Kellett Wins in France
Britain’s Todd Kellett – Drag’on Yamaha muscled his way to a dominant victory in today’s Moto class race at round four of the 2025 FIM Sand Races World Championship – the Ronde des Sables Hossegor-Capbreton – in south-west France, underlining his status as this highly-specialised discipline’s brightest star.
The two-and-a-half-hour race did not, however, go to plan for reigning Moto Women class champion and series leader Amandine Verstappen – Yamaha. The Belgian led her category until just after half-distance when she exited early having completed ten laps of the punishing circuit on the shores of the notoriously stormy Bay of Biscay, handing a vital championship lifeline to Mathilde Denis – Fantic.
Making it four wins from four starts this year, twenty-eight-year-old Kellett – who is aiming for his third consecutive title in the discipline and his first since the Moto class was elevated to full FIM World Championship status for 2025 – remains on course to record his second unbeaten season in a row, despite continued strong opposition from his team-mate Milko Potisek.
The Frenchman was, in fact, the only other rider who could match Kellett’s impressive total of twenty laps during the wind-lashed race, although even the three-time winner of the Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais crossed the line over four-and-a-half minutes behind the defending champion who could now sew up the title at the penultimate round – Portugal’s Monte Gordo Sand Experience – this coming weekend (28-30 November).
Kellett’s lightning starts have been key all year and following the opening lap he held a slim lead from former FIM Motocross World Championship competitor Cyril Genot – Honda with third-placed Tias Callens – Yamaha already sixteen seconds off the leader’s pace, although still four seconds ahead of Potisek who sat fifth.
As we are so used to seeing, with a clear track ahead of him Kellett’s combination of speed and experience proved to be the deciding factor as lap after lap he extended his advantage over the chasing pack.
Potisek moved ahead of his compatriot Matheo Miot – Yamaha into third on lap two as Callens slipped to fifth, but he needed a further twelve laps to climb into second place when Genot pulled out with just over an hour left on the clock and by this time the gap to Kellett was almost two-and-a-half minutes.
With victory seemingly assured, Kellett stayed out of trouble and kept clicking off the laps and his fourth win of the campaign gives him a twenty-nine point lead ahead of Potisek with French rider Jeremy Hauquier – Yamaha maintaining his third position in the title chase after finishing fourth behind Dutch racer Lars Van Berkel – Fantic.
Paolo Maschio – Honda, who won last season’s Moto Junior 2 title, was a fine fifth, but there was heartbreak for Norwegian racer Hakon Fredriksen – Honda who was holding down a podium finish in the closing stages, but was officially classified as a non-finisher after he failed to complete his nineteenth lap.
Verstappen has dominated the Moto Women class since the opening round of 2024 and having started the day with maximum points, the twenty-six-year-old finished the first lap comfortably clear of her female rivals and she continued to stretch her advantage during the early stages.
Completing her tenth lap lying sixty-second out of the full field of over four-hundred-and-fifty riders and forty-three positions ahead of 2023 champion Denis, Verstappen was then forced to retire which hands a narrow championship lead to Denis who topped the Women category on an impressive total of fourteen laps, four more than second-placed Sara Jugla – KTM.
“The weather conditions were a bit tricky with quite a lot of wind,” said Denis. “I got a good start and then tried to manage my race as well as possible – to put in a solid run, stay smooth and consistent – and in the end everything went well. We know it is very soft sand here so I needed to make two or three small adjustments to the bike’s set-up, but nothing more.”
An extremely competitive Moto Veteran class was won by France’s Alexis Van De Woestine – GASGAS on a total of thirteen laps, the same number as second-placed Fernando Rubio – Honda from Uruguay who extends his series lead over Nicolas Lavenant – Yamaha, who was fourth behind Paul Barbara – KTM.
Competing on a shorter course over a ninety-minute race duration earlier in the day, victory in the Moto Junior category went to Dutch racer Dean Gregoire – KTM who recorded a total of twenty-six laps.
Despite coming home over a minute further back as the only rider on the same number of laps as the winner, France’s Evan Demeester – Honda extended his lead at the top of the points table from Matheo Great – Yamaha who finished this morning’s race a lap down on the leading pair in third.
