Brad Freeman tops EnduroGP Round Two in Spain

2023 FIM EnduroGP World Championship
Round Two – ACERBIS GP of Spain

Friday AKRAPOVIC Super Test

Fastest on Friday in Lalin, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Josep Garcia topped the night’s results by just over seven tenths of a second from Beta Factory Racing’s duo Brad Freeman and Steve Holcombe.

Finishing just five hundredths of a second behind Holcombe, CH Sherco Racing’s Hamish MacDonald was fourth quickest.

The GALFER Junior Enduro World Championship category was headed by Spaniard Sergio Navarro (Husqvarna) with a time that put him inside the top five overall.

Day 1 – Saturday

The opening day of racing at round two of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship saw Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman secure overall victory. Putting in a come-from-behind ride, the British rider took over the lead on the final lap of the ACERBIS GP of Spain to win in Lalin.

After leading for the majority of the day, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia was denied a home win and had to settle for second. Beta’s Steve Holcombe claimed a close-fought third. The GALFER Junior Enduro World Championship saw Fantic’s Jed Etchells secure his second victory of the season with a win on day one. Kevin Cristino (Fantic) was best of the Youth Enduro category.

After the excitement of Friday’s AKRAPOVIC Super Test, many wondered if Josep Garcia (KTM) would continue his winning ways to claim a home win on Day One. However, with overnight rain remaining through the morning, conditions on the special tests were hard to judge.

But the Spaniard did indeed continue to deliver his best form and mastered the grip levels to perfection. By the end of the JUST1 Enduro Test, at the conclusion of lap one, he had built up a 12 second lead over his closest rivals Holcombe in second and Freeman third, and was looking tough to beat.

At the end of the second ACERBIS Cross Test Garcia was still leading, but his advantage had shrunk to just five seconds. With the sun coming out, Freeman was on a charge. After winning the second JUST1 Enduro Test, the Brit took over the lead with the fastest time in the POLISPORT Extreme Test as they began their third and final lap. On song, he topped the final two special tests to claim his third victory of the season.

For Garcia, hopes of a home win on day one didn’t materialise. With some small crashes and errors on the final lap, victory slipped away. The Spaniard will look to regroup tomorrow. Completing the third step of the EnduroGP podium, Steve Holcombe put in another solid performance. The Brit managed two special test wins along the way. Just four seconds behind Holcombe was GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona in fourth. CH Sherco Racing’s Hamish MacDonald completed the top five.

In Enduro1 Josep Garcia ruled the roost. Untouchable throughout the day, the Spaniard won his category by almost three minutes. Matteo Pavoni (TM Racing) got the better of Zach Pichon (Sherco) by seven seconds to finish as runner-up.

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Putting his first win of the season on the board, Steve Holcombe was best of the Enduro2 class. Andrea Verona had to settle for second behind the Beta rider. However, the duo are proving to be the class leaders, placing almost 90 seconds clear of Hamish MacDonald in third.

Daniel Milner finished the day fifth in E2 and ninth overall. Will Ruprecht was sixth in E2 and 14th overall.

Securing the biggest winning margin of the day, Brad Freeman dominated proceedings in Enduro3. The Beta rider finished three minutes and 50 seconds clear of Mikael Persson (Husqvarna) in second with Matteo Cavallo (TM Racing) third.

The GALFER Junior Enduro Championship was exciting to watch in Lalin. Brimming with talent, the top six riders were ultimately separated by approximately 50 seconds at the end of day one. Finishing Friday’s AKRAPOVIC Super Test in 20th, Jed Etchells (Fantic) had put himself on the back foot and with work to do this morning. However, the Manx rider was in determined mood and hungry to fight back.

At the end of lap one he was incredibly tied for the race lead with Jeremy Sydow (Sherco), but there was still a long way to go. Consistently in the top three, he held firm to win by seven seconds over Albin Norribin (Fantic). Despite claiming three special test wins, Sydow had to settle for third. Sergio Navarro (Husqvarna) and Max Ahlin (KTM) completed the top five.

In Youth Enduro Kevin Cristino (Fantic) again proved the rider to beat. The Italian was enjoying the early wet and slippery conditions. Taking seven test wins, he never slipped outside the top two to claim the top step of the podium by 10 seconds. Thibault Giraudon (Sherco) challenged him throughout the day, and despite taking the other three test wins, he couldn’t reel his rival in. Leo Joyon (Beta) completed the podium, albeit finishing almost 90 seconds behind Cristino.

Day 1 – Saturday Results (Top 20)

Day 2 – Sunday

Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman has claimed victory on day two of the second round of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship. Keeping his unbeaten run of form alive, Freeman came out on top following a day-long battle with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia to secure his fourth day win of the season.

Mirroring day one’s results at the ACERBIS GP of Spain, Steve Holcombe (Beta) joined Freeman and Garcia on the EnduroGP podium in third.

The GALFER Junior Enduro World Championship saw rookie Jeremy Sydow (Sherco) secure his second victory of the season with a win on Sunday, while Fantic’s Kevin Cristino made it two wins from two starts in Youth Enduro in Lalin.

Landing an early blow to his rivals, Beta’s Brad Freeman topped the opening POLISPORT Extreme Test by a sizeable five seconds from Josep Garcia (KTM) with Antoine Magain (Sherco), Andreas Verona (GASGAS) and Steve Holcombe (Beta) in close succession.

Fastest in the following ACERBIS Cross Test and JUST1 Enduro Test, Freeman made a clean sweep of the special tests on lap one, and then backed that performance up by remaining unbeaten a further four times.

However, those wins were extremely hard fought with Garcia shadowing him across the line every time. With only fractions of a second at times splitting them, the fight was unquestionably on and the result set to go either way.

But those fractions gradually added up and despite Garcia’s best efforts of winning the final ACERBIS Cross Test, he couldn’t deny Freeman his fourth constitutive victory of the season in EnduroGP.

Always in the hunt, but not quite able to bridge the gap to the leading duo, Holcombe had to settle for third. GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona had a relatively disappointing outing by the EnduroGP champ’s high standards, finishing 31 seconds behind Holcombe in fourth.

The battle for fifth went down to the wire. RedMoto Honda Racing’s Nathan Watson narrowly beat Magain by one second to seal the deal.

Although second best to Freeman in the overall classification, Josep Garcia won the Enduro1 class for the second day running. Team Beta Oxmoto’s Theo Espinasse took second, while Fast Eddy Racing’s Jamie McCanney completed the top three.

Firing on all cylinders in 2023, Steve Holcombe took his second Enduro2 class win of the weekend in Lalin, the Beta rider showing that he’s back to his best. Andrea Verona was second, with Watson in third.

Wil Ruprecht was fourth in E2 and seventh overall for the day, New Zealand’s Hamish MacDonald dropping to fifth in E2 and 10th overall, while Daniel Milner sixth in E2 and 12th overall.

Brad Freeman ran a clear winner of Enduro3, with Antoine Magain and Matteo Cavallo (TM Racing) rounding out the podium.

The GALFER Junior Enduro World Championship saw Jeremy Sydow (Sherco) bounce back to win on Sunday. The rookie took his debut victory on day two at round one and with another day two win, looks capable of challenging the established names. Day one winner Jed Etchells (Fantic) put in another solid ride to take second and keep his championship lead intact. Albin Norrbin (Fantic) took third.

Proving even stronger on day two, Fantic’s Kevin Cristino powered clear to the Youth Enduro win. The Italian upped his winning margin to 27 seconds over Thibault Giraudon (Sherco). Leo Joyon (Beta) finished third.

The Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship continues with round three in Heinola, Finland on May 26-28 before heading to Skovde in Sweden for round four the following weekend.

Josep Garcia – P2

“My goal here in Spain was to fight for the overall victory on each day. The Super Test on Friday went really well. I really felt the support from the home crowd, and I was able to take the win. Day one started off really well – I was leading the EnduroGP standings for over half the day, but them going into the final lap, I had three small crashes which cost me enough time to drop down to second. It felt good to be back on the podium and win E1 though. Today, on Sunday, the goal was the same, to battle for the victory. Brad (Freeman) and I were really pushing each other all day. It was incredible, on so many of the enduro and cross tests we would both finish on the same second. I felt good in the extreme test, but he was able to just edge ahead there by a couple of seconds. I’d not sure where I was losing out, but it’s something we’ll definitely look at before the next race. It’s a long championship, so I just need to stay focused, stay more consistent at every round, and keep on fighting.”

Andrea Verona – P4

“I’m not too happy with my weekend. I don’t feel like I rode how I should. I was struggling on day one. I kept making many mistakes and crashes and wasn’t able to go with the leaders in the fight for the EnduroGP victory. Sunday was a better start, but then I struggled to keep that pace going. I just think the tests weren’t for me this weekend. Twice fourth in EnduroGP is not where I want to be. In Enduro2 the result was better, finishing second each day. With a few weeks until the next round in Finland and then Sweden I will reset and go again!”

Day 2 – Sunday Results

EnduroGP Standings

E1 Standings

E2 Standings

E3 Standings

Junior Enduro Standings