In an exciting opening day of competition at round five of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship, GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona claimed his third victory of the season at the POLISPORT GP of Slovakia. Hot on the Italian’s heels was Beta Factory Racing’s Nathan Watson, with Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team’s Steve Holcombe in third. Tasmanian Kyron Bacon (Yamaha) secured a hard-fought win in the GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship.

Kicking off the action at round five of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship, the AKRAPOVIC Super Test saw Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman take the win for the first time this season.

The POLISPORT GP of Slovakia is already proving to be action-packed, with Freeman topping the timesheets at the closely fought AKRAPOVIC Super Test in Gelnica and starting his weekend off on a high. Beta Factory Racing teammate Nathan Watson and CH Racing Sherco’s Zach Pichon went head-to-head in front of the packed crowd to cross the finish line with the exact same time, just 0.26 seconds short of Freeman.

The Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship readies itself for the second half of the 2024 season with the POLISPORT GP of Slovakia. Making a return to the popular host town of Gelnica, round five will see the battle for this year’s title fights ramp up.

• Excitement builds ahead of POLISPORT GP of Slovakia

• Gelnica makes a welcome return to the schedule for 2024

• Josep Garcia looks to extend his EnduroGP points lead

With the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship heading to Slovakia for round five of seven this weekend, it marks an important stop in the 2024 season. Now firmly entering the second half of the championship fight, the POLISPORT GP of Slovakia in Gelnica will see this year’s title contenders begin to come to the fore.

It was a great week for Enduro, especially here in North America with Silver Kings Hard Enduro, FMSQ, NEPG, and more, all going down. Let’s get into it!

Canada’s Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) came to the 2024 edition of the Silver Kings Hard Enduro with only one mission: win. By the time the dust settled he had put on an exhibit of hard enduro riding that put an exclamation point on his reputation as one of the top three riders globally in the discipline. Likewise, Sandra Gomez returned to Silver Kings and showed the Pro Women field that she is currently the gold standard in hard enduro.

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.