Day two at round two of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship delivered an incredible battle for victory 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. Day one winner Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia was third.

The opening day of racing at round two of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia rule supreme. The Spaniard saw off multiple challenges from his rivals to take the overall EnduroGP win in Valpacos, Portugal.

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.

• Riders face long day of racing on day one in Valpacos

• Josep Garcia tops EnduroGP podium

• Debut victory for Francesca Nocera in Enduro Women

The 2024 Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship picks up speed as it heads to Valpacos in Portugal for round two this weekend. After last weekend’s exciting and explosive opener in nearby Fafe, the battle for a place on the podium is set to be equally fierce in Valpacos.

At the head of the EnduroGP classification it’s Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia who holds an early lead, while in the GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship, Fantic Racing Team’s Axel Semb leads the way.

• EnduroGP arrives in Valpacos, Portugal for round two

• Akrapovic Super Test to get racing underway on Friday

• Josep Garcia & Rachel Gutish aim to extend their EnduroGP championship leads

Offering little time to rest, the 2024 Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship keeps momentum high as it arrives in Valpacos for round two. Marking the second leg of back-to-back racing weekends to open the 2024 season, the stage is set for a challenging, physical, and fun GP of Portugal.

Josh Toth is adding to his impressive resume by riding a schedule of multiple disciplines and proving that he can win at whatever event he is racing on any bike. Riding different brands and size bikes throughout his busy schedule, National Enduros being his only full time series grabbing a win on his 350 GasGas sponsored by Enduro Engineering will help him enter the points battle for the 2024 season. Having a bit of a rough start with a bent front brake rotor in the first test, Josh came on strong by test 3 and winning the 4 final tests of the day en route to a 38 second win.

The final day of racing at the opening round of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship in Portugal saw Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team’s Steve Holcombe take victory. In what proved to be an incredible day of action at the ACERBIS GP of Portugal, Holcombe shone through to claim a hard-fought win over day one winner Josep Garcia (KTM), with Nathan Watson (Beta) close behind in third.

It wasn’t easy, especially on Saturday, but Johnny Girroir remained undefeated in the 2024 US Sprint Enduro Series after the FMF KTM Factory Racer won both days of this weekend’s Warrior US Sprint Enduro on a beautiful Easter weekend in Semora, North Carolina. With AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper nipping at his heels (and FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers’ Angus Riordan waiting in the wings), Girroir eked out Saturday’s win by 16 seconds over Draper.

This year’s opening round of the National Enduro Promotions Group (NEPG) series took place last weekend with the FMF Sumter National, which takes place just outside of Sumter, South Carolina in Manchester State Forest.

Round two of the USSE series took place in Buffalo, South Carolina at the Silver Hawk Plantation. Silver Hawk is no stranger to off-road racing, having hosted a Full Gas round several years ago, the annual SETRA Little Brown Jug Enduro and being one of AmPro Yamaha and off-road champion Randy Hawkins’ properties. The property is beautiful and tremendously fun to ride, with tight singletrack, access roads, a full motocross track and even a little bit of elevation change. Unlike the sandy soil last round, this was pure red clay – so it’s just as well that conditions were dry and sunny, because that kind of dirt gets insanely slippery when wet.

Even though it took place in Georgia, northerners who made the trek south for Mac Daddy’s Sprint, round one of the USSE series, were likely disappointed by temperatures hovering around freezing. However, they were not disappointed by sunny and dry conditions, especially after the torrential rain riders faced at this venue last year.

The 4-mile (roughly 6.5k) cross test took place in an active sand (or maybe clay) mine and had a very ISDE/Euro feel with lots of fast sweeping corners and short but sharp elevation changes as you entered and exited different sections of the open pit… with a few natural-terrain based jumps for good measure. The 3-mile (roughly 5k) enduro test was also a mix of sand and clay, with a few deep, sandy corners, but a lot of harder clay sections with exposed tree roots and braking/acceleration chop. The cross test held together beautifully throughout the weekend, aside from the jump face and landings getting a little worn down and chewed out. It was stunning how quickly the enduro test got rough. Even between previewing the tests Friday and starting the adult race Saturday (with only the youth riders having been out on the course) there was a noticeable difference, and by the final test on Sunday, it was approaching GNCC or ISDE special test levels of roughness, with very few viable options for riding the edges or avoiding the whoops.  

Canadian ISDE World Trophy Team rider Tyler Medaglia has signed with the Honda Canada/GDR/Fox Racing team for the 2024 season.

This move comes on the heels of the demise of Medaglia’s previous team, Thor GasGas Racing, here in Canada. Medaglia is signed for the 2024 MX season in the 250 class, but we’re still waiting for confirmation that he will be riding for the team on the Enduro side of things.

We caught up with Colton Haaker (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) right after he took the overall win at Round 5 of the AMA's 2023 IRC Tires Endurocross Presented by Progressive. Haaker went 1-3-1 on the night to beat Canada's Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) and the UK's Jonny Walker (Beta USA) and haul himself into the overall championship conversation heading into the finale in Reno, NV.

Day 4 of the 2023 ISDE is in the books down in San Juan, Argentina, and like Led Zeppelin taught us “The Song Remains the Same” at the front of the race. Josep Garcia (Spain) took the win over his closet rival Andrea Verona (Italy), while the US men and women continued to dominate the World Trophy competition. A heavy crash yesterday by US women’s World Trophy rider Rachel Gutish has added some unfortunate drama to the women’s race, however, with Gutish suffering a separated shoulder and broken ribs. She was able to get out and finish Day 4, though, in show of physical and mental toughness but she did note that “I am not good if we’re being honest with each other.” A race retirement from Australian Taylor Jones does give Team USA some breathing room in the overall, and if Gutish can find a way to finish the week the Americans will have the race sealed up barring any other issues.

Day 3 of the 2023 ISDE saw racing move to a new course and series of tests after two days on the Blue course. Coming into the day the US team was dominating in both the Men’s and Women’s World Trophy competition, while Sweden was building a comfortable lead in the Junior World Trophy.