The first 4-hour heat began at 12 noon on Saturday,
with a Lemans-style start. A total of 52 teams
lined up on the long straightaway, and at the
horn the riders ran to their quads, plugged
in their kill switches and began the race. The
#4 Suzuki LTR450 of Team Refuel set a blistering
pace with a first lap of 3:00 flat. Tom Wright
started the session for our team, and had worked
back up from a slow start when on the 14th lap
the quad shut off and had to be towed back to
the pit. We diagnosed it as an electrical problem,
and after replacing the CDI unit and ignition
coil, it finally came to life when we swapped
the stator. The pit stop took 50 minutes, and
gave us a massive deficit to overcome.
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The 12 Heures of La Toque utilizes a Lemans-style
start with the quads parked on one side
of the track and racers sprint to their
quads at the start |
We kept at it, and finished the first heat
in 41st place! Plante’s YFZ450-mounted
team pulled out a full one lap lead over the
#2 Honda TRX450R of Team Moto Centre. Right
after we crossed the finish line, the riders
were directed into an impound area where the
quads would remain until the next start. No
work can be done on the machines in between
heats, only while the race is running.
As the sun went down, we pulled the quads
out from impound and lined them up on the starting
grid according to out first heat finishing position.
The second session would start at 9:00 pm and
finish up at 1am. The whoops reach epic proportion
during each heat, and the lap times slow down
by an extra 2 minutes for even the fastest teams.
After each heat, the track is graded all the
way around, and each start begins with the fastest
lap times. I began the second heat, and used
my dead-engine start experience to get the quad
fired up quick and passed over a dozen riders
in the first turn. The dust made it hard to
see at night, as the massive headlight just
illuminated the cloud of dust in front of me.
Determined to make up time, I was riding like
a Jedi warrior, using the Force to find my way
around the track. For a few laps, I was just
homing in on a small, distant taillight in the
dust and accelerating towards it. I would hit
kickers in 3rd and 4th gear that would send
me into a handstand with my helmet bouncing
off the headlight frame like a moto-bobble head
doll. It was a bad feeling not knowing what
it was that I hit, and when I was going to hit
it again. Then it started to rain. My goggles
had some unique combination of powdered dust
and water droplets that made it seem like I
was looking through a kaleidoscope, so I tossed
my goggles. This is when I remembered how much
rain hurts your eyeballs when you’re going
80mph. When I ran out of gas and had to switch
to reserve, it was almost a relief to come in
for a rider change and refuel! I handed the
quad off to Tom and Fred, and at the end of
the session we had moved up ten places to 31st.
Plante’s #91 Yamaha was running strong,
and the team managed to pull out a full six
lap lead after the first two heats. Team Refuel’s
#2 LTR moved into second, with #8 Honda piloted
by Fanzun, Filteau, and Prevost in third spot.
