The second round of the inaugural FIM Sand Races World Cup – the Enduro del Verano – takes place this coming weekend - 24-26 February - in Argentina where Todd Kellett – Drag’on Tek Yamaha will start as a narrow favourite to extend his series lead.
The twenty-five-year-old British rider claimed a well-deserved victory at the world-famous Enduropale du Touquet at the start of the month and in the process opened up an early advantage in this brand-new and exciting sand-racing series.
However, this form of racing is never clear-cut – Kellett’s team-mate Milko Potisek was the Enduropale du Touquet defending champion, but went out with mechanical problems after three laps – and it is a shorter, much more intense race than the famous French event.
“It is a different beast,” said Kellett. “It is different to Le Touquet, though a good friend of mine Adrien Van Beveren has raced there multiple times and I gave him a ring and asked if he had any advice, and we had a good conversation.”
“I am excited and know it is not something we have done before. I definitely feel good, but potentially my strengths are when it gets rough and when we get into the traffic and I am not sure in Argentina how much traffic we are going to get. It is a little different for us.”
Last held in 2020, riders in both the Pro and Quad classes will compete over a twelve-and-a-half-kilometre course which puts it almost on a par with the Enduropale du Touquet, although the big difference is it will be staged over a maximum of six laps with a time limit of fifty-five minutes.
Included among Kellett’s main rivals for the FIM Sand Races World Cup are three other riders who packed the top-six positions at Le Touquet.
Leading the challenge is former MXGP racer Yentel Martens – Honda, the son of 1993 FIM 500cc Motocross World Champion Jacky, who was third along with Lars Van Berkel – SR Honda who was fifth and 2017 Enduropale du Touquet champion Daymond Martens – Honda who was sixth.
Former Enduropale du Touquet Women’s champion Mathilde Denis – Honda will also make the eleven-thousand-mile journey to compete while home-nation hopes will be centred around Fernando Pedro Rubio – KTM.
Highly rated Quad class competitors include the Yamaha-mounted French trio of Axel Dutrie, Pablo Violet and Frederic Lefebvre. Portugal will be represented by Nuno Goncalves – Yamaha with Pablo Vera – Yamaha a hot tip to lead the challenge from Argentinian riders.
This weekend’s race runs from 24-26 February and is the premier event of its kind in South America, attracting thirteen-hundred riders.
Held at Villa Gesell on the Atlantic coast, almost four-hundred kilometres south of Argentine capital Buenos Aires, a huge crowd of upwards of one-hundred-and-thirty-thousand spectators is expected.
Follow the LIVE RESULTS
Sunday 26 February:
Moto Race Start 14h30 local (CET-4h): The race duration is 55 minutes max. 6 laps
Quad Race Start 16h15 local (CET-4h): The race duration is 55 minutes max. 5 laps
Entry List HERE
FIM Communications