Garcia & Holcombe tied for EnduroGP lead after Valpacos

2024 FIM EnduroGP World Championship
Round Two – Valpacos, Portugal

Racing kicked off at round two of the EnduroGP World Championship in Valpacos, Portugal, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia the undisputed leader on day one, claiming the EnduroGP overall.

Fantic Racing Team’s Axel Semb eased his way to victory in the GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship, while Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team’s Francesca Nocera secured a debut win in the FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship.

Day two delivered a fierce battle for top honours with Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team’s Steve Holcombe taking the win. Going head-to-head with GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona, Holcombe secured the top step of the EnduroGP podium by just one second. Garcia having to settle for third.

Semb made it two wins in Valpacos in the GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship, while RIEJU Factory Team’s Mireia Badia topped the FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship.

Day One – Saturday

After Friday night’s AKRAPOVIC Super Test, competitors welcomed a slightly later start than normal for the opening day of racing at round two of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship in Valpacos, Portugal. Despite the first riders rolling off the start ramp at 10am, they still faced a lengthy day.

In total, three and a half laps of the 50-kilometre-long course was on the agenda. Factoring in the hot temperatures and 12 special tests (including Friday’s AKRAPOVIC Super Test), meant day one would be a testing affair.

Determined to reel Josep Garcia back in following his Friday night triumph, Steve Holcombe immediately topped the opening POLISPORT Extreme Test by almost three seconds to put himself into the lead. However, Garcia was not about to lie down and won both the MAXXIS Enduro Test and ACERBIS Cross Test to end lap one with a three-second lead over Holcombe in second.

Andrea Verona was just a further seven seconds behind in third, while Brad Freeman had regrouped well following his Super Test penalty to slot into fourth. But with the Fast Eddy Racing pairing of Mikael Persson and Jamie McCanney hot on Freeman’s heels, the fight for a place inside the top five was truly on.

On lap two, while Garcia maintained his lead, Verona took the fight to Holcombe. Setting the fastest time in the POLISPORT Extreme Test and MAXXIS Enduro Test, before placing second to Garcia on the ACERBIS Cross Test, saw him lie just three tenths of a second behind the Brit with only five tests left to run.

As quickly as that battle formed, the following POLISPORT Extreme Test put paid to the Italian’s efforts. A major mistake from the GASGAS rider handed Holcombe some much-needed breathing room.

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Meanwhile, Garcia continued to have all bases covered. Consistently staying inside the top three, the Spaniard maintained his advantage to bring his KTM home for the EnduroGP class victory on day one. Unable to make gains on Garcia, Holcombe protected his lead over Verona during the final half lap to take second. Naturally frustrated with his costly mistake, Verona had to settle for third. Expect the Italian to make amends for his errors tomorrow.

Not quite matching the fast pace of the leading trio, Freeman brought his Beta home in a lonely fourth. A reshuffle of the leaderboard in the latter stages of the day saw CH Racing Sherco’s Hamish MacDonald finish strongly for fifth, with McCanney seven seconds behind in sixth.

Top Aussie was Wil Ruprecht, finishing 11th overall on his Sherco.

In Enduro1, Garcia put his KTM on the top step of the podium. Thirteen seconds behind, Holcombe ended his day as runner-up. McCanney could be pleased with his opening day efforts in Valpacos with a strong third place result.

Josep Garcia

“It was a long day and very physical. 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!”

Verona was the undisputed winner of Enduro2 with the Italian winning his class by 73 seconds. Crashing hard on the final MAXXIS Enduro Test, Enduro2 points leader Nathan Watson (Beta) saw his day come to an unfortunate end while sitting second. That opened the door for Samuele Bernardini (Honda) to take the position. Persson completed the podium in third.

After his non-finish on day two at round one due to illness, Freeman showed that he’s back on pace by winning the Enduro3 category. The Brit won the first four tests to build an early lead and despite a late charge by MacDonald, Freeman still had enough in hand to seal the deal. MacDonald will need to hit the ground running tomorrow to topple his close rival. Fantic Racing Team’s Albin Norrbin fended off TM Racing’s Matteo Cavallo by nine seconds to place third.

Enduro Women

The FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship saw the third race winner in as many races emerge on day one in Valpacos. Excelling in the high temperatures and physically demanding conditions, Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team’s Francesca Nocera topped the podium.

The Italian was incredibly strong in the final four tests of the day. Topping each one, she worked her way from third overall to an eight-second margin of victory as she exited the final ACERBIS Cross Test of the day.

Francesca Nocera

“To take my first victory in the world championship is an amazing feeling. It was a long, tough day, but I feel like I rode well. I managed to win the final tests and that made the difference. I hope tomorrow I can keep this strong pace and battle again for victory.”

After leading for the majority of the day, RIEJU Factory Team’s Mireia Badia couldn’t hold off the late charge by Nocera and slipped to an eventual second. Fighting for a place on the podium, Team KBS Sherco’s Rachel Gutish saw her day unravel with a mechanical issue on the penultimate special test. With Gutish losing a lot of time to salvage a result of eighth, it opened the door for Rosie Rowett to capitalise and take third. Nieve Holmes was fourth, with Beta mounted Justine Martel rounding out the top five.

Enduro Junior

In the GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship, Fantic Racing Team’s Axel Semb returned to the top step of the podium on day one in Valpacos. After a slow start to his morning in the POLISPORT Extreme Test, the Swede hit his stride during the middle part of the day and built up a lead that wouldn’t be caught.

Axel Semb

“I pushed hard from the start and managed to establish a good lead. That helped me a lot on the final lap to control my advantage and take the win. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.”

Behind him and things were much tighter as a four-rider battle developed for the remainder of the podium. Reigning Enduro Youth champ Kevin Cristino is showing that he’s already settled in his move up to Enduro Junior. Racing hard with Max Ahlin, Team Beta Oxmoto’s Alix Antoine and Manolo Morettini, the Italian saw off their challenges to make it a Fantic 1-2 on day one.

Despite clocking the fastest time on the final two tests, Ahlin couldn’t overhaul Cristino and will have to try again tomorrow. Alix took fourth. However, only five tenths of a second split him and Morettini in fifth.

Enduro Youth saw Manuel Verzeroli improve on his runner-up result from last Sunday in Fafe to win on Saturday in Valpacos. The Italian only won four of the 12 special tests, but by never faltering outside of the top three, proved that consistency is key to success. Romain Dagna was second, with TM Racing’s Alberto Elgari five seconds behind Dagna in third.

2024 EnduroGP of Portugal (2) Day One Highlights

Day One Results – Top 20

Pos	Rider	Nat	Cat.	Bike	Time/Gap
1	GARCIA Josep	ESP	E1	KTM	11:20.2
2	HOLCOMBE Steve	GBR	E1	Honda	+13.91
3	VERONA Andrea	ITA	E2	GASGAS	+26.56
4	FREEMAN Brad	GBR	E3	Beta	+1:04.39
5	MACDONALD Hamish	NZL	E3	Sherco	+1:27.59
6	MCCANNEY Jamie	GBR	E1	Husqvarna	+1:34.64
7	BERNARDINI Samuele	ITA	E2	Honda	+1:40.35
8	PERSSON Mikael	SWE	E2	Husqvarna	+2:07.18
9	NORRBIN Albin	SWE	E3	Fantic	+2:07.18
10	RUPRECHT Wil	AUS	E3	TM RACING	+2:16.39
11	PICHON Zachary	FRA	E2	Sherco	+2:19.50
12	ESPINASSE Theo	FRA	E1	Sherco	+2:38.77
13	LESIARDO Morgan	FRA	E1	Beta	+2:40.58
14	ROUSSALY Julien	ITA	E3	Husqvarna	+2:45.13
15	KYTONEN Roni	FRA	E3	Sherco	+2:51.44
16	KOUBLE Krystof	FIN	E1	Yamaha	+3:00.25
17	ETCHELLS Jed	CZE	E2	Husqvarna	+3:05.62
18	BETRIU Jaume	GBR	E2	Fantic	+3:08.43
19	BETRIU Jaume	ESP	E3	KTM	+3:16.87

Day Two – Sunday

Day two in the EnduroGP class, saw all eyes on day one winner Josep Garcia, to see if he could put his KTM on the top step of the podium again. However, on the first POLISPORT Extreme Test, Steve Holcombe came out swinging and set the fastest time.

Unlike the previous day, Garcia didn’t answer back straight away. Holcombe won the following MAXXIS Enduro Test to build up a nine-second lead over Beta Factory Racing’s Nathan Watson, with Verona four tenths of a second behind in third.

Lying sixth overall, Garcia had work to do. He finally hit his stride by winning the ACERBIS Cross Test to move up to third overall at the end of lap one of three. But Holcombe was in control with a 10-second lead over Verona in second place.

Throughout lap two, Holcombe continued to hold firm in front as Verona and Garcia shared test wins between them. His advantage had lessened though, and as they began the third and final lap, only 10 seconds separated the top three. Enduro fans were in for a grandstand finish.

Holcombe started out strong by winning the final POLISPORT Extreme Test. Verona had the measure of everyone on the final MAXXIS Enduro Test and topped the time sheets. With back-to-back ACERBIS Cross Tests set to close out the day, Holcombe hoped his six-second lead would hold out.

Fending off attacks from both Verona and Garcia, Holcombe kept his cool, like he had the previous Sunday. Shadowing his rivals in both tests, he did just enough to take victory by only one second after over one hour of timed special test racing. Despite putting everything he had into winning the final test, Verona couldn’t get the better of the Honda rider and had to settle for second.

Admitting to going ‘all-in’ on the final test for the win, Garcia pushed the limit that little bit too far and hit the dirt. With his chance of taking a double victory in Valpacos slipping away, the Spaniard had to be content with third.

After shaking off his crash on day one, Watson put in a strong ride for fourth. The Beta rider was still feeling the effects of yesterday’s tumble and wasn’t able to get into the mix with the top three riders. Continuing to put in solid rides, Fast Eddy Racing’s Jamie McCanney claimed fifth overall. The Manxman rode well on day two, enjoying a big battle with Brad Freeman (Beta) and Samuele Bernardini (Honda) to secure his first EnduroGP top-five of the season.

Wil Ruprecht dropped to 23rd on day two.

With his EnduroGP victory in one hand, Steve Holcombe held the Enduro1 class win in the other at the end of day two in Portugal. Garcia, disappointed with his mistakes, finished in second, while McCanney took third in Enduro1 for the third race in a row.

Steve Holcombe

“The fight for the win today was incredible. I love to race like this, but yeah, the pressure coming into that final test was pretty wild. It felt good to keep it together and take the victory. I changed my style up a bit today and tried to stay as smooth as possible. I think that helped throughout the course of the day. I’m tied for the championship lead now, so let’s see how Romania goes next month!”