History
The story of a brotherhood :
the Maingret brothers
From their father Charles Maingret’s garage in Pont-de-Vaux, the brothers were immersed in mechanics from an early age. At the end of the 60s, Bernard, Christian and Maurice took up motorcycling and took part in numerous competitions. In 1973, Christian became more passionate about engines and, together with motorcycle racer Christian Bourgeois, created Moraco, a company specialized in the preparation of competition motorcycles. The company was soon entrusted by Yamaha France (Sonauto) with the preparation of Patrick Pons’ motorcycles (world speed champion in 1979). In 1976, Bernard added another activity to the family garage, preparing vehicles for the Abidjan-Nice rally, which would open the door to the Paris-Dakar with the Mitsubishi Pajero. The siblings regrouped around these activities, and from then on Maurice, Michel, Daniel and Dominique joined Bernard and Christian to develop these Assistance, Logistics and Preparation activities for international races and rallies. Today, Bernard, Maurice and Michel remain active in the organization of the 72 Hours.
AMPV
The Association Motocycliste de Pont-de-Vaux was created in 1979 and chaired by Bernard Maingret. It became the organizer of the event, with members of the U.M. Ain managing the sporting side.
The AMPV now has 137 members, almost all of whom are volunteers during the preparation and running of the 72 Heures de Pont-de-Vaux.
For their part, the race directors, jury, technical stewards and track marshals represent around a hundred people.
The creation
of the event in 1987
The first event took place on August 10, 1986 in Pont-de-Vaux: the Super Trike Show. In 1987, long before the advent of quads as we know them today, the adventure began with ATC trikes, motorized tricycles and a few quads. The following year, 1988, it became a quads-only event. The event soon became international, with teams from the UK entering in large numbers, soon joined by teams from Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1992, the USA entered several teams. The 1990s and 2000s also saw the arrival of South African and Australian teams (Australia will be back for the 2019 edition). In 2008, motorcycles made their appearance on the Mondial landscape, with sprints from 2009 to 2011. The race then became a six-hour endurance event, followed by an eight-hour event in 2012. After an absence of 6 years, the motorcycle reappears in the event’s program in 2018 and confirms its return in 2019 with the Ainduro. The 22nd edition welcomes the first Kenny Quad Contest, which has been a great success ever since, confirming its role as an antechamber to the 12 Hours. In 2014, the Kids Quad event was added, reserved for 9-15 year-olds.
After the Covid episode, which saw the event cancelled in 2020, the event was renewed and renamed the 72 Heures de Pont-de-Vaux.
The future
The future of the 72 Hours is already shaping up with biofuels and electric vehicles. The future is full of promise for the Pontevallois event, which is already looking ahead to its 40th edition.
