France (7/18/2012) - Paul
Holmes finishes 2nd at Round 5 of the European
Championship The 2012 MAXXIS European Championship
headed to the south of France for round 5 after
having round 3 in Italy, and round 4 just one
week previous in Belgium. Holmes Racing’s
Paul Holmes sits comfortably in 2nd place overall
in the Championship standings after overcoming
some very difficult races over the past 3 rounds.
 |
Paul
Holmes grabbed the holeshot aboard his
Yamaha YFZ450R in France |
At round 3 In Italy, Holmes qualified in 2nd
place, right behind the points leader. He took
an outstanding 3rd place in race 1 after a poor
start and with an unfortunate crash in race
2, whilst sitting again in 3rd place, 3 laps
to go, he had to pick himself up and managed
to salvage a 6th place but it came alongside
some serious injuries. These injuries meant
Holmes couldn’t keep up his usual training
regime and actually kept him off his quad for
1 month.
With mixed weather for the weekend's action
at round 4 in Genk, Belgium, Holmes used the
practice sessions wisely and tried to get back
into his rhythm after being unable to ride or
train for the last month. Holmes claimed 4th
in the timed qualification session, just 1 second
behind 1st placed points leader Warnia. Holmes
claimed 4th in race 1 after fighting for traction
for the first half of the race as his rivals
opted for the larger wheel choice, and as the
track conditions improved throughout the race,
so did the lap times of Holmes as he closed
in on 3rd place and set the fastest lap of the
race but with passing made almost impossible
due to the conditions, Holmes had to settle
for 4th.
Picking up a puncture on lap 3 of the 17 lap
2nd race, Holmes rode smart and opted not to
pit for a wheel change and made the most of
what he had, to hold on to 4th place. Narrowly
missing out on the overall spot on the podium
by 1 point, he had to be content with 4th.
|
MAXXIS
European Quad Cross Championship
- Round 5 |
With brilliant track conditions in this picturesque
village in the south of France, The FFM organisation
put on a spectacular event for both riders and
the public. In front of thousands of spectators
Holmes adapted to the technical and demanding
hard pack based circuit packed with huge jumps
and mixed elevations quickly and posted the
2nd fastest lap time in the qualification session
behind local Frenchman and points leader Warnia.
Race 1: Grabbing a huge holeshot
over the field, Holmes set an incredible pace
pulling away from his rivals for the first part
of the race also recording the fastest lap of
the entire weekend, 1.4 seconds quicker than
the fastest lap in Qualification. Holmes went
onto lead all 19 laps of the 30min + 2 lap race
finishing a comfortable 7 seconds clear of Warnia
in 2nd.
Race 2: Getting closed in
on the start, Holmes rounded the first corner
down in 7th place and immediately started making
passes. By the half way point of the race Holmes
was already in 2nd place behind early race leader
Warnia. They remained in these positions until
the end of race 2 and ended the day tied on
points.
Holmes commented after the weekends action:
“Following last weekends misfortune with
the flat tire and my crash last month I’m
really pleased with how this weekend has gone.
Race 1 was awesome, That’s the first holeshot
I’ve had in this series and I made the
most of it for sure, collecting the win felt
great. I rode strong in race 2 and happy to
be up on the podium again and have bagged some
really valuable points. The team have done a
great job so I need to give a huge shout out
to them and all my supportive sponsors.”
| Maxxis
European Championships - ATV Championship
Points |
| Place |
Name |
Points |
| 1 |
Jeremie Warnia |
237 |
| 2 |
Paul Holmes |
183 |
| 3 |
Stefan Schreiber |
165 |
| 4 |
Mike Van Grinsven |
162 |
| 5 |
Meldrajs Karlis |
118 |
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.
