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© Bob Mullins   

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Paul Holmes aboard his KTM picked up the Goldspeed European Quadcross Championship at the weekend.

The event which was held at St Jean D'Angely in France saw Holmes take two wins and a second place to pick up the overall win. Holmes has been the overall victor at all five rounds and has wrapped up the title with one round remaining.

In race one, Holmes got a better start than Frenchman Romain Couprie (Yamaha) and was already in second position after the first lap with Couprie running seventh. Couprie came through the pack and made a move on Holmes at the finish jump, unfortunately they touched and Couprie crashed finishing in eighth place. The first heat was won by Holmes in front of Belgian Jan Vlaemans (WTEC) and Dutchman Joe Maessen (Yamaha).

Race two and it was British rider Mark Watson who got the holeshot and lead for a number of laps. Holmes fought his way through overtaking Couprie and in a perfect race ended in first place. This time Couprie fought hard to finish second.

The holeshot in the third heat went to Couprie followed by Holmes and Maessen, who was the only rider still in the title fight. The positions stayed almost the same until the end of the race with victory going to Romain Couprie in front of Paul Holmes, Jan Vlaemans and Joe Maessen.

Roy Barton of the ACU stated: “This is excellent news for both Paul and British Quad racing. This is the second year that the European champion has come from the British Isles, with Scotsman John Mitchell taking the title in 2008. Paul has shown his ability against the international competition by dominating the racing this year and this can only bode well for the upcoming Quadcross of European Nations event.”

The sixth and last round of the European Championship will be held on the 13th September in Rudersberg, Germany.