While it didn't lead to the immediate end for the battle to control the Blasted Spires, it's generally accepted that the turning point was when Gabrad Sprinal rushed back to the frontline base of Gallo's Hellriders with none other than the enemy's ace, Ausel Buxton, captured with a knot on the side of their head.
An official story was never released, only fueling the legend of the Hellriders as unstoppable in and out of their mechs. Was it a daring infiltration of the enemy camp? A vicious brawl in no-man's-land that ended in both pilots jumping out of their mechs to finish the job with hand-to-hand combat? A trap baited to prey on Ausel's arrogance? Gallo would never say, and Gabrad wouldn't share any details, at least not publicly. The hints painted quite a different story, but one that didn't seem any more realistic than the other rumors.
Because really, what are the odds that two people on opposite sides of a battle would get out of their mechs at the same time and pick the exact same spot to dig a latrine?