Rochereau on top as Violet extends Quad lead in FIM Sand Races World Cup

The third round of the 2024 FIM Sand Races World Cup – Ronde des Sables de Loon-Plage – saw the Quad class take centre stage today on the north coast of France where home hero Pablo Violet – Yamaha suffered his first defeat of the season, bsut still managed to extend his series lead after his closest rival and defending champion Michel Trannin – Honda suffered a late technical issue.
 
With two rounds down and four to go, Violet started the day with maximum points from his victories at the Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais in France and the Enduro del Verano in Argentina. However, his aim of maintaining this win-streak was derailed by his compatriot Keveen Rochereau – Honda who led the registered riders home in third behind event winner Randy Naveaux – Yamaha and Antoine Cheurlin – Laeger.
 
Under overcast skies, Rochereau – whose title hopes suffered a serious blow when he missed round two – started well and after the chaos of the opening few laps he sat fifteenth, two places behind Trannin and comfortably clear of Violet and Axel Dutrie – Laeger who were thirty-ninth and forty-first.
 
On the twisting and technical circuit, Rochereau kept pushing hard and by the time he had completed four laps he had moved up to thirteenth, four places clear of Trannin, with Violet breaking into the top twenty-five, ten places ahead of Dutrie who started the day third in the points standings.
 
As the two-hour race approached half-distance, Rochereau had carved his way through to fourth and Violet had overhauled Trannin to take fourteenth position in the race and second out of the registered riders.
 
Rochereau then moved into third after twelve laps and rode with his head to take maximum points on a total of eighteen laps and climb the leaderboard from ninth to equal second with Dutrie who was the fourth registered rider to cross the line, two places behind Antony Baillarguet – Yamaha who was twenty-ninth on a total of sixteen laps.
 
“Physically, I really hit a wall and had to hold on, gritting my teeth to the end,” said Rochereau. “I’m happy. I’ll keep working and try to come back even stronger for the rest of the races. I like the technical stuff, but you have to adapt to each track. Here at first it’s very, very fast with lots of turns and then later it got really rough and that’s where you make the difference.”
 
Violet’s total of seventeen laps placed him eighth overall and second registered rider and his score of seventy points following three rounds gives him a thirty-four-point advantage after Trannin, who was running thirteenth with ten minutes left on the clock, suffered a late technical problem which put him out of the race.
 
The result means Dutrie has extended his lead in the Quads Veteran category while up-and-coming French racer Alois Waloszek – Yamaha moved into the lead in the Quad Junior class after finishing an impressive seventy-second on fifteen laps.
 
The focus now shifts to tomorrow’s programme with the main event – the two-and-a-half-hour Moto race – scheduled to get under way at 13:45 local time.
 
Followers of the FIM Sand Races World Cup can 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.
 
To view the full 2024 FIM Sand Races World Cup calendar along with more information click here.
 
RESULTS HERE