The famous Canada Heights circuit in Kent was the home of the first-ever British Quadcross GP as the brand-new FIM Quadcross World Championship headed for our shores for the first time at the weekend.
Words by Bradley Hix – Images by QMX
Warm-up
Compared to the qualifying race, conditions were slightly cooler as 18 riders made their way onto the circuit for the warm-up session, and it was the local rider Harry Walker who went quickest by over half a second, ahead of Manfred Zienecker and Patrick Turrini. After taking third position in qualifying, Kevin Saar would complete the session at the rear of the field in 18th place, whilst McLernon posted the 17th quickest time. Only one second covered the top-five positions, with qualifying victor Randy Naveaux finishing in 5th, only +1.049 behind Walker.
Race 1
Immediately from the start, Saar looked to have been squeezed out on the inside of the circuit, but he would recover fantastically and be inside the top five on the opening lap. The holeshot went to Sylvain Petit, maintaining his reputation as a fast starter, and he led the way from Turrini, with Walker inside the top five positions, too.
Petit was doing a great job of defending the race lead, but just as Saar was making his overtake, disaster would strike for the Estonian, as the Yamaha started billowing smoke at the head of the pack. Clearly, the machine was not going to last the distance, but it did not slow him down…for now.
Only a couple of laps later, Saar would be forced to retire to the pit area, out of the race lead, and handed the race lead back to Petit. Turrini, waiting in the wings, decided that now was the time to make the challenge, and wrestled the race lead away from the Frenchman.
Further down the pack, Manfred Zienecker was on a charge, picking off his opposition one-by-one and showcasing the speed we all know he has. Once he was through on McLernon, Petit, and Walker, he had the clear track to try and close the gap between himself and Turrini. In the meantime, Walker made a great, firm but fair challenge on Petit to put himself into third position, much to the delight of the crowd who roared their approval. Only one lap later, and it was Mike van Grinsven’s turn to perform the exact same move on Petit that Walker had done. He made the move stick and would not lose the fourth position throughout the remainder of the race.
Zienecker had closed the gap and was running on the rear axle of Turrini. He saw the opportunity, took it with both hands, and grabbed the race lead away from the Italian. With the race lead and, again, nothing but clear track in front, he opened the margin to an insurmountable amount.
At the chequered flag, it was Zienecker who claimed the honours for the first time in the World Quadcross championship, ahead of Turrini, with Walker holding onto third position at home.
Results
1. Manfred Zienecker
2. Patrick Turrini
3. Harry Walker
4. Mike van Grinsven
5. Randy Neveaux
Race 2
It was elbows-out once again from the gate-drop, and it was Jordi Niclas Gieler who made the best launch, leading the field around the opening turns ahead of Turrini, with Zienecker and Saar not too far adrift. Third-place finisher from race one, Harry Walker, was just outside of the top-five position with Mike van Grinsven for very close company.
Turrini and Zienecker would soon find their way through on Gieler and, with Saar bearing down on him, Gieler knew he had his work cut out. Zienecker would then challenge Turrini for the race lead, to which the Italian would retaliate immediately. This would hamper Zienecker in his efforts as it allowed both Naveaux and Saar to come through. Saar would then go one better to relegate Naveaux to fourth position and was soon hot on the heels of the dicing duo at the front.
Turrini tried to make the break at the front, but it would be Saar who showed why he is a 5x European champion as he tripled into the whoops, carrying much more speed and flew past his title rival, and would open the leading margin over the red-plate holder.
Mark McLernon, who held sixth position in the opening laps, would drop behind Walker, van Grinsven, and Gieler, as the Brit and Dutchman fought for fifth position. Back at the front, Naveaux was becoming ever more impatient in his efforts to try and overtake the #51 Yamaha but would have to wait for a few laps before he was able to seize the opportunity to do so. Zienecker, in the meantime, would find himself in a developing lonely fourth position, but if Turrini was to finish in third, then this would be enough for the overall victory.
With a six-second lead over his rivals, Kevin Saar was the man of the moment as he started the final lap with enough time in hand to not worry about track position or being hassled for the win. Naveaux, after breaking the defence of Turrini, would claim second position ahead of the championship leader, Patrick Turrini.
With round number four complete, we are rapidly approaching the halfway point in this inaugural World Quadcross championship and, with Turrini holding a 45-point advantage over Saar and Walker, he will be looking at the bigger picture of the world crown. In just one week, the paddock will be heading west to Gdansk, Poland, which is a circuit that Harry Walker took overall victory at one year ago.
Results
1. Kevin Saar
2. Randy Naveaux
3. Patrick Turrini
4. Manfred Zienecker
5. Mike van Grinsven
Overall Results
Championship Standings
