KTM ATV Rider Holmes King in Kegums

KTM Press Release

Team KTM UK ATV rider Paul Holmes took an emphatic hat-trick of race wins and the overall at round four of the 2009 Goldspeed EMX Quad European Championship in Latvia at the weekend.

With close to ten thousand spectators in attendance and creating an electric atmosphere at the spectacular Zelta Zirgs circuit as they basked in glorious sunshine and thirty degree heat, it was a fantastic meeting for KTM with riders taking eight of the top fifteen positions with five riders finishing in the top eight.

In a dominating display it was a text book weekend for Holmes as he set fastest time in qualifying, took the holeshot in all three motos and lead all but two of the thirty-five race laps in total, Holmes' performance on the KTM 505 SX all the more amazing while riding with a badly injured wrist for the majority of the day.  "It's been a fantastic weekend" commented an ecstatic Holmes after the meeting, "this is a brilliant venue and the crowd are absolutely amazing, I could hear them cheering constantly around the circuit during the race!  I had a slight clutch problem mid way through the opening race which caused the bike to stall over one of the big tabletops so I landed heavily and hurt my wrist, but with the adrenaline pumping and some strapping for the next two races I was able to win all three quite comfortably and extend my lead in the series."
 
Having jumped twelve positions in the standings at the previous meeting in Denmark, Holmes' team-mate James Hellewell's amazing progress continued with his maiden visit to the circuit on the eve of his 18th birthday getting off to a flying start, 6th fastest time in qualifying his best ever result and first front row gate.  In a dream start to the opening two races Hellewell slotted in behind team-mate Holmes to make it a Team KTM UK 1-2 around the first corner before battling to the chequered flag in 6th and 4th, but for many his final moto effort to come through the field from dead last to finish 7th was the most impressive, his 5th overall taking him up a further eight positions in the series to 6th.  An exhausted but delighted Hellewell said "this is without a doubt one of the best weekends I've ever had and I'm really pumped with my result.  The circuit is fantastic and I felt really comfortable on the KTM, it's an awesome bike and as I spend more time on it my results keep improving.  Starting from the front row makes a lot of difference and I got great starts in all three races, but I must have hit the off switch just after the first corner in the last race and left myself a lot of work to do, but with the bike working so well I was able to get back up to 7th to take 5th overall."
 
For Stefan Schreiber and KTM Alskom Quad Racing it was perhaps not the best day at the office, a difficult second moto saw Schreiber finish 17th after he and his KTM 505 SX suffered some damage after an opening lap crash, but with two 4th place finishes in the other races Schreiber's 7th overall leaves him well placed in 3rd in the series with two rounds remaining.  A slightly disappointed Schreiber added after the race " this is a really tough circuit and the sand does get quite cut-up throughout the day, but in practice and during the opening race my KTM felt really good so it's disappointing not to have finished higher.  The crash in the second race hurt my back and also damaged the front of my bike so I couldn't push as hard as I know I can, but with two rounds remaining and my bike working so well I feel confident that I can get back up to 2nd in the series."
 
In yet another outstanding performance from the privateer teams, Tobias Bergstrom showed that it is not only the KTM 505 SX that is capable of delivering results at this level, the Swedish rider taking his Team Minhoj.se KTM 450 SX to 6th overall after a 7 - 6 -5 scorecard with the middle moto an epic ride from 17th on the opening lap, while Imantas Tamuliunas made it five KTM's in the top eight with a 15 - 11 - 10 scorecard that takes him to 12th in the series.
 
Holmes' impressive four-from-four overall victories has now extended his series lead to a massive sixty-five points with only two rounds remaining with Schreiber in 3rd, KTM riders hold half of the top twenty positions in the series with five inside the top ten.  The series now moves to France for the penultimate round at the fantastic St Jean d'Angely Grand Prix circuit on the 5th / 6th of August.
 
Results Overall:
1 Paul Holmes (GB - Team KTM UK) 25 + 25 + 25 = 75
2 Joe Maessen (NED - Ton Maessen Quads Yamaha) 22 + 22 + 22 = 66
3 Jan Vlaeymans (BEL - Planet Quad W-Tec) 20 + 14 + 20 = 54
4 Ingo Ten Vregelaar (NED - Willmann Goldspeed Yamaha) 16 + 20 + 15 = 51
5 James Hellewell (GBR - Team KTM UK) 15 + 18 + 14 = 47
6 Tobias Bergstrom (SWE - Team Minhoj.se KTM) 14 + 15 + 16 = 45
7 Stefan Schreiber (GER - KTM Alskom Quad Racing) 18 + 4 + 18 = 40
8 Imantas Tamuliunas (LIT - KTM) 10 + 11 + 12 = 33
9 Jani Saarinen (FIN - Yamaha) 13 + 13 + 7 = 33
10 Mikus Nesko (LAT - Suzuki) 9 + 12 + 10 = 31
13 Sander Raik (EST - KTM) 5 + 10 + 6 = 21
14 Agris Nieja (LAT - KTM) 11 + 0 + 9 = 20
15 Meelis Jorgenson (EST - KTM) 0 + 16 + 2 = 18
18 Branko Petek (SLO - KTM) 4 + 5 + 5 = 14
20 Rinalsd Dislers (LAT - KTM) 1 + 0 + 11 = 12  
 
Series standings after 4 (of 6) rounds:
1 Paul Holmes KTM 286
2 Joe Maessen 221
3 Stefan Schreiber KTM 204
4 Jan Vlaeymans 160
5 Ingo Ten Vregelaar 151
6 James Hellewell KTM 97
7 Tobias Bergstrom KTM 87
8 Matthieu Ternynck 76
9 Rasmus Nielsen 75
10 Timo Weidenbrucher KTM 75
11 Sander Raik KTM 74
12 Imantas Tamuliunas KTM 73
13 Julien Valentin KTM 72
17 Mario Block KTM 53
20 Agris Nieja KTM 40