YENTEL MARTENS 4th AT FRENCH BEACH RACE

ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING’S SAND SPECIALIST CLAIMS TOP FOUR RESULT AT FOURTH ROUND OF THE CHAMPIONNAT DE FRANCE DES SABLES

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Yentel Martens delivered a strong ride at round four of the French Beach Race series in Ronde des Sables, Hossegor-Capbreton to claim a confidence-boosting fourth-place result. 

After picking up a foot injury last weekend at round three of the championship, Martens was unsure of how things would go in the deep, sandy conditions at Ronde des Sables. A slow start saw the Husqvarna rider boxed in at the end of the main straight before he exited the first corner outside the top 20.

Quickly settling into a fast rhythm, Martens began to work his way through the traffic and up the leader board. Although at times riding tentatively in heavy traffic to protect his injury, he showed good speed to power his way inside the top five.

Pitting early for a fresh set of goggles, he continued to work hard on the tough and testing track. Closing in on Jeffrey Dewulf towards the end of the two-hour and 30-minute race, a crash prevented Martens from challenging for an eventual podium result and he had to be content with fourth.

The Championnat de France des Sables continues with round five in Grayan on January 13, 2019. 

Yentel Martens:“Today was a positive step forward for me. After some bad luck last weekend and then picking up a small foot injury I was nervous about how things would go. Unfortunately, my start wasn’t the best and I was outside the top 20, so had a bit of work to do there. But my speed was good and I was able to make up the positions quite quickly. I caught up to Jeffrey Dewulf near the end but crashed and lost some time to him that I wasn’t able to recover. However, I’m happy with the progress. I know my speed is good enough to win now and as a team we are all working hard to make it happen.”D

Results – French Beach Race Series, Round 4

1. Nathan Watson (KTM) 25 laps 2:23:11.880; 2. Camille Chapeliere (KTM) 2:26:59.150; 3. Jeffrey Dewulf (KTM) 2:28:59.550; 4. Yentel Martens (Husqvarna) 24 laps 2:23:59.550; 5. Daymond Martens (Honda) 2:24:01.590… 

Championship Standings (After round 4)

1. Jeffrey Dewulf (KTM) 500pts; 2. Milko Potisek (Yamaha) 500pts; 3. Nathan Watson (KTM) 435pts; 4. Maxime Sot (Yamaha) 397pts; 5. Yentel Martens (Husqvarna) 390pts…

Text/Foto: Husqvarna-Motorcycles