This weekend saw the 50th edition of the Enduropale du Touquet-Pas-de-Calais, the world’s biggest sand motorcycle race and the final round of the FIM World Sand Racing Championship. The event brought together nearly 2,800 international riders and more than 700,000 spectators.
This legendary event also marked the start of the sporting season for Team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki, with the first race of the 2026 season.

Outstanding performance in the Espoirs category: Tim Lopes dominates

Bud Academy’s young rider Tim Lopes delivered an impressive performance in the Espoirs race. Starting in the top 15, Tim quickly set his pace and took the lead in the pack on the second lap. He was never challenged, crossing the finish line with a comfortable lead of more than 3 minutes over his pursuers. A superb first victory in his first race of 2026.

Spectacular comeback and podium finish for Jake Cannon in the Junior category

The first Australian rider to compete in this sand race, Jake Cannon was completely new to the discipline when he took part in the legendary Le Touquet event in the Junior category for the first time. For this grand debut, the day was full of twists and turns. After crashing in the first corner, Jake restarted in 140th place before embarking on a spectacular comeback. Thanks to his determination and speed, he managed to climb up to 3rd place overall, securing a remarkable podium finish for his very first experience on the sand of Le Touquet.

The Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki Team is now back to training, with Jake Cannon and Francisco Garcia set to compete in the International Race of Sommières on February 22 before tackling the French Elite Championship on March 1st in Castelnau-de-Lévis and the EMX250 European Championship in Almonte, Spain, on March 21 & 22.

Check out the Enduropale du Touquet INSIDE vlog here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmneZpYYdrQ

Stephane Dassé: “Le Touquet is always an important race because it brings together hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts. Every year, we try to recruit talented young riders who are capable of winning. I am proud of our riders, who gave it their all. Now we are refocusing on our main objectives: the French and European motocross championships.”

Tim Lopes: “I’m happy to have gotten my revenge after finishing third last year. I managed my race well, and that allowed me to win. I’m leaving for Spain tomorrow to train. I’m going to do everything I can to make my last season in 85cc a success.”

Jake Cannon: “I didn’t know what to expect when I came here. In Australia, we don’t have sand, and I never thought I’d be able to ride a race like this before coming to Europe. I’m disappointed that I crashed because I would have liked to fight for the win, but I had a lot of fun and I’m happy with my performance. I hope to come back and ride this race again one day.”

A solid race

A collision with another rider in the first lap cost him some time before he found his rhythm again. In the end, after a strong race where he lacked only experience, Fran secured 3rd place and earned a spot on the final podium. The overall outcome is very positive—discovering the discipline and achieving an impressive result for his first participation.
The goal is to return next year and fight for victory. In the meantime, the Andalusian is focusing on the opening round of the French MX2 Championship this weekend in Lacapelle-Marival,
followed by the first round of the EMX250 European Championship on March 16th in Castilla de la Mancha (Spain).

Fran Garcia:
“I had a lot of fun in my first Touquet. It felt like I was doing a completely different sport, but I gained a lot of experience and truly enjoyed it. I had a great feeling with the bike, and my knee feels fantastic. I’m really happy to be racing again, and I feel great within the team. I’m already looking forward to the next race in Lacapelle next weekend.”

Stéphane Dassé:
“We didn’t really know what to expect when we arrived, as Fran was new to this discipline. Of course, we would have loved to leave with the victory, but for a first attempt, he did really well. Now that he has gained some experience, we hope to come back next year and go for the win.”

Another podium finish for Bud Racing colors—Tim Lopes secured 3rd place in the Espoirs category. The Bud Academy rider kicked off his season in style in his first official race under his new colors. Lastly, three young female riders at this 2025 Enduropale delivered a strong performance as Bud Racing support riders. Thelma Boudier won the Espoirs girls’ category, followed by Sarah Leroy, who claimed victory in the Juniors category ahead of Léa Chaput,
all three riding Kawasakis. Congratulations!

Watch the “Inside” video of the event on our YouTube channel >

Main event in the calendar of the French Sand series, the Enduropale was the first race of Mathis on a 250 and the result confirmed that he feels comfortable on the 250 Kawasaki. Despite a bad position behind the starting gate due to his #188, Mathis was sixth after the opening lap and gained a few positions during the first laps. He closed the gap with the leaders lap after lap, and came second after the ninth of twenty-one laps; three laps later he took the lead and made a gap to cross the finish line with a thirty-eight seconds advantage.

Mathis Valin: “I was far on the grid with my number 188, completely outside and I wanted to start quickly to follow the leaders, but in the first part of the race I had some trouble to pass some amateur riders. It took me a few laps to find my marks on the track, I was not very comfortable in the waves. When I was told that I reduced the gap with the leaders after a few laps I felt more relax; I came back second, we made a quick refueling – congrats to the mechanics – and once leading I made a little gap on Knuiman. I stayed calm despite a little crash during the race, and I had fun here. It’s great to start the season on a victory!”

Stéphane Dasse: “We are happy with this victory, and super happy for Mathis. This winter we discovered a simple boy, easy to get along with, hard worker, everyone appreciates his attitude and the relationship within the team, whether it is the mechanics or his teammate Benjamin Garib, is very good. We took him training in the United States, in Spain, in Sardinia, we try to provide everything so that our riders can train in good conditions because they both deserve it. Le Touquet is an important race for us and for Kawasaki, so we are delighted with this great start of the season.”

On the strength of his victory in the Juniors only a few weeks ago on Hossegor beach, but above all the title holder in this category reserved for pilots under 18, Quentin Prugnières arrives like the great favorite of the race. The young Reunionese is preparing to compete in a new season in the 250cc MX European Championship and intends to take advantage of his excellent physical condition at the moment to shine again this year in the sands of Touquet. On the handlebars of his 250 KX Bud Racing, his intentions are clear. “This Touquet is once again a good preparation race for me for the coming season. Like last year, the goal is to put on the gas and win.”
First official release

Freshly arrived in the Bud Racing team, Anthony Bourdon will be just as keen to wear his new colors high. The native of Agen likes to ride in the sand, a texture that suits him well. With an 8th place obtained last year at Le Touquet in the queen category, Anthony is fully capable of once again placing his 450 KX Bud Racing at the top of the table and who knows, creating a surprise. “I can’t wait to put my wheels on the beaches of Le Touquet for my first outing with the Kawasaki Bud racing. The whole team did a great job on the bike. I only had January to prepare but I feel really comfortable on the Kawa and I think we can do something good while having fun”.

Other Kawasaki France riders supported by the Bud Racing team, Pierrick Paget is back on the legendary event, he who scored 4 consecutive podiums between 2006 and 2009. He will be accompanied by Lucien Cupif alias “La Boiserie” encouraged by more than 1 million subscribers on its social networks. Wearing bibs 101 and 500 respectively, the two acolytes intend to surpass themselves and give the best of themselves. We can trust them. See you Saturday from 2 p.m. for the Motorcycle race, broadcast live on the TV channels France 3, AutoMoto la Chaine and L’Équipe. The Juniors race takes place on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Back a few days earlier from Florida, where he got several podium results at the Mini O’s in Gatorback, Quentin joined the team in Hossegor to race the ‘Ronde des Sables’. Another experience for him after racing many Motocross and a few Supercross events this season, and this year again he dominated the Junior race. Starting from the second row behind the gate, as he’s not a regular contender in the series, Quentin didn’t take unnecessary risks at the start of the ninety minutes’ race. After three laps he took the lead of the race, and did a perfect demonstration even if he lost some time with a little problem of vent hose dislocated. Playing with his bike, doing some wheelies in the sand, he crosses the finish line nearly two minutes ahead of his main rival for his last race this season. No more starts for him this year, but he will now continue to train with the Team to prepare next season.

Quentin Prugnières: “Everything went perfect, I took my time to get the lead after starting from the second row and then I managed the race. I lost a few seconds due to a fuel hose, but apart this I had a lot of fun on this beautiful beach. It’s nice to race so different events, MX, SX and here a beach race on such a nice place. I enjoy my youth!”

Last Sunday was held the famous festival of the off-road French bike in this September. Total success for the traditional Kenny Festival which relaunched the “Coupe des As” bringing together the best French riders of each category and displaying a quality line-up.

Faithful among the most faithful, the 9MM Bud Racing Kawasaki team was of course part of it and did not want to miss this event in the small town of Reygade ( close to Brive ) more than 2500 bikes, quad and SSV riders of which the recent 5th of the 250cc European championship Quentin 319 Prugnières who ignited the public with his maximum attack !

At the end of Saturday’s practice, the rider from Reunion island “scored ” a cautious 7th position on his KAWASAKI 450 KX ( first race with the big guys )… Sunday 11.15 PM, start of the first race under a radiant sun, a large audience and impatient to see the French elite on the track… He was not disappointed, Quentin will make the show in spite of himself going up from the back of the race and come to fail in the wheel of the first to a meritorious second place regaling the public of his incisive riding. 16H PM, second moto but this time Quentin signs a magnificent holeshot and takes with authority the lead of the race which he will keep for a few laps then will give up under the assaults of the GP pilot Stephen RUBINI. A second position that he will keep until the chequered flag managing with control his advance on the 3rd.

Mission accomplished for the young rider of the 9MM Bud Racing Kawasaki Team ( remember that he is only 17 years old ). A performance unanimously appreciated and greeted with enthusiasm by the sponsors and guests present and who honoured us with their visit: BS BATTERY / HEROCK / SOBEM SCAME / DISTRI CASH.

The final word for Quentin : “A positive weekend for an important race but with nothing at stake. I had to have fun without taking unnecessary risks. This was the case. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organisation who did a great job on and off the track. A big thank also to my mechanics who once again did the job perfectly. Next event for me is the European Motocross of Nations next month. I’ll be back to training in the next few days on my usual 250 KX !”

OFF COURSE for 9MM BUD RACING KAWASAKI

Copyright > Gold M Production / Bud Racing

Magescq and Hossegor had no secrets for Quentin Prugnières, as both locations are close to the workshop of team 9MM Energy BUD Racing Kawasaki. But he had a lot to discover at Le Touquet, which is a unique race since now 46 years with about 2500 riders involved and 300.000 spectators !

After Magescq and Hossegor, Quentin add his name to a prestigious list of winners, such as Dylan Ferrandis or Maxime Renaux who were respectively crowned US champion and MX2 World Champion last year.

Three races and three wins, a perfect score for Quentin who is now focus on the European Championship. “It was cool to race these events, and it was great to reach our goal as I won them! The Enduropale was another good one; I was third at the start, but came at the lead before the end of the first lap. Apart two crashes everything went well; in fact I couldn’t read my pit board so I was confused and crash. I was upset to loose time, try to push harder and crash again,” explain Quentin who finally reach his goal in this mass event. “There was much more riders than at the other races, and some of them were not really careful; in the last part of the race I couldn’t avoid one of them who change his line at the last moment. Anyway it was a good preparation for the European championship, where I will try to apply what we did in training.”

The 250 European Championship will start next weekend in Mantova (Italy), first one of ten rounds.

Photos credit : CFS (X.Leporcher) / Scott (MX July) / Gold’M Productions

A track that all the riders of the Team discovered.

After a smooth qualifying round (2nd place for Sacha, 7th for Lucas), our two young riders had legitimate ambitions of victory for the races. In the first moto, after a start in the 19th position, Lucas finished 5th, but not without having shown some demerit. Sacha led the race from the first lap for 20 minutes with great domination until he was a victim of a small technical incident forcing him to abandon. During the second race, Lucas COENEN showed great aggressiveness on the track to conquer with panache his very first victory in the 125cc category. Sacha finished in 7th position under the chequered flag after two crashes in this round, a ranking that does not reflect his enormous potential. Overall victory for Lucas.

Also, 2 representatives of the Team 9MM Energy Drink Kawasaki were present this time in category MX2 (250cc). Honor to the ladies with a deserved qualification for Amandine 274 VERSTAPPEN who after finishing in 27th place will finish in an honorable 25th position during the race 1 in the middle of the boys (3 women in a track on 40 pilots). During the second race, the Belgian will even occupy for a moment the 15th place then will have to let go at the end of the race.
Better for Quentin 319 PRUGNIERES…

The young native of Reunion Island is getting stronger and stronger during this second event in Spain. 7th overall, Quentin will fall during the first start but will go back to the 11th place of the first race (after having obtained the best chrono of the warm-up) and will clearly raise the tone to catch this time a top 5 during the second race.
The last word for Quentin 319 PRUGNIERES : ” I was quite happy with my overall performance even if I didn’t succeed. In the beginning, I was in a good rhythm because I got the 4th fastest time. In the first race, I fell at the start and left in the 40th position, but I came back to finish in the 11th position. In the second race, I was in the first 10 this time and with a good start, I can pretend to be with the leaders. WE satisfying overall !”

Next race : Ernée ( French Elite Championship ) the next 6 June.

After Mantova two weeks ago, Lacapelle International was the next stop for the team who unfortunately could only line up Brian Moreau as Brian Hsu suffers a lower back injury while practicing earlier last week.

For his second race of the season Brian Moreau showed again tremendous speed all day to lap within half a second of pole during MX2 qualification. Coming from the sixth to the fourth position in the opening MX2 race, Brian was fighting for a podium result but lost his chances and three positions during the second part of the race. He got a great start in race 2 and pressurised the eventual double winner during the early laps, finally losing his rhythm after several attacks on Watson, fourth strongest MX2 rider last season in the World Championship. The teenager set the second fastest time in this race, but his relative inexperience of world racing came into play during the later stages of each race as he tensed up and slowed to finish sixth. But Brian can fly confidently to the opening GP secure in the knowledge that he has the speed to succeed.

Brian Moreau: “It was a decent day and a good training before the first GP, even if I know that I still have some extra work to do. My speed was good and I was fighting with Watson in the second race but physically I’m not ready yet to keep that speed for the entire race; I posted the second fastest lap time, but later in the race I got stomach cramps. Overall I’m happy with the result as this track is not an easy one; in the Super Final it was difficult against the 450 as they shower us with stones.”