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12
Heures La Tuque
ATV Endurance Race Links |
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Elka
/ Duncan / Dirt First Race Team (left
to right) - Tom Wright, Fred Rael, Andy
Lagzdins |
La Tuque, QC - Back in 2004,
I was asked by my buddy and multi-time UK quad
champion Paul Rowlands to be on his team for the
Pont de Vaux 12 hour race in France. While preparing
for the event, I ran across a similar race in
Canada called the 12 Hours of La Tuque. The Canadian
race looked very much like the French event, but
it always fell on the same weekend as a GNCC race
and I couldn’t attend it. This year I didn’t
have any conflicting dates, so I put together
a team and finally got a chance to do it. I didn’t
realize that we would be the first American team
to participate in the annual event, and this was
an added bonus that made the exciting adventure
even more interesting.
Elka Suspension is located three hours from
La Tuque, so this event is right in their back
yard. Elka has a big presence at the race and
fields several teams each year. The guys at
Elka wanted to help me put together a team,
and they hooked me up with Fred Rael, a past
New Mexico Desert Racing champion who lives
in Albuquerque. Fred’s experience in the
sand whoops of the desert would be a perfect
match for the terrain that I had seen in photos
from previous years at La Tuque. The third rider
on our team would be Thomas Wright, a top 30
caliber GNCC rider who lives and rides in the
heart of sand whoop country, the Pine Barrons
of New Jersey.
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Andy Lagzdins' 2005 Honda TRX 450R setup
for the 12 Heures of La Tuque
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With the help of my sponsors, I setup one of
my 2005 TRX450R GNCC quads for the 12 Hour.
I used the same engine that I race in the cross
country series, built with a Duncan 470cc National
kit, Vortex Ignition, Hinson clutch components,
Fat Boy4 exhaust, and Pro Design foam filter
kit. Since the narrowest part of the track would
be about 15 feet wide, I widened the front end
with a +2” Laeger longtravel front end.
Elka Elite Series shocks front and rear would
handle the whoops, and I also used one of my
XC 19” Laeger swingarms. To widen the
rear, I swapped out my XC axle with a MX RPM
Dominator II axle, and got the width out to
around 50 inches. The tires of choice for the
sandy conditions were ITP Holeshot GNCC’s
front and rear with Tireballs to eliminate any
chance of flats. Douglas Shamrock beadlocks
were mounted to withstand the 12 hours of punishment
and to keep the tires on the rims. I used a
Trail Tech 8” HID light assembly to illuminate
the night session, and wired the taillight so
it was always on; which is a requirement for
the race. I changed my Flexx Bars to a higher
rise model, to make it easier on our backs by
riding in a more upright position. An Elka System
5 steering damper would make keeping the bars
straight easier. I used Maxum4 SynBlend oil
and Engine Ice coolant for the vital fluids.
The guy at the gas station couldn’t believe
I was buying 35 gallons of race fuel to ride
my quad for one weekend!
