The 2015 Edition of the 12 Heures d’Endurance de La Tuque has been poised with nice sunny and warm weather, which help increase the visitors count over last year. Several riders using Elka’s Stage 5 shocks found their way onto the podium in both ATV and UTV classes. The race track is well known to be one of the gnarliest tracks of the world, with some whoops sections becoming big enough to swallow a rider if it were to fall into them. The sand track is also a true test on the engines with its long straightaway where riders hit the rev limiter halfway through, keeping it pinned till the infamous hairpin turn #1.
ATV
The first 4-hour stint for ATV was super fun to watch as 3 teams battled hard up front. Some might have pushed too much as Team PY Racing/Elka #269 of Pierre-Yves Deneault, Brian Wolf and Jarrod McClure blew their motor and had to do a full motor swap. This allowed their buddies from Team Silencieux Select/Elka #120 of Simon Desnoyers, Renaud Fortin and Yan Larose to get in 2nd place. Meanwhile, the winner from last year’s edition, Team Can-Am/Elka/PLX Sport #70 Mathieu Deroy, set out the fastest lap time of the entire weekend with a fast 2:14.211. Unfortunately, the team suffered a major engine failure and was forced to abandon.
The night round also saw its share of engine failures and other mechanical issues for several teams, including Eliminator Racing‘s #28 Rick Ellsworth who drove 4 days alone in his motorhome to get to La Tuque and race the Ironman class, then drove back another 4 days to his home in Arizona to race the WORCS Series. The man is unbelievable. His KTM went through 3 motors but Rick never gave up and completed the race despite adversity, achieving his goal of finally finishing this race. His wife, #101 Donna Ellsworth, was also present and made history being the first woman to race the full 12 Hours in the Ironman class. Not enough for Donna, she went on to finish in 3rd Place and podium amongst the men, proving she is tough as nails. Her KTM engine, built by Jim Osier from Addict Racing Engines, lasted the entire race. Both of Eliminator Racing quads were equipped with Stage 5 shocks tuned specifically for the race.
During round #3 on Sunday, Team Quad X Oboute/Elka #5 of Carl Leblanc, Kevin Vachon and Michel Caplette completed the most lap within the allowed time with 88 laps in 4:01. This helped propel them in 2nd place overall, only one lap behind the winners. Other Elka teams filled the podium with Team DLC #284 in 3rd Place, Team Silencieux Select #120 in 4th Place, Team Denis Gelinas Motos/Elka #21 in 5th Place and Team PY Racing/Elka in 7th place.
The Ironman class was won by local rider #17 Eric Lamontagne with an amazing 224 laps completed. Last year winner #9 Martin Lafontaine ended up in 2nd Place, followed by #101 Donna Ellsworth in 3rd Place.
The Pro-am class was won on Elka’s Stage 5 shocks by Team CF Moto Racing #96 of the Patoine brothers with their buddy Marcoux.
Click here for full ATV race results.
SXS / UTV
For the first in the race’s history, there were more SXS than ATVs this year with 27 SXS entries vs. 20 ATV entries. Again, Elka Suspension shocks shined and helped riders get on the podium in SXS classes.
Journalist Patrick Bray ran his CF Moto #18 to the front for a win in the Open 600-800cc Class aboard Elka’s Stage 4 shocks. He was followed by Lalonde Racing’s #16 Marc-Antoine Lalonde aboard his Elka-equipped Polaris RZR. In third place was Adrenalin Racing’s #555 David Ivicheck aboard his Wildcat Sport Limited equipped with OEM Elka shocks.
In the main Open 851-1000cc Class, Diane Rossi drove her Elka-equipped Can-Am Maverick to a nice 3rd Place finish, putting again the Stage 5 shocks on the podium.
Click here for full SXS race results.
Photos by Harlen Foley, www.atvriders.com
Riders can purchase Harlen Foley’s photos online by clicking here.
