2011
Maxxis 25th Annual
Pont de Vaux 12 Hour ATV Race
Pont de Vaux, France
August 20-22, 2011
By:
Bill Lanphier
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25th Maxxis Pont de
Vaux 12 Hour ATV Endurance Race Report
True World-Class
ATV Racing in the Small Town of Pont
de Vaux, France
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Hour Pont de Vaux Links |
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Pont
de Vaux, France (9/1/2011)
– The 12 Hours of Pont de Vaux is unique.
First, because it draws riders from many more countries
around the world than any other ATV race, it's truly
the premier world-class event of the year. Over
the course of 25 years, over a dozen national US
champs have competed there. Close to two dozen countries
have been represented.
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Each
of the three sessions begins with a sprint
to the quads. Three-time PDV champ Mark
Ehrhardt has the dubious distinction of
being one of the few riders to crash &
burn in route to his quad. Unfortunately
for him, he was in the pole position &
the event was well documented by several
photographers |
On the straights, speeds approach triple digits.
After several hours of racing, the deeply-rutted
turns become brutal. For a good finish, it's almost
imperative that each team member stay on the track
for an hour-and-a-half, and push it close to 100
percent. Pits stops for anything other than fuel
and a rider change —15 seconds tops—can
bump even the fastest riders and quads off the
podium.!
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suspension setup that's okay for MX can
prove to be way too soft in the high speed,
sometimes very tacky turns. This team from
Great Britain finished 19th overall |
Some of the better riders smoothly
pulled off nose-down, At night, this positioned
the quad's light beam to better help the
rider spot the landing ramp |
In other words, no chain adjustments, no filter
changes, and not even a change of tires. Noise
regulations are strict and if the muffler starts
opening up, you gotta stop immediately to change
it. PDV is like running a whole season of strictly
regulated motos with nothing more than a fill
up.
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a 12 hour race, there's a delicate balance
between an extra pit stop for more traction,
or no extra pit stop & running a virtual
drag-racing slick |
Quads at PDV get the equivalent
of a season of racing in just 12 hours.
One ATV Race team experienced a broken A-arm
that took them out of the race |
Maybe the most unusual aspect of the event, though,
is its humble beginnings, when a band of local
three-wheeler pilots duked it out. And the beginnings
are humble not only because of the field of riders;
PDV was started primarily as a non-profit event,
and that's unheard of in the States. Profits went
into making the event bigger and better every
year.
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