The undisputed master of sand, in a sport where so much can – and quite often does – go wrong, British Lion Todd Kellett – Drag’on Yamaha raced to victory this afternoon in the Moto class at the historic fiftieth edition of the Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais and in the process clinched the 2025-2026 FIM Sand Races World Championship.
- Todd Kellett secures first-ever FIM Sand Races World Championship crown
- Brilliant Briton completes Moto class hat-trick with victory at Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais
- Mathilde Denis regains Moto Women title after DNF for Amandine Verstappen
While twenty-eight-year-old Kellett set a blistering pace at the front of the thirteen-hundred starters, behind him the battle for honours in Moto Women saw reigning champion Amandine Verstappen – Yamaha from Belgium going head-to-head with Mathilde Denis – Yamaha and it was the French challenger, champion in 2023, who regained the title after her rival went out with a technical issue in the early stages.
With the Moto class upgraded to full FIM World Championship status for the first time, Kellett – winner of the two previous FIM World Cup competitions in 2023 and 2024 – has produced an almost faultless season with the sole slip coming last time out at round five, Portugal’s Monte Gordo Sand Experience, in November when he suffered a technical problem.
This meant he started today on the Atlantic coast of northern France with a fourteen-point advantage over his French team-mate Milko Potisek and in cold and challenging conditions Kellett hardly put a wheel wrong, dominating the three-hour race from virtually the get-go to nail his fourth consecutive victory in the world’s biggest event of its kind.
“Coming into this weekend I had a lot of pressure,” said Kellett, “but I believe in myself, I believe in the bike, and I believe in the team and we went to work. I feel emotional, it’s pretty crazy. It was a challenge with the weather, but I warmed up well. We had a good strategy and we trained for this.”
Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais
To put his achievement into context, Kellett’s fourth Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais win in a row moves him above the hat-tricks achieved by the great Eric Geboers between 1988 and 1990 and Adrien Van Beveren who was unbeaten from 2014-2016. Only Dutch racer Kees van der Ven can claim a longer win-streak with his five victories coming between 1982 and 1986 – although France’s Arnaud Demeester still holds the record for most wins with seven achieved between 1995 and 2008.
Completing the opening lap of the imposing fifteen-kilometre course in second, less than a second behind 2024 series runner-up Jeremy Hauquier – Yamaha, Kellett turned this deficit into a fourteen-second lead on lap two as he pulled clear of the chasing pack.
Completing his fifth lap around the one-hour mark, Kellett had extended the gap to Hauquier to over a minute with Potisek the third of the registered riders, but almost two minutes adrift of the leader. Another two laps later, with the race around half-distance, Hauquier had dropped out of contention leaving his compatriot Potisek as the second of the registered riders – more than three minutes behind – chased by the distant Tias Callens – Yamaha and Joey Nuques – Yamaha.
By the end of lap eleven with just over thirty minutes remaining, Hauquier had regrouped and was running fourth out of the registered riders, although by this point Kellett – who had already lapped fifth-placed Nuques – was more than six-and-a-half minutes clear of Potisek and he kept pushing in the closing stages.
When the clock hit zero, Kellett was already well into his fourteenth and final lap and he took the chequered flag almost eleven-and-a-half minutes clear of Potisek. Callens was a lap down in third with Hauquier’s fourth-placed finish good enough for the series bronze.
Having started the race with a slim seven-point lead, defending Moto Women champion Verstappen started well and quickly settled into a strong rhythm that saw her finish the opening lap in a fighting forty-fifth position out of the full entry.
With Denis over one-hundred positions further back, the early advantage was with the Belgian and Verstappen continued to post fast times as she appeared to be cruising to her second World Cup title. However, on lap five she disappeared from the leaderboard after suffering a technical problem that resulted in her second no-score of the campaign and ensured that Denis only had to finish to reclaim the crown.
In the closing stages, a strong push by rising French star Camille Viaud – Yamaha carried her past Denis as the pair both recorded a total of ten laps, though the twenty points for second ensured that the title was heading home to Calais with the thirty-year-old, now a two-time champion.
“The race was really difficult this year with the weather conditions,” explained Denis. “The rain was very, very cold and three or four laps before the end I was suffering and I struggled to finish, but the most important thing is that I’m super-happy to win the World Cup again!”
With the Moto Veteran title already secured, Uruguay’s Fernando Rubio – Honda came home third in class behind the French pairing of Alexis Van De Woestine – GASGAS and Nicolas Lavenant – Yamaha who, respectively, ended the campaign in the bronze and silver medal positions.
Words by FIM Sand Races World Championship – Images courtesy of Frederik Herregods Photography
