Damien Knuiman is French Sand Champion for the 2023/2024 season
Last Saturday Damien had the last competition of the French Sand Championship in Le Touquet planned. The 1,5-hour, toughest beach race in the world, with 200 participants at the start. Because this is one of the most popular and important competitions in France, several teams also used top riders to try to conquer the podium here.
The motorcycles were inspected on Friday and on Saturday morning at 8.30 am the motorcycles had to be set up in the closed parc ferme. At 10.00 a.m. the briefing took place at the entrance to the parc ferme and at 10.15 a.m. the participants were allowed to pick up their bikes and go to the start.
Damien was positioned in 1st place in the parc ferme following his lead in the championship standings. Damien got off to a good start and was able to place himself in the top 5. His direct opponent in the championship Paolo Maschio took the lead and tried to build a lead. Damien immediately made up places and ended up in second place, and kept track of the leader in the race.
During the first half hour of the race, Damien was able to follow the leader well and was not threatened by the third man in the race, 125 World and European 2023cc Champion Mathis Valin. It was decided to make a pit stop after 40 minutes of racing, this is quite early, but then the engine is easier to handle due to less fuel at the end of the race.
This pit stop was one from the book because with only a 15 second standstill he lost minimal time. He continued the race in 3rd place. Maschio and Valin entered the pits wheel to wheel two laps later. When they came back onto the track, Damien had passed them both and was trying to build up a lead.
Valin had no intention of letting this happen and took control again. Damien recovered and took over the lead. An exciting race, but a straggler who fell right in front of Damien threw a spanner in the works. When Damien continued his way, Valin had a small lead and it was impossible to catch up. Damien knew that his title was safe with this second place and finished the race cautiously. At the finish he was able to crown himself as French Sand Champion Juniors 2024. Twinair air filters ensured a nice crown.
Also to read
Jens Walvoort about his Portuguese Grand Prix
In Agueda, Jens Walvoort managed to make a big impression during the fifth Grand Prix of the season. The KTM rider finished sixth in the daily rankings, Walvoort is now sixteenth...EnduroGP: Interview Jamie McCanney
Manxman Jamie McCanney made EnduroGP history last year by winning the E1 in Slovakia as a privateer. The 29-year-old veteran has had a long and illustrious career, but…Jans-Beken out due to shoulder injury
Next weekend the third race of the FIM WMX World Championship will be held in Lugo. This will happen without Britt Jans-Beken. The Limburg native fell during training last weekend...Competing for the MX AIR TIME 2024 prize pool? Subscribe …
A new edition of MX AIR TIME will be held on Sunday, May 19. Place to be is the Dutch municipality of Beckum. Register now via Motoinside and who knows...
Your reactions