MKM Rocketman Suzuki GB travelled to the spectacular Maxxis Pont de Vaux Mondial du Quad, near Dijon, France this weekend. Representing the team was;
#33 Jason Wildman, Carl Bunce and Chris Cooper
#34 Sam Barrett, Kieran Power and Sheldon Seal
#35 Antony Barrett, Chris Murphy and Geoff Sharp
The team were armed with one Suzuki LT-R450 each, prepared to endure 12 hours of punishment around the notorious course.
On Saturday, practice/qualifying started at 10am for 2 hours, Team #33 qualified in 24th, #34 in 33rd and the veteran team #35 were 78th on the ‘Le Mans’ style start grid.
The 12 hours of racing were split into 3 stages. The first was a 3 hours session, starting at 3pm Saturday afternoon, team #33 were 9th, #34 were 43rd and the veterans #35 were 47th.
Stage 2 ‘The night stage’ started at 8pm and lasted for 5 hours until 1am Sunday morning. The teams start every stage in the position they originally qualified in. The Pro team were riding very well and were soon in the top 3, some clever pit stops and a lack of mechanical problems were on their side and before long they were in 1st position being chased by some of the best teams from around the world, they rode consistently well through the night with minimal pit stops and no problems to finish the stage in 5th position.
The ‘young Guns’ #34 finished this stage in 48th. The veteran team rode consistently well through the night and finished 38th.
After a good nights sleep, on Sunday the riders returned to the track for the 3rd and final stage, starting at 1pm and lasting 4 hours. The Pro team were again in the top 10 and gaining places all the time, ultimately finishing in 7th after completing 221 laps making them the first British team across the line, and finishing in a fantastic 5th place overall.
The ‘Young Guns’ finished 19th in the final stage, taking a very respectful 33rd overall completing a total of 205 laps.
The Veterans were not far behind, finishing in 37th in the final stage, giving them a 37th place finish overall, having completed 203 laps.
MKM Rocketman Suzuki GB team manager Ant deacon commented “I’m very proud, it has been a fantastic weekend. The Suzuki LT-R450’s we used were excellent. To Finish 5th and also be the first British team is superb, and proves the Suzuki LT-R450 is a very appealing, reliable ATV.”
