Eric, Kevin and Maëlle Lenoir: the Lamera Cup with the family

The beautiful story starts on unusual foundations. It was not Eric, the father, who trained his son to give big throttle boosts on the circuits of France and Navarre. Better: the Lenoir family, with the exception of his father's motocross exploits in his younger years, has never fanned the cult of speed and late braking.

She does, however, have a good dose of competitiveness in her DNA. Eric, the father, is a fan of very long-term events by bike and independently. 1000 to 1200 terminals swallowed in five days in the desert of Oman amuse his sixty-year-old calves.

Kevin (35 years old) has participated in the Etape du Tour a few times and, several times a week, goes on 20 km jogs in the Touraine woods. Maëlle, his wife, is also a fan of the weight room.

But then, where does this need to put on a helmet and put on a fireproof suit come from?

« The impression of being professionals »

« I discovered the Lamera Cup on the Dijon track in 2019, explains Kevin. I was won over to the point of sharing, from the start, this experience with Maëlle. And I very quickly persuaded my father to join us.

Since then, we have become more and more frequent participants. The infrastructure in which we operate is motivating for simple amateurs without much experience that we are.

We feel like professionals while knowing that we will never be world champions. We have enormous track time at each meeting.

And each time we participate in a day of private testing, as was the case this Friday in Nogaro, a coach accompanies us for a few laps to explain the ideal trajectories.

He gives us valuable advice on gear ratios but is careful not to give us braking benchmarks. He is right: it depends so much on each person's level. »

Good-natured atmosphere

Unavoidable question: how does the rest of the family judge this commitment of Eric, Kevin and Maëlle to a sport that is by definition dangerous?

« My parents are paralyzed, smiled the young lady. To the point that I no longer give them the Lamera Cup schedule. »

« We avoid talking about it in family gatherings, smiled Eric. On the other hand, each meeting is a great opportunity to share very intense moments.

My business is based in Reims, my son's is based in Tours. Outside of racing, we very rarely see each other. Our family history blends perfectly into the good-natured atmosphere of the Lamera Cup. »

By the way, do these inherently stressful moments cause tension, or even arguments, among the Lenoirs?

« It is extremely rare, says the father. Even when one of us ends up in the gravel, he is not chastised by the other two. And, very quickly, the subject turns into a joke. »