KTM rider wins European Quad Championship

Team KTM UK’s Paul Holmes wrapped up the 2009 GOLDSPEED EMX Quad European Championship after a victory at the penultimate round in France this past weekend.

In front of over 8,000 spectators at the St Jean d’Angely Grand Prix circuit, Holmes put on an impressive display as he piloted his 2010 KTM 505 SX to fastest lap in timed qualification before taking a 1-1-2 scorecard for his 5th overall victory in five races.

Holmes consistency throughout the series, taking fifteen podiums from fifteen motos, has seen his lead increase to eighty-one points with only seventy-five points still up for grabs at the final round in Rudersberg. The 21-year-old enters the record books as the youngest ever winner of a European Quad Championship.

Paul Holmes races to victory.

“It’s been an unbelievable weekend and to have won the title with one round remaining is fantastic,” says Holmes. “We used the 2010 KTM 505 SX for the first time and got a really good set up to take fastest qualifier, and in the first two races I had to work my way through after top five starts, with the second heat a really tough one as I had the two really fast KTMs of my teammate James Hellewell and also Mark Watson to catch and get past, and after holeshotting the last race I knew I had the overall win and Championship within reach so just rode sensibly and settled for 2nd. ”

Spurred on by his recent victory in the Under – 18 category at the renowned Maxxis 12 hours of Pont De Vaux, fellow Team KTM UK rider James Hellewell proved once again that he is quickly coming of age, by taking 11th overall with a 13-8-12 result to remain in sixth place.

“Overall I’m really happy with the way the weekend has gone and the result that I’ve come away with,” says Hellewell. “This is a really technical track unlike anything that we have at home, but the Team KTM UK 505 SX handled perfectly and I had a lot of fun. I’ve added another seven points to my lead over seventh in the standings, so I’m really looking forward to Rudersberg in a week’s time where I’ll be aiming for another good result.”

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