It’s Another fine Mousse - updated with video

It was an unavoidable fact that the very strong winds coming off the Atlantic meant that the incoming tide came in quicker and further up the beach than was anticipated.

 

That meant the track on Stella beach was almost under water and very dangerous for the quads on

Saturday and the main solo race on Sunday. The organisers couldn't bring the race start time forward as they couldn't 

guarantee letting the 1,100 starters know, let alone the expected 200,000-plus spectators, so they had to play the hand they were dealt.

 

But the real problems came after each race was stopped. It took the officials nearly an hour-and-a-half to work out who had won the quad race.

 

And in the Solos  although Milko Potisek completed nine laps of the demanding course, Jean Claude Mousse was declared the winner – and he had completed just eight laps.

 

The organisers explained that the finishing order was decided when the riders crossed the finish line the lap 

before the red flag stoppage.

 

So Potisek and his team's jubilant celebrations where short-lived and the podium became a somewhat solemn 

occasion.

 

Another problem was with the transponders, as a lot of them didn't work or weren't properly charged up.

 

When Carl Bunce picked up his, he complained that it showed little if any charge and was told by the guy handing them out that it would be fine, as they always work well. 

 

But every time Carl crossed the finish line he was not registered and only after complaints by his team did he get listed the results in fifth, although his the team reckoned he had finished fourth.

 

Another one to suffer was Paul Winrow, with his riding partner Stefan Murphy. The pair were circulating regularly but were only credited with three laps, but believed they where just a lap down on the leaders.

 

A philosophical Paul said: "I only came over to ride and have a bit of fun and Stefan is here using it as a bit of training after spending most of last year off with injury, so we are not really bothered.” But lots were and the discussion and complaints went on and on.

 

Sunday was cold, with heavy grey clouds hanging over the normally sleepy French seaside resort, as 1,100 mad keen motorcycle racers made their way through the narrow streets to the mass start at 1pm on the massive beach – all watched by thousands of enthusiastic race fans at the 38th running of the biggest race in the world.

 

Adrian Van Beveren led Potisek and last year's winner, Mousse, into the first turn at the start of the scheduled three hour race, but before the end of the first straight the on-form Potisek was in the lead and looking in control.

 

As the pair raced side-by-side along the sea wall the lead swapped time and time again till they reached the end of the town where Potisek passed Van Beveren a bit too close for his liking.

 

Van Beveren gave Potisek a rude sign that was caught by the TV cameras.

 

As the leaders rounded the farthest and wettest part of the course Damien Prevot seemed to get his Kawasaki well wound-up as he passed first Van Beveren, then Potisek before the end of the first 13-minute lap, with the young Julien Lieber (Suzuki) in fifth and in the thick of the experienced Le Touquet riders.

 

Halfway round lap two Potisek fell foul of the usual beach race problem when, as he crested a jump, a backmarker lost control and veered across the track in front of him, leaving Potisek nowhere to go but straight into the back-marker and they both went down in the sand.

 

Luckily both riders got up unhurt, but Potisek had dropped back into sixth position with it all to do again. As the leaders started lap three Prevot was still in the lead ahead of Van Beveren and Mousse, with Potisek in fifth and Buildbase Honda rider 

Nicolas Aubin sixth. 

 

 

Enduropale du Touquet (Solo):       1 Jean Claude Mousse (F - 450 Yamaha),      2 Milko Potisek (F - 450 Yamaha), 3 Adrien Van Beveren (F - 450 Yamaha), 4 Damien Prevot (F - 450 Kawasak), 5 Antoine Meo (F - 450 KTM), 6 Rudy Vergriete (F - 450 Yamaha), 7 Nicolas Aubin (F - 450 Buildbase Honda), 8 Arnaud Degousee (F - 450 Yamaha), 9 Richard Fura (F - 450 Kawasaki), 10 Tom Lahousse (F - 450 Yamaha), 11 Florent Blanchard (F - 450 Suzuki), 12 Thierry Klutz (F - 450 Suzuki), 13 Theophane Quenehen (F - 450 Yamaha), 14 Ricky Claus (F - 450 Honda), 15 Sabry Gembala (F - 450 Honda), 16 Mike Luxembourger (F - 450 Suzuki), 17 Guillaume Ansquer (F - 450 Suzuki), 18 Julien Tournessi (F - 450 Honda), 19 Romain Maurez (F - 450 KTM), 20 Vincent Cambier (F - 450 Suzuki), 21 Steve Ramon (B - 450 Buildbase Honda).

Other UK finishers: 29 Nathan Watson (450 KTM),... 50 Nick Life (450 Suzuki),... 118 Ben Hunt (450 Honda),... 216 Lewis Bell (450 KTM),... 235 Liston Bell (450 KTM),... 269 Eddie Sloane (450 Yamaha),... 276 Peter Cardon (450 Honda),... 305 Kevin Green (450 Honda),... 335 Richard Geerts (450 Honda),.. 365 Craig Jones (450 Kawasaki),... 386 James Price (450 Yamaha),... 408 Jimmy Barnard (450 Kawasaki),... 494 Anthony Noel (450 KTM),... 513 Chris Franc (450 Suzuki),... 735 Scott Gordon (450 KTM),... 788 Nick Allday (450 KTM),... 834 Rob Marchant (450 KTM),...

Quaduro du Touquet (Quads): 1 Jerome Bricheux (F - 520 KTM), 2 Jeremy Forestier (F - 450 Yamaha), 3 Florian Mangeot (F - 450 Yamaha), 4 Auke Theuninck (F - 520 KTM), 5 Carl Bunce (GB - 450 Suzuki), 6 Michel Trannin (F - 450 Yamaha), 7 Irwin Puydauby (F - 450 Yamaha), 8 Cyril Debouck (F - 450 KTM), 9 Pierre Hubert Truphemus (F - 450 Yamaha), 10 Sunny Desintebin (B - 450 Yamaha), 11 Jeremie Warnia (F - 450 Can-Am), 12 Samuel Blancke (F - 450 Yamaha), 13 Frederic Lefebvre (F - 450 Yamaha), 14 Mike Van Grinsven (NL - W-Tech), 15 Davy De Cuyper (B - 450 KTMl), 16 Joeri De Cremer (B - 450 Can-Am), 17 Vincent Pinchon (F - 450 Yamaha), 18 Axel Dutrie (F - 450 Yamaha), 19 Arnaud Humbert (F - 450 Yamaha), 20 Mathieu Vanstrazeele (F - 450 Yamaha).

Other UK finishers: 32 Antony Barrett (450 Suzuki),... 35 Ben Morgan (450 Honda),... 51 Sean Goss (450 Yamaha),... 59 Sheldon Seal (450 KTM),... 74 Kieran Power (450 Honda),... 121 Chris Murphy (450 Suzuki),... 139 Peter Gallagher (450 Honda),... 169 John Naylor (450 Suzuki),... 234 David Cowan (450 Yamaha),... 301 Geoff Sharp (450 Honda),... 319 Paul Winrow/ Stefan Murphy (450 Honda),... 339 Ian Neill/ Richard Cornett (450 Yamaha),... 352 Clyde Thompson (450 Can-Am),... 373 Laurence Stopps (450 Suzuki),...