In difficult conditions, the events company, JLFO, has built Europe’s largest ever supercross course using Bobcat compact equipment. JLFO built the track for the Paris SX leg of the French ‘SX TOUR’ Supercross Championship in the versatile new U Arena in Nanterre in the outskirts of Paris, which was opened in October 2017. This event had been held for more than 30 years at the Palais Omnisports venue in Paris Bercy, before relocating for the last three years to the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve d'Ascq.

To build the track for the Paris SX held on 18-19 November, JLFO teams employed a fleet of machines including three Bobcat compact loaders, a Bobcat compact excavator and a Doosan wheeled excavator to move and shape nearly 4000 m3 of soil to prepare the largest Supercross course ever completed inside a stadium in Europe.

JFLO, Supercross Track Specialist

Based in La Bastide-l’Eveque in France, JLFO specializes in organising events in the car, motorbike and quad bike sectors. With more than 200 major events to its credit, JLFO has forged a strong reputation in the construction of off-road tracks for car, motorbike and quad bike racing, as well as handling all of the logistics to accompany the events.

Many Constraints

The work of the Bobcat and Doosan machines in Paris comes off the back of the Supercross SX events held the last three years in Lille, where the JLFO teams had used a fleet of Bobcat equipment to meet the challenge presented by only three days being available for assembly of the track and just one night for the disassembly, skillfully handling thousands of cubic metres of earth, while at the same time protecting any grass surfaces.

The challenge of installing the track for the Paris Supercross SX in the U Arena was just as immense. The deadlines were the same with three nights for building the track and only one night to dismantle it. The first job was to protect the lawn and the soil during the weekend. The construction of the track also had to be done at night by the teams in Nanterre. So for three nights, JLFO teams were mobilized to deliver the soil and build the slopes, bumps and other obstacles as required for the track. The Supercross course was finalised on the Thursday before the event, with pilot tests carried out on the Friday. The biggest challenge was dismantling the track overnight on between the end of Sunday and Monday. No less than five earthmovers were used, including a Bobcat E62 compact excavator, two Bobcat T870 loaders, a Bobcat T650 loader and a Doosan DX165W-5 wheeled excavator.

Nearly 4000 m3 of Soil

The volume of soil used to prepare the track was considerable: comprising nearly 4000 m3 on a floor area of ​​10.000 m2. The soil was transported in ten 20 tonne trucks from a location in Aubervilliers, six kilometres from the U Arena. The soil was spread in five layers by the Bobcat compact excavators and loaders to create the bumps and hollows of the track. Only the Freestyle bump was an intrinsic structure in itself, which saved about 400 m3 of soil - it was also covered with earth.

Jean-Luc Fouchet, Founding President of JLFO, explained: "Our three Bobcat T650 and T870 loaders and the Bobcat E62 compact excavator allow us to work with the utmost efficiency. When you make a hump in the track, you can climb on it and compact it. We can modulate it and we do not need another machine. With compact track loaders, you can quickly move to stand back, look at the shape and correct it if necessary."

The Bobcat T870 loaders are the largest loaders the brand has ever made. To achieve the feat of preparing and dismantling the track in such a short time, JLFO used three experienced Bobcat drivers. For the duration of the event, Bobcat loaders and compact excavators were at work for the regular repair of the track after the races.

In total, a team of 70 people completed the assembly of the SX track in Paris over three nights and for the disassembly over the last night. The event welcomed over 40,000 spectators on the Saturday and Sunday. As an operational partner, Bobcat invited some of its customers to attend the show over the weekend.

The team was mobilized again on Monday 20 November in Lyon for the next stage of the SX Tour championship. As well as Lyon and Paris, Bobcat is also partnering with JLFO to prepare the Supercross tracks at the Montpellier and Amnéville events that form part of the Championship.

The LCO Awards are the industry’s only accolade of their kind, based on empirical data regarding the long-term cost of heavy and compact equipment. They are organised by EquipmentWatch, a world leader in data, software and insights for the heavy equipment industry. Nominees are recognised within 15 different categories of machine that exhibit the lowest cost of ownership over a five year span.

Total cost of ownership is one of the most important aspects that buyers take into account when they purchase equipment. The awards won by the T590 and S70 are a testament to the reputation for high performance, quality and reliability that the Bobcat range of compact loaders, mini-excavators, telehandlers and attachments has established over the last 60 years.

Commenting on Bobcat’s success in the LCO Awards, Jiri Karmazin, Loaders Product Manager Doosan Bobcat EMEA, said: “We are delighted to win these awards again. They demonstrate why even after more than 60 years, the Bobcat compact loader range continues to be the market leader, so that one in every two skid-steer loaders sold today is still a Bobcat machine. It is our commitment to outstanding quality, workmanship and innovation that has helped to maintain our market leadership.”

The Bobcat T590 and S70 Compact Loaders

The T590 compact track loader has an operating weight of 3548 kg, a rated operating capacity (ISO 14397-1) of 971 kg and a tipping load (ISO 14397-1) of 2774 kg. A particular aspect of Bobcat compact track loaders like the T590 is the excellent ground-hugging abilities and stability offered by the tracks for work in harsh, wet conditions and for utilities and road maintenance with Bobcat planer and wheel saw attachments.

The S70 is the smallest model in the Bobcat skid-steer loader range. With a width of 901 mm, a height of 1814 mm, an overall length with standard bucket of 2472 mm and an operating weight of only 1268 kg, the S70 skid-steer loader ticks all the boxes for compactness, transportability and manoeuvrability. With its small dimensions, the S70 model can access sites with narrow openings such as gates, alleys or aisles. The S70 is ideal for work in tight areas where larger machines cannot manoeuvre effectively.

The T590 and S70, like all Bobcat compact loaders, are equipped with the quick-change Bob-Tach attachment mounting system, allowing them to be combined quickly and safely with a very wide choice of Bobcat attachments, delivering versatility and time-saving efficiency across a huge range of different applications.