Le Touquet: Duedon penalty hands Pichon win

A noisy exhaust denied Yves Duedon a first ever Le Touquet Enduropale win as the famous race ended in controversy at the weekend.

The Kawasaki rider crossed the finish line in first place after an epic three-hour battle on the beaches of the Calais resort but was handed a 15-minute penalty after scrutineers found that his bike’s exhaust exceeded the 115 dB sound limit.

The new rule had already cost Jean-Claude Mousse his chance of victory as, when leading with two laps remaining, the Yamaha rider noticed his bike was sounding louder than normal and opted to pit to change the exhaust system.

Duedon’s penalty handed victory to former double World Motocross champion Mikael Pichon. The Honda rider crossed the line over three minutes clear of Yamaha’s Adrien Van Beveren, while Mousse rejoined to finish third with Alexandre Morel in fourth.

The unfortunate Duedon, a regular at Le Touquet over the past few years, dropped to sixth in the overall classification.

Le Touquet Enduropale 2010, result

1. Mickaël Pichon (FRA/Honda) les 12 tours en 03 h 09:25
2. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA/Yamaha) à 3:26
3. Jean-Claude Moussé (FRA/Yamaha) à 3:49
4. Alexandre Morel (FRA/Yamaha) à 12:36

Watch the Le Touquet Enduropale replay on Motors TV (Sky Channel 413, Virgin Media 545) this week – see schedules for more details.


Andy Wilkinson