at the head of the night session. At 8.00pm will start the second session which will last 5 hours certainly very hard not only for the machines but also for the riders. |
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Photos : Michel Maingret
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But where will they stop ? On the side of the QuadExpo facilities are stronger than ever and the présentation on Friday evening in the town of Pont de Vaux was unforgettable with exceptional weather conditions. That’s sure that the position on the start grid is not so important but the parking type Le Mans, however the best time realised during the 2 practices hours who took place from 10.00 am to 12.00. Piwi, who was absent during a few years is coming back. Indeed the British Paul Winrow himself made the best lap in 3’00’’313 on a 450 Honda TRX N° 108 built by him. It ‘s the n°2 official 525 KTM managed by Tim Farr at the 2nd place followed by the Irish 450 Yamaha YZF riden by David Cowan and Matthew Gilchrist. The French Lassaigne/Jéréme Warnia and Richard Pelchat from Quebec (Yamaha YZF N°111, 5th) or Romain Couprie/Clément Jay (YZF N°1) will have to fight hard against the foreign top riders present in Pont de Vaux. We have to note that the 322 riders represent 16 countries among which the top riders. Obviously the race from 3.00 to 6.00 pm will be suspsensful. |
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Photos : Pascal Damiani / www.fullgaz.com
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A week end with the Team HBomb, it takes your breath away ! Last year they were there, they came back in response to popular demand and our hopes aren't dashed ! The Moore bros and their team habe been at the top with their freestyle shows. On Sunday evening jumps with RZR Polaris with passengers ! Among them, Maurice Maingret the organiser of the Mondial who could finished brillantly this edition ! |
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Photos : www.fullgaz.com
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This promotional event which has now reached international dimensions is gathering riders from everywhere : French, Dutch, Italians, English, Czech, Belgian... After a nice fight, the winner are Robin Jomier/Jérémy Forestier. Both are only 20 and are from Beauvais in Picardie, and as the tops they have ensured their victory. They win an entry for the 12 Hours 2010. Welcome with the bigger riders ! |
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Photos : Michel Maingret |
After the « mise en bouche » on Friday when the whole town of Pont de Vaux has welcome the caravane of the Mondial du Quad, matters became serious on this Saturday morning 22 of August 2009. For an half an hour, the riders of the Quad Contest started at 9.00 am to determine the start grid of the race which will be held from 9.00 to 11 am on Sunday morning. Even if the Quad Contest is a promotional formula, many « top riders » are taking the start . Axel Dutrie with Guillaume Davion made the best time for the qualifications, he is the team manager of Romain Couprie and Clément Jay racing for YMF (Yamaha Motor France). The two riders will try to be as successful as in 2008 . We can also note the participation of Bruno Melchior. Very good riders such as the rallyeman Xavier Rouchouze, Laurent Solinsky, Alain Joan... We can also note the participation of Blaise Parent, winner at Le Touquet, who comes to prepare the famous race in Normandy whereas 18 Yamaha 450 YZF R have been entered by Holeshot Racing. This morning the Quad Contest raced fast, very fast. The n°2 (Dutrie/Davion) and the n° 62 (Smith/Hadden GB) 15 years have raced at less than 3’ 05, they would have reached the 8th and 9th place on the start grid of the Mondial ! With the Italians, the British, the Swiss, the Belgian and even the Czec the formula Maurice Maingret has created a few years ago is definitely reknown as it represents the first step for youn riders who want to race with the top. |
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