Story: Noel Flatters - Editor | The Enduro Bureau
August 4, 2024

Day two at round six of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia claim a close-fought victory over Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman. The first champions of 2024 were crowned with GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona clinching the FIM Enduro2 World Championship and Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Manuel Verzeroli winning the FIM Enduro Youth World Championship at the FORSITESERVICES GP of Wales.

• Garcia takes EnduroGP win on day two in Wales

• Verona crowned FIM Enduro2 World Champion

• Verzeroli wins FIM Enduro Youth World Championship

The final day of racing at round six of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship in Wales was one for the ages. From exceptionally close racing to the first world champions of 2024 crowned, the FORSITESERVICES 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.

There was plenty of excitement come the end of the day, with GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona securing the Enduro2 title, while Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Manuel Verzeroli became a first-time world champion in Enduro Youth.

EnduroGP victory goes down to the wire

Forced to settle for third on day one, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s 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 Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman in second. Verona sat in third, with Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team’s Steve 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.

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.

Badia makes it a double victory in Wales

The FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship saw RIEJU Factory Racing’s Mireia Badia back up her day one victory with a commanding win on day two. The Spaniard was simply unbeatable today, marching ahead to a 63-second margin of victory. With a 37-point lead in the title fight, Badia looks champion elect for the final round in France next month.

Team KBS Sherco teammates Rachel Gutish and Nieve Holmes enjoyed a daylong battle for the runner-up result. In the end, it was USA’s Gutish who claimed the upper hand. Holmes finished third, much to the delight of the British crowd.

Enduro2 title for Verona

The sharp end of Enduro1 saw Josep Garcia (KTM) take the win over Steve Holcombe (Honda) in second, with Zach Pichon (Sherco) third. With just the GP of France remaining, Garcia maintains a slender six-point lead over Holcombe in the fight for the Enduro1 title.

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.

Although missing the EnduroGP victory by the narrowest of margins, Brad Freeman (Beta) was the clear victor in Enduro3. Hamish MacDonald (Sherco) ended his day in second, with Fantic Racing Team’s Albin Norrbin third.

Tight battles in Enduro Junior

The GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship saw an incredible battle develop between championship leader Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Max Ahlin and Australian newcomer Angus Riordan (KTM). Day one winner Riordan was aiming to cap off an incredible EnduroGP debut by topping the podium once more. However, Ahlin was not about to step aside.

At the midway point in the day, Fantic Racing Team’s Axel Semb led Riordan by 11 seconds, with Ahlin one second behind in third. On the final MAXXIS Enduro Test positions changed, with Riordan taking the lead over Ahlin and Semb.

Major mistakes on the final two tests by Semb dropped him out of the running, leaving Riordan and Ahlin to fight it out for the win. With Ahlin topping the final ACERBIS Cross Test, he beat Riordan by half of a second to take victory. Although denied a double Enduro Junior victory, Riordan could still be pleased with his efforts for second. Semb, unable to regroup from his mistakes, completed the top three.

Verzeroli crowned Enduro Youth champion

For Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Manuel Verzeroli day two of the FORSITESERVICES GP of Wales is one he won’t forget. The Italian raced to victory by 10 seconds to clinch his debut world title, winning the FIM Enduro Youth World Championship. Romain Dagna (Sherco) took second, with Pietro Scardina (Fantic) third.

Andrea Verona (GASGAS): “It feels great to win the Enduro2 title today. It’s now my seventh world title. I would like to say a big thank you to my team, family and friends for supporting me in this. It’s super nice to win it here in Wales and now we can give one last big push for the final round in France for the EnduroGP category.”

Josep Garcia (KTM): “I started out today pushing to win. We were fighting a lot with Brad. On the last lap I pushed hard again and then everything got decided on the final test. It’s a great result for the championship with just one round remaining.”

Mireia Badia (RIEJU): “Today was a perfect day for me. I only made one mistake really. I rode strong and could take the win and build a bigger lead in the championship.”

Results: Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship, Round 6 – Day 2

EnduroGP
1. Josep Garcia (KTM) 55:02.28; 2. Brad Freeman (Beta) 55:02.43; 3. Steve Holcombe (Honda) 55:07.72; 4. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 55:45.23; 5. Zach Pichon (Sherco) 56:07.63; 6. Wil Ruprecht (Sherco) 56:09.49; 7. Nathan Watson (Beta) 56:12.69; 8. Samuele Bernardini (Honda) 56:13.50; 9. Hamish MacDonald (Sherco) 56:22.33; 10. Roni Kytonen (Yamaha) 57:12.26…