2011 Maxxis 25th Annual Pont de Vaux 12 Hour ATV Race Pont de Vaux, France August 20-22, 2011 By: Bill Lanphier

Pont de Vaux FAQs:

• Annual, ATV-only race started in 1987 and held near the village of Pont de Vaux (pon-duh-voh) in east-central France.
• A pro field of over 100, two- or three rider-teams compete on machines between 240 and 1000cc.
• Countries which have competed: Germany, France, USA, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Great Britain, Scotland, Poland, Italy, Ireland, North Ireland, Czech Republic, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, and the United Arab Emirates.
• High-speed but rough, 2.3 mile circuit with four jumps. Longest straight is 1/3-mile. Maximum track width is 15 feet.
• The race is held over two days and divided into three sessions, one of them a night session with lights on the quads. Grid position for all sessions is determined by mass qualifying. Each session begins with a LeMans-style start: riders sprint across the track and start the quads. Computer/transmitter scoring.
• Between each race session quads are locked into an impound area. Repairs can be made only during the race sessions.
• The winning team has completed the most number of laps at the end of 12 hours.
• Related activities: Bomb Squad freestyle, France Army jet and prop plane air show, carnival midway, live music, ATV and UTV racing, amateur/stock ATV race, ATV manufacturer displays, ATV rides, and a rider presentation and parade in town, plus vendors for food, alcohol, ATV accessories, and apparel.
• For more visit www.pdvracing.com or email info@pdvracing.com.

It's Quad Boulevard in France! After their presentation, each of the 180 team quads stage on the main drag of PDV in preparation for the annual parade back to the track, about a mile from the village

Saturday Qualifying:

This Flying Devils team KTM 505, piloted by a German, Italian, and Frenchman, posted the fastest qualifying lap, two seconds ahead of a KTM 510 from Belgium and Great Britain. Because practice and qualifying are run at the same time—with all 100 pro quads on the track at the same time—traffic often plays a big part in qualifying times. The Can-Am team of two hot Americans, Joel Hetrick and Travis Moore, qualified 7th, while last year's winning quad of Romain Coupie qualified 14th.

The Flying Devils ATV Race team took the fastest qualifying lap aboard their KTM ATV

Though some ATV racers may brag about going close to 100 mph, it's mostly just talk. But it happens twice a lap at PDV, and a tuck like you see in this image can mean several seconds, maybe a minute, over the course of 12 hours of racing.