No joking around this time out of the gates, the past week was a great one in the Enduro/Off-Road world! From a wild Italian round in Enduro GP to one of the biggest GNCC races of the year in West Virginia, to a very interesting Hard Enduro World Championship in Serbia, there was a ton of great action going down. Also, we recently had Aussie GNCC and USSE rider Gus Riordan (FMF KTM FACTORY Racing Landers) on the podcast, be sure to check it out. Let’s get to it!

Red Bull Leader Tread’s Wade Young has claimed victory at round three of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship in Serbia. Young took the overall win at Xross Hard Enduro Rally ahead of Sherco Factory Racing’s Teodor Kabakchiev in second, with Michael Walkner (GASGAS) completing the podium. TTR Squadra Corse’s Mitch Brightmore fought back on Offroad Day Three to claim victory in the FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Championship supported by KLIM.

The opening day of racing at round four of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia charge to victory in the POLISPORT GP of Italy. The Spaniard headed Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman in second, with GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona third in Bettola. Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Max Ahlin secured a commanding win in the GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship.

Round four of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship roared into life with CH Racing Sherco’s Hamish MacDonald fastest in the AKRAPOVIC Super Test at the POLISPORT GP of Italy.

• POLISPORT GP of Italy gets underway with AKRAPOVIC Super Test

• Thousands of spectators turn out to watch an exciting evening’s racing

• Hamish MacDonald sets the fastest time of the night

Already living up to its reputation as one of the most exciting rounds on the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship calendar, the POLISPORT GP of Italy saw thousands of spectators turn out to enjoy the Friday AKRAPOVIC Super Test in the centre of Bettola.

Red Bull Leader Tread’s Wade Young has increased his lead at round three of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship in Serbia. The South African placed a close runner-up to Jarvis Racing’s Graham Jarvis on Offroad Day Two at Xross Hard Enduro Rally.

• Wade Young continues to lead FIM HEWC round three

• Graham Jarvis tops Offroad Day Two at Xross Hard Enduro Rally

• Junior class lead changes hands with three-way fight for victory

Red Bull Leader Tread’s Wade Young has taken control of the race lead at round three of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship by winning Offroad Day One at Xross Hard Enduro Rally.

• Riders begin the first of three tough Offroad Days in Serbia

• Wade Young rides to victory on Offroad Day One

• Fight for podium placings remains tight

The 48th edition of the Tatts Finke Desert Race will be held in the Northern Territory over the King’s Birthday long weekend (June 8-10), as Alice Springs powerhouse David Walsh attempts to win a fifth successive crown. If the four-time defending champion gets the job done on his KTM, Walsh will match the record of Randall Gregory who dominated the event from 1991 until 1995 on his booming Honda CR500. Toby Price remains atop the motorcycle winners’ list with six victories, in an event which dates back to 1976.

Ricky Brabec and Tosha Schareina have been locked in a battle of seconds since the start of the rally! On Sunday, the Spaniard won the prologue by 2 seconds over the American, who hit back the very next day, taking stage 1 by just under a second. That was also the gap separating them today at the km 370 time check, the last before the finish. The rider from Valencia eventually won by 7 seconds over the Californian, who retained the overall rally lead. Brabec will start the final special with an advantage of 1′27″ over Schareina and 4′28″over Adrien Van Beveren, third on the day and overall.

Pablo Eli, the mastermind behind the route of the rally, had warned that stage 3 would be an absolute nightmare for navigation. Adrien Van Beveren, who started first after his win yesterday, paid the price, as did the Hero riders Ross Branch and Sebastian Bühler, who lost precious minutes searching for their bearings. The sixth man on the road, Ricky Brabec, avoided any errors.

Back in the day, he had his heart set on bagging the Dakar in Argentina (see "Did you know"), but fate had other plans. He continues to chase his dream in the Saudi desert, but he still aspires to win a rally in South America. He was the first leader of the 2023 Desafío Ruta 40 before finishing just outside the W2RC podium. This time round, Adrien Van Beveren is playing it canny. After finishing fourth in the prologue and third in stage 1, today he turned on the afterburners on the road to San Juan. The Honda rider claimed the longest special of the event (423 km) ahead of his teammate Skyler Howes (+27″), the Hero of Sebastian Bühler (+1′09″) and the CRFs of Tosha Schareina (+1′39″) and Ricky Brabec (+3′42″). He also vaulted to the top of the leader board by 10 seconds over Schareina and 2′14″ over Brabec. The American triumphed in the Dakar and the Spaniard in Portugal, but the Frenchman has yet to taste victory this season. Honda are hogging the provisional podium, but Bühler and his Hero remain well within striking distance in fourth place, 2′34″ down.

Slippery ground and a succession of bewildering corners —that was the W2RC convoy's introduction to the region in stage 1, a loop around Córdoba. Among the Rally GP motorbikes, Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda) came 1 second short of his teammate Ricky Brabec. The Spaniard clung to a slender overall lead over the American and his Honda stablemate Adrien Van Beveren. Bradley Cox (BAS World KTM Racing) wrested the Rally 2 lead back from Romain Dumontier (Team Honda). John Medina (Xraids Experience) leads in Rally 3.

This week was one of the highlights on the Enduro world’s calendar - Red Bull Erzbergrodeo. This is the classic Hard Enduro race, and for North American (and global) fans there were really only two big questions. First, like in any Hard Enduro round, could anyone find a way to beat German superstar Manuel Lettenbichler and, second, how would Trystan Hart and Cody Webb (FactoryOne Sherco) fare in one of their only European appearances this season?

Over in North America the focus was on Round 8 of the GNCC series in Pennsylvania where Steward Baylor Jr. (Rock Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki) needed a win to keep in reach of FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir for the series overall.

The Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC Racing) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship concluded its eighth round of racing, Parts Unlimited Mason-Dixon GNCC, on Sunday, June 2, 2024, in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. Brief rain showers in the morning created some slick conditions for the first half of the day, but partly cloudy conditions made for some great afternoon battles throughout XC1 Open Pro and 250 Pro Sport classes.

The big story coming into this round was in the XC1 class, where second-place overall Steward Baylor Jr. really needed to finish ahead of overall leader Johnny Girroir, preferably with a win in order to secure the maximum five point differential. Baylor did everything he could, managing to stay ahead of Girroir before taking the race lead on the white flag lap. Girroir managed to ramp up the pressure, though, catching Baylor in the final mile before beating him to the win by under a second. Girroir now holds a 34 point lead over Baylor with five rounds left in the series. Barring a major mishap, Girroir has taken a stranglehold on the overall that will be nearly impossible to break.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler put on a masterclass at round two of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship to take victory at Red Bull Erzbergrodeo. The German was sensational at Austria’s Iron Giant, claiming a comfortable win over FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart and Sherco Factory Racing’s Mario Roman. TTR Squadra Corse’s Mitch Brightmore won the FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Championship supported by KLIM category.

• Manuel Lettenbichler takes the win at FIM HEWC round two

• Canadian Trystan Hart claims P2 after recovering from a first corner crash that dropped him to 50th place

• Mitch Brightmore is best of the Junior class riders

Johnny Girroir has won eight-straight sprint enduro day rounds, accounting for four overall victories: some of them dominating and some of them nail-biters. Saturday’s US Sprint Enduro at High Voltage Raceway was of the nail-biter variety, thanks to Am Pro Yamaha’s Liam Draper. However, Sunday’s more technical event saw Girroir hammer the competition to easily amass his fifth overall victory of the series.

t was a huge week for enduro and off-road racing in North America, and we got to see some fantastic racing in the US Hard Enduro Series, FMSQ, USSE, NGPC, and more. Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) and Cody Webb (FactoryOne Sherco) battled hard at the Keystone Challenge in what will likely be one of the toughest hard enduro weekends you’ll ever see.

Alex Gougeon (Husqvarna Canada / MVM Motosport) opened up his FMSQ title defence with a dominant win in La Touque, Quebec, with Véronique Pellerin-Chainé (Sherco Canada / Fox Racing Canada / FC Suspension) taking the Pro Women win. Over in the US Sprint Enduro Series it was Johnny Girroir (FMF KTM Factory Racing), Gus Riordan (FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers), and Brandy Richards (FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers) winning the Pro1, Pro2, and Pro Women.

Out in the west Dante Oliviera (FMF KTM Factory Racing) and Mikayla Nielsen (SLR Honda / Monster Energy / Fly Racing) were your overall winners at NGPC Round 5. Jason Schrage (Honda Canada / Fox Racing Canada / Riders Edge) and Shelby Turner (Enduro Engineering / GasGas / FXR Moto) took the wins at Round 1 of the Western Canadian Off-road Championship. Let’s get into it a little bit!

Round 2 of the 2024 SOR Enduro Series went off this weekend at the foot of the Canadian Rockies, and it was Hard Enduro superstar Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) and Canadian Off-Road queen Shelby Turner (Enduro Engineering / GasGas / FXR Moto) who took the wins on a day that featured wild weather extremes at what is arguably one of the most beautiful sprint enduro venues in the world.

Hart took the win out over a tough Pro Men field that included P2 finisher and current Canadian ISDE World Trophy Team member Owen McKill (GasGas Canada / Riders Edge / TLD Canada), along with previous ISDE World Trophy members Phillipe Chainé (KTM Canada / Fly Racing Canada) in P3 and Jared Stock (KTM Canada / Leatt / SOR Enduro) in P4. Kale Cuthbertson (BFD Moto / Husqvarna Canada / Rad2.0) rounded out the top 5. Chainé retains the overall series lead ahead of Stock and Cuthbertson.

Canadian World Trophy Team rider Shelby Turner made the trip back to Alberta during a break in her GNCC campaign to take her second win in two starts over her ISDE teammate Lexi Pechout (BFD Moto / Husqvarna Canada / Fox Racing Canada) and Destiny Slingerland (HC Forest Products / EnduroTek / Team Mountains Edge). Former ISDE team member Kristen Broderick (Cycle Works Calgary / KTM Canada / Fox Racing Canada) and Harley Lawson (BFRMotoCrew / Fox Racing Canada) rounded out the top 5 in P4 and P5, respectively.

With the kick-off of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship this past weekend in Wales we’re fully into the swing of the 2024 season! It was a big weekend of racing with the start of the FIM HEWC, EnduroGP Round 3 in Romania, and GNCC Round 7 in Ohio all going off. Let’s dive in and take a look at what went down!

After an exciting first round just under a month ago the SOR series returns with another stacked pro field racing at what has to be one of the most beautiful race venues in the world at the foot of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

This weekend we’ll be seeing Phil Chainé (KTM Canada / Fly Racing Canada) back out west to defend his series leader plate against 2nd overall Jared Stock (KTM Canada / Leatt / SOR Enduro), and we’lll also see the addition of Canadian ISDE World Trophy Team member Owen McKill (GasGas Canada / Riders Edge / TLD) to the mix before he heads East for Round 1 of the iconic FMSQ Cross-Country series. We’re also going to be seeing Kevin Dupuis (BFD Moto / Husqvarna Canada / Fox Racing Canada) taking the start following his strong win at the first round of the Alberta Provincial Off-Road Championship last weekend, and a P66 overall at Hoosier GNCC two weeks before that. To top it all off, Canadian Hard Enduro legend Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) has confirmed that he plans to be racing this weekend, too, as prepares for the next round of the US Hard Enduro Series and his primary season goal at Erzberg Rodeo coming up at the end of the month.

With the kick-off of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship this past weekend in Wales we’re fully into the swing of the 2024 season! It was a big weekend of racing with the start of the FIM HEWC, EnduroGP Round 3 in Romania, and GNCC Round 7 in Ohio all going off. Let’s dive in and take a look at what went down!