Widely regarded as the biggest event of its type anywhere in the world, the Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais takes place this coming weekend (8-9 February) on the coast of northern France and signifies the start of the 2025 FIM Sand Races World Championship.
- 2025 FIM Sand Races World Championship gets under way this weekend
- Battle commences with Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais
- Todd Kellett and Pablo Violet begin defences of their Moto and Quad crowns
With the main category upgraded to full FIM World Championship status this season, the stakes are higher than ever before and the rider starting as favourite is defending champion Todd Kellett – Drag’on Yamaha who has topped the Moto class for the last two seasons and in 2024 dominated with maximum points.
However, the twenty-seven-year-old British rider – who has won the last two editions of the Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais – faces a seriously tough test this season and with six arduous rounds to decide the ultimate outcome of the championship he knows there is very little margin for error.
The French trio of Jeremy Hauquier – Yamaha, Maxime Sot – Fantic and Valentin Madoulaud – Yamaha finished last season placed second through to fourth respectively and will be aiming to make full use of home advantage this weekend to get their title campaigns off to the best possible start, while the FIM World Championship entry has been further swelled by a number of leading French CFS contenders including Cyril Genot – Honda, brothers Matheo and Florian Miot – Yamaha giving a good indication of the series’ increasing popularity.
French sand specialist Camille Chapeliere – Suzuki is hoping a switch in machinery will bring fresh motivation, although the biggest threat to Kellett’s championship ambitions could come from his team-mate Milko Potisek.
A three-time winner of the Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais, the thirty-five-year-old Frenchman missed much of last season due to injury at the beginning of the year and will be determined to kick off his 2025 campaign with a strong performance.
The defending Moto Women champion, Belgium’s Amandine Verstappen – Yamaha was unbeaten last season and the twenty-five-year-old is looking for a repeat performance this time around with her main opposition likely to come from 2023 champion Mathilde Denis – Yamaha from France.
Dominique Mieuzet – Honda is the highest-placed of last year’s finishers in the fiercely-contested Moto Veteran class while Paolo Maschio – Honda, who was unbeaten last season, is a strong favourite to defend his Moto Junior crown.
Last year’s battle for supremacy in the Quad class was won by Pablo Violet – Drag’on Yamaha and the young Frenchman is returning to defend his title, but the opposition are lining up to challenge him led by his team owner Axel Dutrie, who is the reigning Quad Veteran champion, with riders including Oliver Vandendijck – Honda from Belgium and Portugal’s Nuno Goncalves – Yamaha also expected to feature.
This year’s track length, along the famous Le Touquet beach, has been increased by a full two kilometres to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this iconic event that sees thousands of fans flock to watch masses of riders fight their way through the huge sand dunes each year.
CHECK-OUT THE 2025 CIRCUIT VIDEO HERE
The action is scheduled to get under way today with the ninety-minute Moto Junior race at 11:00 (local time) before the two-and-a-half-hour Quad race starts at 14:00 (local time). Sunday’s main three-hour race for Moto class competitors is due to start at 14:00 (local time).
Followers of this unique and highly-specialised sportcan stay completely up to date with all the latest news through FIM social media platforms on Facebook and Instagram and via the Sportity app using the password FIMSandRaces.
By using the tag #FIMSandRaces, fans will also be able to interact on social media with riders and like-minded enthusiasts.