Oss, Holland (4/7/2011) - The opening
Round of the Goldspeed European Quad Championship
was held this past weekend in the
Dutch town of Oss. A deep sand based circuit
with a very technical layout proved an excellent
venue for
the season opener and treat the spectators to
some very exciting racing.
With a new Yamaha Quad for 2011 and a challenging
circuit the weekend was going to be tough so
having a good
set-up was critical. The Holmes Racing team
worked hard between practice sessions enabling
Paul to take 5th place
in his Qualifying group giving him an outside
gate choice for Sunday’s racing.
Race 1 was difficult
from the gate drop as the strong field of riders
battled into the first corner with Holmes exiting
in 7th place. Before the first lap was over,
Holmes had made some great manoeuvres and moved
into 5th place. On lap 2 Holmes had already
moved up to 4th place where he settled into
a strong pace closely following the lead pack.
Whilst battling, and at the same time trying
to maintain smooth consistent laps to make sure
he was strong for the full 30mins + 2 lap race,
Holmes was caught up in a multi quad pile up
on lap 11 in a very tight section of the track
and dropped to 8th place. With only 4 laps remaining
Holmes caught the pack in front of him but hadn’t
enough time to make any passes and at the chequered
flag had to settle for 8th place.
Race 2 had another
tough start as the track had been really cut
up with deep ruts everywhere. Passing was difficult
and rounding the first corner in 8th Holmes
had his work cut out. He soon started to move
up the scoring sheet and at the mid point of
the race was in 6th place. With 3 laps to go
he made the move for 5th before putting another
rider behind him with just 2 laps to go. Holmes
crossed the line in a very respectable 4th place
and took home with him some very strong points
towards his championship campaign. Paul Holmes
takes 4th overall at Round 1 of Goldspeed European
Championship
Holmes commented after the weekend’s
action:
This weekend has really been difficult and I
couldn’t have managed it without my team
and my great sponsors. I’m riding a new
quad this year and I’ve never raced here
in Oss before so I knew it would be a challenging
weekend but we worked hard to get a good set-up
and taking home 4th overall is an excellent
start to the Championship. Both races have been
made longer this season, they’re now 30mins
+ 2 laps, so fitness is really important. I
felt strong throughout both the races and actually
made a lot of passing towards the end of race
2 so I’m really happy with where I am
with my fitness.
There are so many people I need to thank but
I want to give a special shout out to PEP for
giving me an incredible
amount of help to perfect the set-up and suspension
of my quads; Goldspeed Tires who hooked me up
with some
excellent new sand tires and were on hand to
give superb technical assistance between sessions,
and my trainers
Ray and Bruce who have been working with me
through the off season to get me to where I
am now.
| Goldspeed
European Championships - Round 1 -
Pro Results |
| Place |
Name |
Points |
| 1 |
Jan Vlaeymans |
47 |
| 2 |
Romain Couprie |
37 |
| 3 |
Mike van Grinsven |
35 |
| 4 |
Paul Holmes |
31 |
| 5 |
Nikky Vaes |
31 |
| 6 |
Jason McBeth |
28 |
| 7 |
Davy De Cuyper |
28 |
| 8 |
Paul Winrow |
28 |
| 9 |
Jeremie Warnia |
25 |
| 10 |
Mark Watson |
20 |
Holmes Racing would
like to take this opportunity to thank
GR Electrical Services PEP Suspension, Goldspeed
Tires, SHIFT Racing, DWT, Laegers, HINSON, DP
Brakes,Twin Air, Kutvek Kit Graphik, Motion
Pro, RNR, ATVs Only, AXP, BORN, Quad Tech, Renthal,
TPSL, Gaerne, Muk Junkie, Pulse Beats and Lonestar
Racing for their continued support and also
thank and welcome to the team new sponsors DOMA
Exhausts, Drag’on DistributionATV NRG,
Drag’on Tek, MOTUL, ATV World, Action
Cameras, GoPro, SAMCO hoses, Racebikebitz, Pro
Armour, Tire Balls, Leatt, USWE and Elkay Sports.
