The 12 hours of Pont-de-Vaux: it’s also a girls’ business!
For its 33rd year of existence, the Maxxis® Mondial du Quad or 12h of Pont-de-Vaux will be back on the Pont-de-Vaux meadow on a 3.8 km circuit, where the biggest teams in the discipline compete against each other. For several years, French and foreign women’s teams have been present to compete in this unique endurance race.
Three 100% women’s teams committed for the 12 Hours In 2018, Justine Lesselingue and Kelly Verbraeken (team Clody – winner of the women’s cup in 2016 and 2017) brilliantly took 10th place and set the 12 Hours circuit on fire by improving their scratch ranking. They were ahead of the other women’s teams involved: the Marfort team with Cloé Marfort, Séverine Astier and Camille Petit, the Princess team composed of Laura Legrand, Flavie and Alison Demeude, as well as the English K-ATV Girls (Keitch family) or Purely Divine Racing (Ameelie Miller/Ami Price Draper/Catrin Davies). In this 2019 edition, the absence of Justine Lesselingue redefines the composition of the teams. Kelly Verbraecken will ride this year with the Purely Divine Racing team (Miller and Davies). Against them, the Marfort team and the Princess team will once again be there. Six 100% female teams entered for the Quad Contest The second main race of this World Quad Championship event, the Quad Contest this year will host 6 women’s teams who will compete on a starting grid of 120 teams. Also, it should be noted that the majority of them drive in Solo. There is no doubt that they will be keen to demonstrate their skills and rank among the best in this contest. Because once, with the suit and helmet on, it is difficult to know that the pilot is a girl or a boy. It is therefore on equal terms that victory is fought for. The duel is tight and especially during the 4-hour night round on Saturday evening, where the pilots’ resistance is put to the test.
Mixed teams
Several mixed teams also participate in the 12 Hours, including Emma McQuaid / Terence Mackin (on Yamaha), Savannah Van der Laan / Dylan Van der Stelt / Ricardo Phoelich (VLS) or Betty Kraft / Thierry Bauchiero (Honda TRX700XX). Here again, girls are treated equally with boys and contribute equally to the final ranking of their team.
A successor with the Kid Quad Contest from 9 to 16 years old Benjamines (9-11 years old) and Cadettes (13-16 years old) are also part of the celebration with 6 young female drivers who will demonstrate that “very young already” the fervour of the circuit is already in their blood.
