Can-Am Drivers Sweep 12 Hours of La Tuque Podium
- Updated: May 21, 2015
Yani Desjardins (Can-Am X-Team) drove his Can-Am Maverick X rs 1000R to the overall and Open 851cc-1000cc SxS class win in the 2015 12 Hours of la Tuque in Quebec, Canada. (Image by UTV Planet Magazine)
Can-Am Maverick drivers finished 1-2-3 to sweep both the SxS Open class and the overall SxS podium at the 2015 12 Hours endurance of la Tuque Can-Am held this past weekend in the La Tuque, Quebec, Canada. Can-Am side-by-side racing pilots also scored podium victories in AWRCS and LOORRS to showcase the unrivaled performance of the Maverick 1000R side-by-side vehicle.
“Our racers had another great racing weekend behind the wheel of the Can-Am Maverick side-by-side vehicle, winning numerous races. We swept the Open class and overall podium and had four Maverick teams in the top five overall at the 12 Hours of la Tuque,” said Jeff Leclerc, Racing Project Leader, Can-Am. “No matter the type of racing, from endurance, to short track, to woods racing, these impressive finishes only reinforce the message that the Can-Am Maverick is THE performance side-by-side vehicle of choice when it comes to power, precision and agility.”
Second overall and the runner-up spot in the Open SxS class went to former winner Martin Horik of OCTANE / Can-Am in a Maverick 1000R. (Image by UTV Planet Magazine)
12 Hours of La Tuque
Can-Am Maverick side-by-side racers swept the SxS overall podium and won both the SxS Open (851cc-1000cc) and SxS Stock (851cc-1000cc) classes at the 2015 12 Hours of La Tuque. The top two finishers, Yani Desjardins and Martin Horik, are very familiar with the endurance race and one another, as they have each won the 851cc-1000cc class over the previous two years.
Desjardins, the 2013 overall winner, piloted his No. 5 Can-Am X-Team Maverick X rs 1000R side-by-side to the SxS Open class win. Desjardins impressed both days and overcame a time penalty by winning round one of the two-leg race. The round one victory and time adjustment forced Desjardins to start sixth off the line, instead of first, for session two. From there, he simply passed every rider to win by almost two full minutes. He completed 50 laps in a time of 2:03:37.724 to beat Horik this year.
(From left) Diane Rossi (Rossi X-Team; third Open class), Yani Desjardins (Overall and Open class winner), Stephane Dupont (Equip Dupont Motorsport; Stock class winner) and Martin Horik (Overall and Open class runner-up) all drove Can-Am Maverick side-by-side vehicles and finished on the 2015 12 Hours of la Tuque podium. (Image by UTV Planet Magazine)
Horik (OCTANE / Can-Am), last year’s overall winner, captured second place in the class and second overall. The veteran driver, who was the only other one to complete 50 laps, was in the running for the overall, but also fell victim to a time penalty and had to settle for a hard-fought second-place podium finish with his Can-Am Maverick 1000R. Diane Rossi (Rossi X-Team) finished one spot behind Horik in the Open class and was fifth overall.
Third overall and first in the Stock class went to racer Stephane Dupont of Equip Dupont Motorsport, who was competing in a new stock Can-Am Maverick X ds 1000R TURBO, the industry’s most powerful and lone factory-installed turbocharged side-by-side vehicle. The new team put together an impressive performance completing 49 laps (one lap down) in a time of 02:03:21 to earn a coveted spot on the SxS overall podium and first in its class.
Dave Plavi and co-pilot Todd Empfield took their Offroad Motorsports / Wicked Bilt / Can Am Maverick to another AWRCS win this past weekend in Pennsylvania. (Image supplied by Plavi Racing)
AWRCS
Dave Plavi drove his No. 591 Offroad Motorsports / Wicked Bilt / Can-Am Maverick to a victory at round three of the American Woods Racing Championship Series held at Redbank in New Bethlehem, Pa. The wire-to-wire win on a dusty, rock-strewn course extended Plavi’s points lead after the second round of the series’ side-by-side racing action. Team Travalena / Can-Am driver Richard Travalena Jr. took second behind Plavi, giving Can-Am a 1-2 finish in the Open class ranks.
LOORRS
DragonFire Racing / Weller Racing / Can-Am pilot Ken Benson earned the Production 1000 class win in his new Can-Am Maverick X ds side-by-side vehicle at round six of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Regional Racing series double-round weekend held at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz.
