KTM Ready To Race At Pont De Vaux

James Hellewell - KTM

The weekend of the 20th, 21st and 22nd of August will see the best riders in the World converge on the small village of Pont De Vaux near Macon, France, the Maingret brothers promoting the 24th edition of legendary Maxxis Pont De Vaux Mondial Du Quad in the meadows of Bresse.

A totally unique event that is revered around the world, the twelve-hour endurance race provides a tough challenge of endurance for the one hundred and ten teams who will contest this years meeting, the event split in to three sessions over two days, including the infamous five hour night stage on Saturday.

Once again KTM will have a strong presence at the event with two Factory Racing Teams and a large entry of supported privateer teams.

For the USA and UK KTM Factory Racing Teams there is a great chance of success with a strong rider line up and a wealth of experience and previous success.  Managed by Tim Farr, himself a Pont De Vaux winner in 1998 and 2nd in 2008, the USA KTM Factory Racing team of Shane Hitt, Bryan Cook and Josh Upperman are strong contenders, Hitt also a PDV winner with Farr in 1998 and the best Flat Track racer of all time in the GNC / Extreme Dirt Track series, Cook a seasoned campaigner in the GNCC series having finished 5th for the previous two seasons, while Upperman has just finished the 2010 AMA Pro ATV season in 4th which including an overall win at Sunset Ridge.

The UK KTM Factory Racing team of Paul Winrow, Jason Macbeth and James Hellewell will also be contenders for success, manager Richard Cole no stranger to the winning podium having won the event in 1999 and his teams winning the Under 18 class at PDV for the last three years.  Winrow has a wealth of experience at PDV with three PDV wins under his belt and recording the fastest lap in last years event, while Macbeth knows how to quickly navigate the circuit and was in 3rd after the opening stage in 2009.  Despite being the youngest member of the Team at just 19, Hellewell is never-the-less an experienced rider at PDV, having been a key member of Cole's Under 18 class winning teams for the last three years and finishing 20th overall in 2009.

Leading the charge for the supported privateer teams are the French Bresse Quad Racing team who finished 7th in 2009.  Fielding no less than six teams in 2010, Team mentor Manuel Cure has the largest number of quads for one team with the experienced team of Romain Bouillet, Stephane Pichat and Regis Bernigauld aiming to get to the number one spot.

Quad RS will also field multiple teams at the event with three all French outfits, while ATV Quad 31 and Quad 16 will also be hoping for a good performance on home soil.  The JV115 Evoline Racing line up of Julien Valentin, Vincent Broyer and Cyril Debouck know their way around the "Meadow" with Valentin 3rd in the 2008 edition, and the Italian based but multi-national rider Team KTM Farioli Tity & Amarenas contingent of Andrea Cesari, Tobias Lens and Bastien Paquereau have a wealth of talent despite their youth and should do well.

Action will get underway at 10am on Saturday with a two-hour timed practice session to decide gate position for the Le Mans style start, the opening stage from 3.00pm to 6.00pm with the five-hour night stage beginning at 8.00pm, with the final four-hour leg running from 1.00pm to 5.00pm on Sunday.  For more information you can visit the Pont De Vaux Racing website.