Race
Report - February 2009 - Le Touquet
Team
Can Am McGilligan and Reid 33rd at Le Touquet
Team
Can Am riders Cathal McGilligan and Justin Reid made the 1200
mile road trip from the Emerald Isle to the Pas De Calais this
past weekend, the French seaside resort of Le Touquet playing
host to the 2009 Enduropale Du Touquet on Saturday 21st and Sunday
the 22nd of February with hundreds of thousands of spectators
in attendance. Teaming up for their first competitive race aboard
the new Can Am DS450Xmx, Cathal and Justin travelled to the meeting
aiming to get the 2009 race season of to a flying start, and after
three energy sapping hours negotiating the demanding beach circuit,
they had put in a fantastic performance from their starting position
of 468th on the last row of the grid to finish a superb 33rd overall,
taking 20th in the two-rider class and the highest placed two-man
team from the UK, Cathal and Justin also the 3rd highest overall
finishers from the UK.
Running
for almost ten miles along the seafront and out towards the Stella
Plage and back, the famous Le Touquet circuit provides a challenging
mix of fast straights, numerous jumps and deep loose sand. With
a starting position of 468th and the last group to start, riders
put in groups of fifty according to their number with the groups
separated by twenty second intervals, the task to make up places
was never going to be easy. Taking to the line for the start,
the drop of the ‘Drapeau Francais’ saw the group charge
up the beach and out on the opening lap. Quickly settling down
and negotiating the constantly changing circuit, Justin’s
initial progress was hampered somewhat by the huge number of riders
in front getting stuck and blocking the circuit, but undeterred
he used the excellent handling of the Can Am DS450Xmx to gradually
make up positions, the first planned stop just after the one hour
mark seeing Justin having charged through and make up an amazing
351 positions for 117th!
With a full
tank of fuel Cathal took up the challenge to move up the leaderboard
and after a measured first lap to get a feel for the circuit set
of at a blistering pace. With the stock KYB suspension soaking
up the bumps and the Rotax engine pulling strongly through the
deep soft sand, Cathal began to scythe his way through the field,
the Dungiven native riding strongly and pulling in to the pit
area for another scheduled stop just after the two hour mark in
65th position having made up 52 places.
Refuelled
with High5 Isotonic and a fresh set of Oakley goggles, Justin
took over from Cathal for the last hour of the challenge, and
with the circuit now at it’s roughest the excellent handling
of the standard Team Can Am DS450Xmx came in to it’s own,
Justin charging to the chequered flag after three gruelling hours
and ten action filled laps having made up 32 places to finish
a fantastic 33rd overall.
McGilligan
“It’s
been a really good start to the year and a fantastic result in
my first outing on the bike. Our starting position did make things
difficult for us with the amount of traffic in front, but Justin
did a fantastic job in the opening stint and I was able to maintain
the momentum when we made the switch after an hour. The circuit
roughs up really quickly, but after adjusting to it on my opening
lap I was able to up my pace and move through the field. The bike
is amazing to ride, and despite being in standard trim it handles
as well as the fully modified bikes out there, and I’m really
looking forward to the rest of the year racing with Team Can Am.”
Reid
“The
first lap especially was really frustrating because you can see
the guys in front coming back along the sea front with no obstructions
while we were losing so much time at the back. The bike was really
impressive in stock trim, we just changed the plastic to reflect
the team colours, stuck on a set of tyres, Leo Vince pipe and
Flexx handlebars and went for it! That would have unimaginable
a couple of years ago - the DS450 Xmx is literally ready to race.
I’m happy enough with the result, given the circumstances
but the main thing is that we never had to put a spanner anywhere
near the bike during the entire race and we have qualified for
a front row start next year!”
Results
Winner
– Romain Couprie, 2nd – Jeremie Warnia, 3rd –
Jan Vlaeymans…33rd – Cathal McGilligan / Justin
Reid (Team Can Am DS450Xmx)
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