Defending Moto class champion Todd Kellett – Drag’on Yamaha made it three wins in a row in the Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais to seize an early lead in the 2025 FIM Sand Races World Championship as Amandine Verstappen – Yamaha dominated the Moto Women category and Christophe Brucker – Yamaha crossed the line as first Moto Veteran rider home.

With the main category upgraded to full FIM World Championship status this season, twenty-seven-year-old Kellett – who won back-to-back FIM World Cup titles in the Moto class in 2023 and 2024 – made his customary fast start and controlled the three-hour epic from the front of the thirteen-hundred-strong field, leading every lap as he threw down the gauntlet to his rivals.

The iconic course on the coast of northern France had been extended by two kilometres to fifteen kilometres to mark the event’s fiftieth anniversary and the British Lion took the extra distance in his stride. His biggest challenge was expected to come from his team-mate and three-time Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais winner Milko Potisek, but the thirty-five-year-old Frenchman found himself over ten seconds behind after surviving the chaos of the opening lap as his compatriot Matheo Miot – Yamaha provided the early opposition to Kellett.

Kellett extended his advantage to around thirteen seconds over Miot on lap two as Potisek kept himself in contention in third ahead of his fellow countrymen Cyril Genot – Honda and last year’s series runner-up Jeremy Hauquier – Yamaha.

On lap three Potisek moved into second, but by this time he was almost thirty seconds in arrears and Kellett stayed on the gas to lead by almost a minute at the one-hour mark as Miot’s brother Florian moved into fourth ahead of Genot.

By the halfway point Kellett’s advantage over Potisek was over two minutes and he was able to manage the gap for the remainder of the race before finally breaking free on the penultimate lap, extending his lead to nearly three minutes before easing off to complete his fourteenth and final lap with a winning margin of two-and-a-half minutes.

“It was an incredible race and we’ve started the championship in a great way,” said Kellett. “I took a great start and felt as though from there I commanded the race to make it three in a row and make a dream start to the series. It’s a long campaign so we have time to work hard and make sure we do the job.”

With Potisek, who missed much of last season through injury, confirming his return to the top-flight in second, Dutchman Lars van Berkel – Honda finished just over eight minutes behind Kellett in third with Matheo Miot the series’ fourth registered rider home before almost a two-minute gap to Alexis Collignon – Honda who finished ten seconds ahead of Florian Miot.

With an unbeaten record in 2024, Amandine Verstappen started as a hot tip to win the Moto Women class and the twenty-five-year-old Belgian – who this year also aims to be a contender in the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship – did not disappoint her fans.

Although she failed to get the start she was hoping for, Verstappen fought her way into the leading one-hundred-and-fifty riders on the opening lap to take control of the class. Her main opposition came initially from 2023 champion Mathilde Denis – Yamaha before series newcomer Camille Viaud – Yamaha moved into second on lap five. However, by this point Verstappen was in complete control and she ended the race on a total of eleven laps, one lap clear of Viaud and Denis.

“I’m really happy,” said Verstappen. “At the start I was behind, but I didn’t give up. It was a great race. Honestly, I have nothing to complain about. The goal is to get closer to the top fifty among the men and today I was still a bit far off, but I’m happy with my riding – the faster you go the more complicated it gets.”

Competition in the Moto Veteran class is always fierce and this year is proving to be no exception with Brucker giving France its only home winner on a total of ten laps, one ahead of second-placed Fernando Rubio – Honda from Uruguay and two clear of Nicolas Lavenant – Yamaha who placed third.

The 2025 FIM Sand Races World Championship now takes an extended break before round two – the Enduro del Invierno – is staged in Argentina on 29-31 August.