2024 EnduroGP of Romania Results

Cycle News Staff | May 14, 2024

For the first time in 11 years, the EnduroGP series returned to Romania for the GP of Romania, May 11-12. Two days of racing saw Andrea Verona (GasGas) split wins with Josep Garcia (KTM), who managed to take over the points lead at the weekend’s conclusion.

Josep Garcia at 2024 EnduroGP of Romania — **Josep Garcia is the new FIM EnduroGP points leader after a strong performance in Romania.**

Photos: Future7Media

Four laps and 12 total tests awaited the competitors on day one. Nathan Watson kicked things off with a three-second win on test one but later bobbled and dropped out of the runnings for an overall podium. Verona and Garcia split wins on lap one, with Garcia holding a narrow advantage going into lap two. Steve Holcombe moved into third after Watson’s mistakes.

Verona then swept all three specials on lap two, putting his Factory GasGas back into the top spot by a mere four-tenths with six tests left on the docket. However, a costly mistake on lap three saw his lead slip back into the hands of Garcia. The win would come down to the final three tests on lap four.

Andrea Verona at 2024 EnduroGP of Romania — **Andrea Verona topped Saturday’s competition.**

Garcia faulted on the final lap, losing seven seconds on one test alone. This allowed Verona to strike as he ended the day with an impressive win on the final special. The Italian claimed the overall win on day one, his first of the year, by a total of 13.62 over Garcia, with Holcombe a distant 58.04 back in third.

“It feels awesome to get my first overall win of the season,” said Verona at the end of day one. “I rode strong all day. I’ll try again tomorrow and push hard.”

“I crashed on the final extreme test and lost the lead,” said Garcia. “The pace is fast and very close. It shows you can’t make mistakes out there.”

Day Two

Garcia looked for redemption on day two as he won the opening lap by two seconds over Holcombe, who also managed a test victory on lap one.

By lap two, Verona moved his way into second place and rolled that momentum into two wins to start lap three. Garcia fired back on the penultimate lap with a win and went into the final lap with a comfortable 17-second gap.

The Factory KTM rider managed his lead on the final lap and won the final Enduro Test. His 22-second margin on day two earned him the overall victory as he reclaimed the championship points lead prior to round four in Italy.

Verona battled back to take second overall ahead of Beta’s Brad Freeman who scored his first overall podium of the year.

2024 EnduroGP of Romania podium — **Brad Freeman (right) got on the podium for the first time this season after placing third on Sunday.**

“I’m super happy to win today,” said Garcia. “It puts a smile on my face for sure. I only had one crash, but we are all on the limit so that’s kind of normal. With this win I am also leading the championship, so I will fight to keep that.”

“It’s been a solid day, but for sure not as good as yesterday,” said Verona. “I started out a bit slow on lap one, but then got into a nice rhythm after that. A mistake on the Enduro Test on lap three made me lose the gap to Josep. But I’ve moved up to second overall in the championship, so that’s great too.”

“I’m happy to get my first EnduroGP podium of the season,” Freeman said. “The pace of the front two guys was pretty strong, but slowly I’m getting back up there. I’m still struggling a little, but definitely happy to get this result, and also another win in Enduro3.” CN