Quentin Prugnières and Eddie Wade both score a top seven result in one of the races in Finland, losing all their chance in a crash at the start of the other race. This weekend they will be at Saint Jean d’Angely for the final round of the 250 European Championship.
Finland didn’t meet any GP since 2014, so it’s a new track that Quentin and Eddy discovered at Hyvinkää where of course the layout was sandy. That was another tough one, especially as the sand on the starting line was really soft but on a hard ground, which caused several crashes at the start. On Saturday Eddie came out of the first corner in the top five, while Quentin crashed and started back behind the leading group a lap down. He did the whole race at their rhythm, while Eddie crossed the finish line in seventh position despite the pain following his crash one week earlier in Sweden. The roles would be reversed in the second heat, with Eddie crashing out at the start while Quentin moved into the top ten; both will make a good comeback, up to sixth place for Quentin – he lost a few places in a crash while attacking for third position – and eighteenth for Eddie who ranks tenth in the event, two places ahead of Quentin.
This weekend the team will nearly “race at home” as it’s in St Jean d’Angely that the championship will end.
Quentin Marc Prugnières: “Tough first race with this crash at the start, I got up with a hematoma in the thigh so I started lapped by the leaders. I did the entire race behind the leading group, which I followed throughout the race, without attacking them since I was a lap behind. Second start was pretty good, then I moved up to fourth but I had a rear brake problem and I lost the front on a corner entry with four laps to go. I finished sixth, frustrating because the speed was there and a race podium was possible. Now looking to Saint Jean next weekend, I love the atmosphere of the GP in France and as it’s the final I want to give everything to please the fans and the team.”
Eddie Wade: “It was hard to push with the ribs but I got a good start and the adrenalin helped me for the first few laps; it started to hurt after that and I got a little arm-pump holding on too tight to compensate but I came home seventh. The crash at the start of the second race didn’t helped me, but I never give up to come back scoring points even if my body was aching a lot again. “
