Harry Walker toughed it out at Foxhill to make the podium with second at the British Round of the 2025 European Quadcross Championship yesterday
Race Report by Bradley Hix – Images courtesy of Earths Eye Media
Several clouds lingered in the sky, but it was blue skies for the vast majority to open the curtain on Sunday’s action, with tensions high.
After the qualifying race yesterday, initial expectations of the races today would suggest that Naveaux and Turrini may have had something extra in their pocket, with Walker having 7th gate-pick, and leaving himself with plenty of work to do in the races yesterday, however,
Race 1
Walker would not want to be putting on a show that had anything less than 110% effort, and that was clear to see as he carved his way through the pack in the opening turns to follow the man who took the holeshot and, arguably, his main championship rival, Patrick Turrini. Manfred Zienecker was in second position momentarily, before Walker slipped up the inside on his Yamaha, and this would see Zienecker attempt to fend off Mclernon in the opening stages, however, it took Mclernon all of half a lap to overcome the German and promote himself in the vital stages of this event.
Randy Naveaux made a good start but found himself on the cusp of the top-five in the early stages and set about picking off the opposition one-by-one, in his efforts to climb to the front of the pack but, simultaneously, Turrini and Walker were clearing away at the front. 4 local riders sat within the top-ten positions, with Walker, Mclernon, Dafydd Davies and Murray Grahame putting on a superb display for the supportive local crowd. Mike van Grinsven, 3rd in the standings coming into this weekend, would put up a great fight against Grahame, Gieler Thomsen and Neija, in a fantastic battle for 6th position.
Walker was stalking Turrini for the majority of the first half of the race, but approaching 7-minutes to go, it was clear to see that Walker’s mindset had switched, and he knew that it was time to go. A decisive move would see him gently move Turrini to the outside of the circuit, to which Turrini would soon retaliate and this would prove to be a high-risk move as, unfortunately for the Italian, his attempt to retake the race lead would prove costly and Walker gave no room at all for the red-plate holder to squeeze his Yamaha through, and this would result in Turrini very nearly toppling his Yamaha over. On this specific lap, Turrini would lose 3 seconds which dropped him into the clutched of Naveaux, who had been charging towards the duo at the front, setting the fastest lap time of the weekend in the process, of a 2:15.312.
Naveaux would soon find his way through on Turrini and set about closing the deficit between himself and Walker. In the meantime, Zienecker was riding on the rear axle of Mclernon in his hopes to claim 4th position away from the Ulsterman. It was clear to see that the narrow nature of this Fox Hills circuit was working in favour of Mclernon, with the German being given the challenge of trying to sneak through any gap that was to open for him.
Walker stood firm and stood strong and the head of the field, with a determined Naveaux running out of time in the race before being able to mount a challenge on the reigning champion. The chequered flag brought home Walker ahead of Naveaux, with Turrini taking 3rd position and, seemingly, settling for this position with plenty of open track behind him.
If this first race is anything to go by, then we can be sure that this afternoon’s race shall not be one to miss!
Results
Race 2
With sunshine in abundance and the eyes of thousands of spectators watching on, the dramatic charge to the first turn would see Randy Naveaux briefly lead the way around the first turn, however, the speed into the first turn would see him run wide on the exit, with Zienecker capatilising on this, taking the holeshot, and Turrini would take advantage too, moving up the inside of Naveaux to take second position in the early stages. Despite the lightning start made earlier, Walker would be in 5th position and fighting hard with Mike van Grinsven in the opening lap, giving himself plenty of work to do in his hopes of a 1-1 finish.
Mclernon slotted into 4th position ahead of Walker and behind Naveaux, but seemingly could not match the pace being set by the leading trio. This would be a prime opportunity for Turrini to extend his championship lead, which stood as a solitary point after race 1. Zienecker, with over 20 minutes remaining in the race, made his Yamaha as wide as possible to further block any opportunity for Turrini and Naveaux. Walker would sneak through on Mclernon to take 4th position, and clamber onto the rear axle of Zienecker and, at the same point of the race, Turrini would take the lead of the race, thus relegating Zienecker into the clutches of Naveaux, who would quickly make his way through on the German.
Walker seemingly was growing impatient behind Zienecker, as the narrow characteristics of the circuit would make it difficult for the reigning champion to find a way through for 3rd position – all the while, Turrini and Naveaux increased their advantage at the front of the field. Mark Mclernon would drop slightly down the order and did not have a relaxing race as he had the tough task of defending his position from Karl Robin Rillo in the latter half of the race. This would be a position that he would not relinquish, with Rillo not managing to find a Yamaha-sized gap to promote himself.
Naveaux would keep sight of Turrini for a handful of laps, but once he decided that it was time to make the move, he put in the hard graft, to increase his leading margin quite significantly, to which there was no comeback, despite the best efforts of Turrini who, on the final lap, closed to within half a second of the eventual race winner, similar to Naveaux and Walker in the previous race.
The chequered flag would beckon the Belgian, and he took 25 points in the final race and, when combined with his 22 points from race 1, the overall victory was his. Turrini, desperately close to claiming the victory, would take second position and Walker in third.
Results
Overall Results
Standings after Round 2
