French Elite: Shorter, more powerful and more lucrative
During its last conference, the FFM motocross committee made a number of changes for the Rockstar Energy Elite championship, the flagship of French motocross. And other national championships were clearly being eyed.
First of all, this means a more compact time span. The Rockstar Energy Elite starts on March 6, 2011 and the final will take place on May 29. The matches themselves are also getting shorter. After years of using a format with qualifications on Saturday and matches on Sunday, in 2011 everything will take place on Sunday. For example, on Sunday morning the drivers are first given a free training session and then a timed training session. These training sessions will take place per class, so MX1 and MX2 separately. For those who were not able to qualify directly through the timed training, there will be a second chance series around noon.
In the afternoon the two heats will follow in which the battle for championship points will take place. For the championship standings, MX1 and MX2 riders are classified separately. The Scratch result is used for the daily ranking. The non-qualified can compete in the B-Final.
The rider who has collected the most points after six races will not only be champion in his own class, but will also win the main prize of 20.000 Euro. For the other drivers, 69.000 euros will be distributed in the final standings. By the way, participants in the Rockstar Energy Elite can earn a total of around 6 euros during the 100.000 competitions. On the other hand, no entry fee is paid in France.
It is also notable that the FFM communiqué is silent in all languages about awarding championship points to foreign riders. Something that a number of French teams had insisted on.
Calendar Rockstar Energy Elite 2011
March 6 – Sommières
March 20 – Romagné
March 27 – Pernes les Fontaines
April 3 – Dardon-Gueugnon
May 1 – Plomion
May 29 – Gaillac-Toulza
Photo Credit: CDS Images
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