Ten points, two races, two competitors. That was the situation coming into the final day of the 2025 EMX Quadcross championship in France, with Turrini and Walker both gunning for their second European title, and there’s no better place for this to take place than under the baking sun in Vesoul.
Race 1
A superb start from Rodolphe Schneider saw him take the lead of the race ahead of Gregoire Rabat in front of the home crowd, with Harry Walker and Patrick Turrini left playing chase. As they came around to complete the opening lap, it was Walker in third position while Turrini would be caught out and fall from his Yamaha, dropping him down to 21st and last position at the start of the second lap. This was most definitely not in the script for the series leader and would leave him with plenty of work to do over the course of the following 25 minutes and 2 laps.
Walker would immediately start to apply the pressure on Rabat, and he knew that he must capitalise on Turrini’s incident to swing the momentum of the championship in his favour. Schneider would lead the event in the early stages, but Walker would find his way through to lead the charge. Mark Mclernon, Mike van Grinsven and Manfred Zienecker had a great fight in the opening laps, however, Zienecker would soon put his hand in the air and pull off to the side of the circuit. This would be good news for Karlis Neija as he hopes to secure a top-three finish in the standings.
Approaching the mid-point of the race and Mclernon took over the reins at the front of the race, relegating Walker to second position, but Mike van Grinsven was the quickest man on the circuit as he made it a three-way fight at the front. Sylvain Petit was also lapping very quickly, in his pursuit of a podium finish, and would put himself in prime position by the time the last-lap board went out.
Mclernon, unfortunately, started to fade in the closing stages of the event, and was soon overcome by the pressure of Walker and van Grinsven but, with Petit bearing down on him, he could not hit the cruise control just yet. In the meantime, Turrini had fought his way into the top-ten positions, in what became a race of damage limitation.
Mike van Grinsven put an incredible pass on Walker and, with clear track in front, set about increasing the pace at the front. Even on the final lap, Walker, Mclernon and Petit would post their fastest laps of the event, but it would prove to not be quite enough, as the chequered flag greeted the arrival of van Grinsven, ahead of Walker by only 0.771, with Mclernon and Petit completing the top four. Only 2.816 seconds would cover the top four, and this bodes well for the final race of the season. Turrini would come home in 8th place, with Zienecker credited with 21st, but both riders’ fastest lap times would suggest that they are in with a chance of claiming victory in race 2.
Walker managed to reduce the gap to only a single point, going into the final race, and with at least 6 competitors showing that they have the pace to win, it is going to be a sensational and unforgettable final race.
Race 2
With only one point separating Turrini from Walker, there was a distinct buzz in the atmosphere of uncertainty, knowing that two of Europe’s finest would go head-to-head for the ultimate glory of the European championship.
Sylvain Petit, the home rider, would take the holeshot from Mark Mclernon, with Harry Walker and Patrick Turrini side-by-side in third and fourth position. Through the second and third turns, Walker would thread the eye of the needle to go round the outside of Mclernon and Petit to take the race lead, to put himself in the perfect position – even if Turrini was to finish in second, it would not be enough. Mclernon would find his way through on Petit, too, to promote himself into second position by the end of the opening lap. Turrini moved to third position ahead of Petit by the end of the opening lap and could see his rival leading the charge.
Race one victor, Mike van Grinsven, would lose a couple of seconds in the early stages of the event but would soon regroup as the race proceeded, to put himself firmly in the leading battle. Walker and Mclernon set about stretching the advantage as Turrini, back down in fourth position, fired it up the inside of Petit and ran wide, losing fourth place to Zienecker momentarily before retaliating immediately, to reclaim the position from Zienecker.
Turrini seized the opportunity to take third position away from the leading French rider of Sylvain Petit and, with the clear track laid out before him, would get the hammer down to close the deficit between himself and Mclernon. It would not be too long before the Italian was onto the rear axle of the Ulsterman.
12 minutes remaining, and Turrini squeezed up the inside of Mclernon to take second position. This was it, Turrini knew he needed to catch Walker, who now had a 3.6 second lead. Walker was proving to be relentless in his consistency, clicking off the laps one-by-one, but Turrini was on the charge – he was not going to give up on the title.
Mike van Grinsven and Manfred Zienecker, in the meantime, would continue their fight for third position, with van Grinsven putting up an incredible defence against the German rider, but Manfred would find the gap he needed to step up into the podium placings. Whilst he may he have lost out on third in the race, he had done enough to complete the season with a bronze medal.
Less than one minute to go plus two laps, and Turrini was almost riding pillion with the reigning champion. He attempted to find a way through on the inside but Walker held firm at the front of the race, with Turrini left with a finite amount of overtaking opportunities. A slight mistake on the tabletop from Turrini saw Walker gifted with a couple of tenths of a second, and with an advantage of 1.1 seconds onto the final lap, Turrini had no option but to lick the stamp and send it in his hopes of taking the crown.
Only two corners remaining and Turrini was back with Walker, climbing all over the berms to carry as much speed and momentum as possible, but it would prove to not be enough as Walker held onto the lead of the race to claim the victory, and become the 2025 EMX Quadcross champion! At the chequered flag, only 0.371 separated the Brit from the Italian, who posted the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.
Race Report by Bradley Hix – Images courtesy EMX Quads