There was a chill in the air as we arrived at the Dardon Gueugnon circuit, but the temperature would soon increase as the QXoN competitors took to the circuit for the timed practice sessions.
Max Lindquist would top group A ahead of Mike van Grinsven by +1.332 seconds, whilst Norway’s Tarald Hellebust completed the top three. Theo Gourmaud, for Team France, went sixth quickest which would certainly not dampen the confidence of the home squad.
Continuing the trend of USA claiming the top spot in Group B was Joel Hetrick. The multiple AMA champion headed Karl Robin Rillo by +3.555 seconds over Estonia’s Karl Robin Rillo, whilst Latvia’s Karlis Neija posted the third quickest time. Gregoire Rabat went seventh quickest after completing 12 laps.
The final timed practice group took to the circuit and, by the time the chequered flag went out, Christopher Tvaraen had posted nine laps – his quickest being only +0.133 ahead of Kevin Saar, with Team USA’s Zack Decker taking the final top three place. Sylvain Petit, for the home country, ended up sixth quickest to put Team France in a good position mentally, before qualifying action commenced.
Qualifying Group A
Under baking sunshine, the gates dropped for the first time and both Rasmus Sona and Max Lindquist made storming starts to go side-by-side through the first sequence of turns. It would be Team USA’s Max Lindquist who came out on top with a move around the outside, and this put him in perfect position to hit his groove and find his speed.
Reigning champions Team Netherlands fielded Mike van Grinsven for Group A, and he had been mired in the pack during the early laps however, he would pick off his opposition one-by-one to put himself into podium contention. The next challenge on his mind was to close the 3.5 second gap that had emerged between himself, and Rasmus Sona.
In the meantime, Theo Gourmaud for Team France was riding brilliantly, keeping Tarald Hellebust and Tadeas Rejdik behind, despite their best efforts and the sheer pressure they were putting onto his shoulders. He would persevere and, just when it seemed as though his defence would be broken, a small mistake from Hellebust allowed Rejdik to claim fifth spot. This would also allow Gourmaud a slight amount of breathing room to regroup and rethink his strategy to keep the opposition behind.
Lindquist was well out in front by the mid-point of the race, but Sona now had van Grinsven to worry about. The young Estonian used all his skill to keep the former European champion at bay, but a small error upon landing from a jump allowed van Grinsven to carry more speed, and slot into second position – a position that would not be challenged throughout the remainder.
Into the final stages, all cards were on the table for third position. Sona was back into the clutches of Gourmaud, whilst Gourmaud had Rejdik snapping at his heels. Rejdik seized the opportunity and moved into fourth position and set about challenging Sona for the third, but Sona’s defence would prove to be impenetrable as he held on all the way to the flag.
Results
- Max Lindquist (USA)
- Mike van Grinsven (NED)
- Rasmus Sona (EST)
- Tadeas Rejdik (CZE)
- Theo Gourmaud (FRA)
Qualifying Group B
Gates down, and a stampede of Quadcross machines raced towards the first turn with Karl Robin Rillo taking the advantage over Joel Hetrick. Karlis Neija slotted into third position, but the pace of the Estonian and American duo could not be matched and that was evident from the very start.
A small mistake from Rillo would prove to be enough for Hetrick to take advantage and claim the lead of the race, which would not be challenged throughout the remainder of the event, despite the best efforts of Rillo.
Towards the rear of the pack, Delano Eijk for Team Netherlands did not make the best start and was caught in a battle for ninth position behind Mathieu Wilkin and Martin Dopita. Not before too long, Eijk carved his way through into ninth spot as Dopita looked to mount a challenge on Wilkin. This would end poorly for the Czech rider as he got caught out in the rut and was deposited onto the ground. He did remount, albeit fifty seconds behind his nearest rival.
In the mid-pack, Lars Holmen was starting to build the pressure onto the shoulders of Riccardo Lami, but the Italian would not succumb, allowing him to remain in his seventh position ahead of the Norwegian.
Out went the chequered flag, to be greeted by a thrilled Joel Hetrick meaning that Team USA take two victories from two races. Could Zack Decker cement the clean sweep in Group C?
Results
- Joel Hetrick (USA)
- Karl Robin Rillo (EST)
- Karlis Neija (LAT)
- Gregoire Rabat (FRA)
- Carl Bunce (GBR)
Qualifying Group C
A supreme start for the reigning world championship Kevin Saar saw the Estonian claim the holeshot ahead of another quick-starter, Sylvain Petit. From the outside of the gate, Zack Decker swooped into third place but would not wait a moment before mounting an attack on Petit. He carried superior speed on the landing of the first double and sped into second spot behind Saar.
In what was almost déjà vu from Group B, the Estonian leading the way made a small mistake, allowing the American to seize the lead, only this time, it was Saar running wide and Decker getting the undercut!
For the reigning champions, things would not improve after Group B as Joe Maessen was caught in a rut which also slowed the progress of Matteo Stiller. The Dutch and German riders lost valuable time, which they would spend the remainder of the race trying to recover.
Whilst this unfolded, Christopher Tvaraen held onto fourth position and was closing the gap to Petit. He could sniff a podium spot and would try his hardest to overcome the defence of the Frenchman. Much to the home crowd’s delight, Petit warned off the attack and would not be overcome for the final podium spot.
Decker would increase his leading advantage with every passing lap and brought home the #6 Team USA Yamaha to victory by almost 40 seconds over Team Estonia’s Kevin Saar. Sylvain Petit showed incredible speed and resilience to lay claim to the final podium spot.
Results
- Zack Decker (USA)
- Kevin Saar (EST)
- Sylvain Petit (FRA)
- Christopher Tvaraen (NOR)
- Lorenzo Taricco
Overall Qualifyng Results
- Team USA 2
- Team Estonia 4
- Team Latvia 9
- Team Norway 10
Tomorrow’s point-scoring races are where the riders shall be on circuit together, with A+B riders competing in race one, race two seeing B+C riders, and the final encounter being made of A+C riders. If qualifying is anything to go by, however, it’s that Team USA has apparent speed that is seemingly unmatched. This is Quadcross racing though and anything can, and usually does, happen. Team Estonia are looking strong, whilst the reigning champions of Team Netherlands are on the back foot.
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