Spain’s Josep Garcia and Great Britain’s Steve Holcombe traded wins in round two of the FIM EnduroGP Championship in Portugal, April 13-14. Garcia came out swinging Saturday morning to top the first loop and go on to win day one (Saturday), while Holcombe, second on Saturday, rebounded on day two to take the victory.
With 12 tests on the menu, Saturday was not only a test of speed but also a test of stamina. Garcia led the way after the first lap on his factory-backed KTM and never looked back.
Holcombe, who won the first test of the day on his Honda-RedMoto CRF250RX Enduro, had his hands full with GasGas rider Andrea Verona, who was breathing down his back all day. Holcombe, however, was up for the challenge and held on for second place on the day. The Italian, Verona, was third (and first in the Enduro2 class).
Great Britain’s Brad Freeman, on the Beta, was fourth and New Zealand’s Hamish MacDonald was fifth on the Sherco.
“It was a long day and very physical,” Garcia said. “The pace at the top of EnduroGP is super high. I made a mistake on the second enduro test and really had to push to overcome that. In every test we were fighting, there was nowhere to rest out there!”
Fast out of the blocks on Sunday, Holcomb built up a 10-second early lead in lap one of three. With a long way still to go in the race and the pace among the top three riders proving fierce, the Honda rider remained calm and cool under pressure. Holding his rivals at bay, he won both the overall EnduroGP category as well as the Enduro1 class.
“Signing off this first block of racing with the leader’s plate in both EnduroGP and Enduro1 is the start to the championship I was dreaming of,” Holcombe said. “To be honest, it’s been an incredible two rounds in Portugal. Like round one last weekend, round two here in Valpacos was super tight racing. There are three of us who can win every day. The pressure is on not to make a mistake, but I’m enjoying the battle and loving my time on the Honda. I’m still figuring a few things out, like today I tried to ride smoother and that paid off with the EnduroGP and Enduro1 class win.”
Verona edged out Garcia by approximately 20 seconds to take second overall. Saturday’s winner, Garcia, suffered a couple of falls that held him back. “The second day didn’t start as well,” Garcia said. “I felt just as fast, but two minutes from the end of the first enduro test, I had a fall and bent the handlebar. I finished like that and lost about 15 or 20 seconds, which is a lot, considering we’re fighting for specials by a second. From that moment on, I kept pushing until I got within seven seconds of the leader. Holcombe, Verona and I were fighting for the win all day. But in the end, this time, it wasn’t possible.”
Verona said, “The battle today with Steve and Josep was incredible. Of course, I wanted to win, but I can’t be too upset about finishing second because I gave it everything. The times were so tight, and it could have gone either way. I’m super happy with my speed, fitness and riding.”
After two of seven rounds, Garcia and Holcombe are tied at the top of the leaderboard with Verona holding down third 10 points back. Watson is fourth, 21 points behind Verona. Italy’s Samuele Bernardini (Honda) is fifth, three points behind Watson.
In the Women’s class, American Rachel Gutish went 8-3 over the weekend and is now tied for second in class in the championship, 12 points behind Spain’s Mireia Badia (Rieju).CN
2024 EnduroGP of Portugal II Round 2 Results
Day 1
- Josep Garcia (KTM)
- Steve Holcombe (Hon)
- Andrea Verona (GG)
- Brad Freeman (Bet)
- Hamish MacDonald (She)
Day 2
- Steve Holcombe (Hon)
- Andrea Verona (GG)
- Josep Garcia (KTM)
- Nathan Watson (Bet)
- Jamie McCanney (Hus)
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