French quad racing champ to participate in UAE desert challenge

World #8 hopes to better rankings at gruelling event

[ClickPress, Wed Sep 19 2007] French quad racing champion Eric Vergnes, who ranked number eight in the world cup in 2006 will be participating in the UAE Desert Challenge, the final Rally in the FIM/FIA World Championship scheduled to take place in the UAE from October 29th to November 2nd 2007.

The 17th edition of the Middle East's double world championship motor sport event continues to raise the standards for international cross-country rallying by attracting top class drivers and riders from around the world.

The UAE leg is the final round of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup for cars and trucks and the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship for bikes. Top teams and riders from around the world come to fight for last minute championship points, while others to simply test their equipment before the gruelling Paris-Dakar starts in January.

Eric has teamed up with Gauloises in his second consecutive participation at the UAE Desert Challenge. “Gauloises are delighted to partner with champion quad biker Vergnes,” said Mr. Frederic Bastid, GM of ALTADIS Middle East. The experienced Frenchman has shown a rich vein of form in 2006, and we are pleased to support and nurture his innovative and exciting riding talent. We look forward to a fruitful partnership and hope to achieve our mutual objectives in the UAE Desert Challenge.

"Eric is a strong rider with a good blend of youth and experience and we are counting on him to fulfil his potential and prove that he has the talent and determination to do even better,” Mr. Bastid remarked.

Commenting on the alliance, Mr. Vergnes said, “Gauloises have placed a lot of faith in me and I am determined to strike a balance between consistency and speed that is needed to survive the tough terrain and conditions at the Desert Challenge.”

Eric has been tackling some of the most demanding and rugged desert terrain in the Middle East and acclimatising himself to the environment and aims to make a mark on the quad racing circuit. At last year’s event, he demonstrated unbelievable pace rode hard all day in the difficult conditions to clinch the third spot.

“I practice for around six to eight hours once a week on my quad to get accustomed to the terrain before the event and train in the gym regularly through the year to keep my fitness levels high ahead of the event,” Vergnes remarked.

Covering the desert dunes, the course winds its way across the UAE for five days from the towering dunes of the remote Rub Al Khali (the famed empty quarter) to the flat out wadi plains (dry river bed) that wind their way through the scenic Hajjar mountains.

Each event attracts hundreds of competitors from around the world in bike, car and truck classes and many of the competitors bring along an extensive retinue of mechanics, team managers, friends and families.

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