Angus Riordan impresses at EnduroGP of Great Britain

2024 FIM EnduroGP World Championship
Round Six – Great Britain

Images by Future7Media

The Akrapovic Super Test kicked off the GP of Wales over the weekend and it was Australia’s Angus Riordan who delivered a surprise result with the Enduro Junior rider setting the outright fastest time, where not even the best in the world could match him on a fast, dry and technical course. Riordan’s time of two minutes and one second proved almost three seconds quicker than eventual runner-up Josep Garcia.

The opening day of full racing at round six of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship was one to savour for British home fans, with Steve Holcombe taking the overall victory, Brad Freeman shadowing him home for second.

Day two saw Josep Garcia claim a close-fought victory over Freeman, and the first champions of 2024 crowned with Andrea Verona clinching the FIM Enduro2 World Championship and Manuel Verzeroli winning the FIM Enduro Youth World Championship.

Day One – Saturday

After 15 years since its last visit to Wales, the FIM EnduroGP World Championship roared into life for day one of racing at the GP of Wales in Rhayader. With spectators lining the special tests from early morning, there was an air of excitement and anticipation to see if they would be rewarded with a British winner come the end of the day.

With the opening ACERBIS Cross Test located just metres from the start ramp, riders were immediately thrown into the deep end of racing. Mixing a motocross circuit with fast, flowing grass tracks, it was a case of maximum attack straight away.

Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman came out swinging and duly topped the ACERBIS Cross Test. But only just. Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team’s Steve Holcombe was only one second behind in second, with GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona a further four tenths of a second back in third.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia clocked the fourth quickest time to hold a one second lead as they headed across the Welsh valley to Saintswell to take on both the MAXXIS Enduro Test and POLISPORT Extreme Test.

Spurred on by a wealth of home support, Holcombe was on a mission. Winning both special tests, he ended lap one of three with a seven-second lead over Garcia. Verona sat third, with Freeman now up to fourth and closing in.

Continuing his run of form from round five in Slovakia, CH Racing Sherco’s Wil Ruprecht was up to fifth, with both Nathan Watson (Beta) and Hamish MacDonald (Sherco) hot on his heels in sixth and seventh.

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The second ACERBIS Cross Test saw the top three times of Garcia, Freeman and Holcombe split by just one second. Returning to the MAXXIS Enduro Test, Holcombe was again in command and clocked the fastest time over Freeman. A mistake from Garcia saw Holcombe stretch his lead out to 12 seconds over the Spaniard, with Freeman overhauling Verona to take third.

Holcombe again topped the POLISPORT Extreme Test to increase his lead to almost 16 seconds with just one lap remaining. With another mistake from Garcia, Freeman was looking dangerous, sitting just sixth tenths of a second behind him in third.

Heading into the final lap, Holcombe held the upper hand, but the battle was on for the final podium placings. Topping the penultimate ACERBIS Cross Test, Freeman moved into second to set up a potential British 1-2. Winning the final MAXXIS Enduro Test, the Beta rider was now beginning to threaten Holcombe’s lead, shortening it to seven seconds with two special tests remaining.

Winning the final POLISPORT Extreme Test, Holcombe was able to stretch his lead back out again. Despite Freeman’s best efforts on the fourth and final ACERBIS Cross Test, Holcombe had him covered and took the EnduroGP win. Forced to settle for second, Freeman still made it a memorable British 1-2 on day one in Wales.

Regrouping well in the closing stages, Garcia placed just one second behind Freeman for third. With the top three separated by five seconds, and Verona just a further 16 seconds back in fourth, day two is already shaping up to be an exciting one.

The fight for fifth was also incredibly close. Carding his best result of the season, Ruprecht took fifth, with Watson only one second behind in sixth. MacDonald was less than half of a second behind Watson in seventh, and with Zach Pichon (Sherco) two seconds adrift in eighth, the racing was super tight in Wales.

Enduro1

With his EnduroGP victory in one hand, Steve Holcombe (Honda) held the Enduro1 win in the other at the end of day one in Wales. Josep Garcia (KTM) took second but will look to find his way onto the top spot of the podium on day two. Zach Pichon (Sherco) completed the top three.

Enduro2

While Andrea Verona (GASGAS) was just off the top three in EnduroGP, he did take a commanding victory in Enduro2. The Italian now moves ever-closer to clinching the world title tomorrow. Wil Ruprecht (Sherco) held off a hard-charging Nathan Watson (Beta) by one second to claim the runner-up position.

Enduro3

In Enduro3, Brad Freeman (Beta) rode clear to victory. Hamish MacDonald (Sherco) placed second, with Matteo Cavallo (TM MOTO) in third.

Enduro Women

RIEJU Factory Racing’s Mireia Badia extended her Enduro Women win streak to four with victory on day one in Wales. The Spaniard held the upper hand over her classmates for the day, despite multiple mistakes.

Securing a podium on home soil, Rosie Rowett (RIEJU) gave the British fans a lot to cheer about with second place. France’s Elodie Chaplot (Beta) enjoyed her day in the Welsh hills to take third.

Enduro Juniors

The GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship saw Australia’s Angus Riordan (KTM) take his debut win in what was his first time in EnduroGP. Friday evening had marked a fairytale beginning for the Aussie, with him winning the AKRAPOVIC Super Test outright.

Keeping that momentum rolling, he won the opening two special tests this morning and had built up an 18-second lead as they reached the final MAXXIS Enduro Test. However, mistakes almost saw all his hard work come undone. Regrouping after getting stuck in a mud hole, he took the win by two seconds over Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Max Ahlin. Team Beta Oxmoto’s Leo Joyon completed the top three.

Angus Riordan

“It’s been an unreal start to the weekend already. The fight for the win got close at the end. I had a 10-second lead and eased off a bit, but I got stuck in the mud and lost a bunch of time. I had to charge again from that and just got it back at the end.”

Enduro Youth saw Romain Dagna (Sherco) take victory. The French youngster held off Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Manuel Verzeroli by over one second to claim the top step of the podium. Pietro Scardina (Fantic) ended his day in third.

EnduroGP of Great Britain – Day One Top 20

Pos	Rider	Nat	Cat	Bike	Time	Gap
1	HOLECOMBE Steve	GBR	E1	Honda	56:54.44	–
2	FREEMAN Brad	GBR	E3	Beta	56:58.65	+4.21
3	GARCIA Josep	ESP	E1	KTM	57:00.04	+5.60
4	VERONA Andrea	ITA	E2	GASGAS	57:16.70	+22.26
5	RUPRECHT Wil	AUS	E2	Sherco	58:15.72	+1:21.28
6	WATSON Nathan	GBR	E2	Beta	58:17.09	+1:22.65
7	MACDONALD Hamish	NZL	E3	Sherco	58:17.57	+1:23.13
8	PICHON Zachary	FRA	E1	Sherco	58:19.76	+1:25.32
9	BERNARDINI Samuele	ITA	E2	Honda	58:50.04	+1:55.60
10	MUNDELL Daniel	GBR	E2	KTM	58:54.16	+1:59.72
11	SYDOW Jeremy	GER	E1	Sherco	58:57.52	+2:03.08
12	ETCHELLS Jed	GBR	E2	Fantic	58:59.61	+2:05.17
13	CAVALLO Matteo	ITA	E3	TM	59:18.84	+2:24.40
14	ELOWSON Albin	SWE	E2	Husqvarna	59:24.58	+2:30.14
15	TOTH Joshua	USA	E2	Husqvarna	59:29.66	+2:35.22
16	LE QUERE Leo	FRA	E2	TM	59:37.18	+2:42.74
17	PAVONI Matteo	ITA	E2	Husqvarna	59:39.90	+2:45.46
18	ROUSSALY Julien	FRA	E3	Sherco	59:41.07	+2:46.63
19	KYTONEN Roni	FIN	E1	Yamaha	59:46.24	+2:51.80
20	NORRBIN Albin	SWE	E3	Fantic	59:46.96	+2:52.52

2024 EnduroGP of Great Britain, Day One Highlights

Day Two – Sunday

The final day of racing at round six in Wales was one for the ages. From exceptionally close racing to the first world champions of 2024 crowned, the GP of Wales certainly delivered the goods. Despite the churned-up special tests, riders were pushing to the maximum, with results being decided by mere hundredths of a second in both EnduroGP and Enduro Junior.

Forced to settle for third on day one, Josep Garcia began day two in a determined mood. Placing second to Verona on the opening ACERBIS Cross Test, he won the following MAXXIS Enduro Test to take up an early lead in EnduroGP.

Completing the first POLISPORT Extreme Test, Garcia held the race lead, but by only by six tenths of a second over Freeman in second. Verona sat in third, with Holcombe fourth, and only five seconds behind Garcia.

Holcombe’s teammate Samuele Bernardini was fifth, but was under fire from the CH Racing Sherco trio of Zach Pichon, Wil Ruprecht and Hamish MacDonald. If the results at the end of lap one told anything, it was that the Welsh hills were delivering incredibly close battles.

Winning the second MAXXIS Enduro Test, Freeman forced his Beta into the lead, much to the delight of the British crowd. And despite Garcia topping the second POLISPORT Extreme Test to end lap two, Freeman led the Spaniard by seven tenths of a second heading out into lap three and the final four special tests. With Holcombe trailing them by three seconds in third, he wasn’t out of the running yet either.

Fastest in the penultimate ACERBIS Cross Test and final MAXXIS Enduro Test, Freeman started to edge clear. However, a mistake in the final POLISPORT Extreme Test, won by Holcombe, saw Freeman’s five-second lead slip to less than two seconds, with just the final ACERBIS Cross Test remaining. With the pressure on all three riders, the day two win was up for grabs.

Playing it to perfection, Garcia went fastest. Beating Freeman by two seconds in the process, he took the EnduroGP class victory by an astonishing 15 hundredths of a second. Although missing out on a home win, Freeman could still be proud of his efforts in second. With Holcombe third, the top three were separated by only five seconds, proving just how competitive EnduroGP is right now.

Josep Garcia

“It’s been a super competitive weekend in Wales, but I’m pleased to have come away with the EnduroGP victory on day two. Saturday started out a bit tricky. I didn’t find my rhythm on the first two laps and was just off the pace of the top two. I felt good on the last lap, but ran out of time to finish better than third. I knew day two could be better and began fast. The battle was super tight, and it all boiled down to the final test. I’m so happy I won and can now look forward to the final round in France next month.”

Despite being in the mix early on, Verona dropped behind the leading trio as the day progressed to take fourth. Fifth eventually went to Pichon to equal his best result of the season. Less than two seconds back, Ruprecht took sixth. Nathan Watson (Beta) was just three seconds behind Ruprecht for seventh, with Bernardini only eight tenths of a second behind the Beta rider in eighth.

Enduro2

Carding his 10th consecutive Enduro2 win, Andrea Verona (GASGAS) wrapped up the Enduro2 category with one round to spare. Wil Ruprecht (Sherco) enjoyed another strong ride for second, while Nathan Watson (Beta) completed the top three.

Andrea Verona

“I’m really happy to get the Enduro2 title with one race to spare! It’s been a great season and I’m so happy to have won every single day except one. This was one of our goals for the year and we have pushed hard all season to get here. Thank you to the GASGAS Factory Racing team and everyone who has helped me all year. For sure we will take the fight to Josep Garcia at the final race for the EnduroGP title!”