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Enduro World Championship
Grand Prix Maxxis of Greece

All 4 Brits on the podium at EWC!

A sudden shower drenched the Friday night KTM Super Test at the 4th round of the Enduro World Championship Maxxis Grand Prix of Greece in Serres, Greece. The temperature was high and the rain refreshed the 76 riders without dampening the excitement of the Greek spectators!

The course was a good mix of natural going with MX, woodland going and river crossings.

Frenchman Loïc Larrieu - the Sherco Moto Pulsion rider - set the fastest time overall to clinch his first career Super Test win with a time of 2'15''08! He stole the show by 45 hundredths of a second from the current E2 leader Antoine Meo who stirred the crowd in an amazing duel with Pierre-Alexandre Renet. Christophe Nambotin dropped his KTM and lost over thirteen seconds on the leaders time.

In the other categories, Marc Bourgeois (F – Yamaha) grabbed the 9 seconds bonus in E1 over Lorenzo Santolino (F – Sherco). Jonathan Barragan (E – Gas Gas) did the same in E3 just ahead Matti Seistola (SF – Sherco) and Mathias Bellino (F – Husqvarna) while Matthew Phillips (AUS – KTM) couldn't finish the test due to mechanical problems and he incurred a 40 seconds penalty. In Junior class, Jamie McCanney (GB – Husqvarna) dominated his rivals and Mikael ersson (S – Yamaha) was unstoppable in the FIM Youth Cup 125cc.

Day 1

In the E1 class Christophe Nambotin may have wanted to make up for Friday night's mistake but Eero Remes was on a mission and he pulled out an 8 second lead over Nambotin on the first Enduro Test. Danny McCanney was 3rd in the Super Test but he dropped to 7th on the first test. PA Renet was his usual clinical self and he led from Alex Salvini and Antoine Meo. Matti Siestola was the quickest on the big bikes. Matthew Phillips was runner up but he had a hill to climb with a 40 second penalty. Steve Holcombe beat Jamie McCanney in the Juniors.

With series leader Josep Garcia absent due to injury Mirko Spandre headed the Youth class. Jack Edmondson drowned his bike on a river crossing and he finished fifth with a hill to climb.

The field moved on to the Extreme Test where Jack Edmondson found his form and set the fastest Youth class time. The other class winners were Christphe Nambotin E1, PA Renet E2, Matthew Phillips E3 and Jamie McCanney Juniors.

At the end of the first lap the class leaders were Eero Remes E1, PA Renet E2, Matti Seistola  E3, Jamie McCanney Juniors and Mikael Presson Youth.

Steve Holcombe had a good start to his second lap by setting the fastest time on the Enduro Test in the Juniors and taking the class lead. Mathias Bellino also moved up to lead the E3 class when Matti Seistola crashed on the MX test and injured his hand.

At the end of lap 2 the class leaders were Eero Remes E1, PA Renet E2, Mathias Bellino E3, Steve Holcombe EJ and Mikael Presson EY. The 3rd lap saw no dramatic changes.

Finland’s Eero Remes took the E1 class for the 3rd time this season by winning nine out of the 12 special tests. He also won the Brave One Trophy. “The enduro test was tough,” commented Remes. “There were many river crossings, some that were very deep. From the very start of the test you were completely soaked.” Marc Bourgeois was runner up and Christophe Nambotin made his way back to 3rd after his crash on the Super Test. Bourgeois and Nambotin posted identical times. Danny McCanney finished 8th.

PA Renet was the best E2. The defending Enduro 2 World Champion claimed his first victory of 2015 despite va mistake on the final Extreme test. “It’s great to get a win again, it’s been too long since the last one,” commented Renet at the finish. “Aside from a mistake on the final extreme test the day went really well.”  Antoine Meo was the runner up and Alex Salvini was 3rd.

Mathias Bellino secured his 4th E3 class of the season without winning any of the day’s tests. Leok Aigar was the runner up and - with an Herculean effort - Matthew Phillips overcame his 40 second penalty to take 3rd. Portugal’s Luis Correia was once more just shy of the podium in fourth with Italy’s Thomas Oldrati fifth.

The tight battle between Steve Holcombe and Jamie McCanney raged all day but ended on the Extreme Test when McCanney blinked/ Holcombe continued his roll with a second win in the Juniors. McCanney was runner up and maintain his lead in the Championship standings. Giacomo Redondi was 3rd ahead of fellow Italian Alessandro Battig and France's Jeremy Carpentier. 

The Youths were Mikael Perrsson, Mirko Spandre, Luca Garello, Luc Maliges and Jack Edmondson.

Day 2

Eero Remes was unbeatable in the E1 class. Christophe Nambotin was runner up and Danny McCanney was third. The E2 result sheet was a repeat of Day 1. PA Renet 1st and Brave One Trophy winner, Antoine Meo 2nd and Alex Salvini 3rd. In the E3 class Mathias Bellino, Leok Aigar and Matthew Phillips. Jamie McCanney won the Juniors. Steve Holcombe was 2nd and was 3rd. Mikael Persson was the best Youth. With a dried out bike under him Jack Edmodson was runner up and Mirko Spandre was 3rd.

Eero Remes, Pela Renet and Mathias Bellino round out perfect weekends in Serres, all claiming double class wins at the Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship’s GP of Greece.A second long day or racing in Serres ended with Eero Remes winning in Enduro 1, closing to within just four points on championship leader Christophe Nambotin. Husqvarna’s Pela Renet claimed his first double win of the season ahead of Antoine Meo with third going to Alex Salvini. Things were clearer second time out in Enduro 3, where Mathias Bellino got the lead early in the day and rode on to victory. Conditions were dry and even harder on day two, with mud holes and countless river crossings in the enduro test taking their toll on many riders.

Finland’s Eero Remes (TM) was hard to catch on day two, securing a fourth day win in 2015 to level Christophe Nambotin’s (F-KTM) number of victories this season. Riding with pain on his injured knee, Christophe Nambotin had to settle for second in Enduro 1, and now leads Remes by only four points. The battle for the Enduro 1 title is shaping up to offer some real drama during the upcoming rounds. Danny McCanney (GB-Husqvarna) returned to form on day two to end up third on the podium. Spain’s Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) ended the GP with another fourth place finish with his fellow countryman Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) coming from behind to end fifth in Enduro 1. “It was another good day. No mistakes and another win,” was Remes’ overview of day two.”

Pela Renet’s (F-Husqvarna) goal of reducing the championship lead held by Antoine Meo (F-KTM) was achieved as the defending E2 champion secured victory on day two. With his second consecutive day win Renet is now 13 points behind in the championship standings. Meo made a mistake in the Enduro Test and then had to struggle a lot to regain ground. He finally ended second almost half a minute in front of third-placed Alex Salvini (ITA-Honda). Salvini only has two weeks to work hard and search for his second win of the season at his home GP of Italy. Sherco’s Loic Larrieu (F) had another good fight with Jaume Betriu (S-Husqvarna) for fourth place with the Frenchman ending up winning that battle and Betriu finishing fifth again.

In the Enduro 3 class it was Husqvarna’s Mathias Bellino who took the top step of the podium. Knowing that he would have to start the day in attack mode if he was to finish ahead of Matt Phillips, Bellino took to the front and steadily edged his way ahead as the day progressed. Second place went to Estonian TM rider Aigar Leok, just as it did on day one. Impressively fast throughout the day, Leok finished between Bellino and Phillips, with Phillips struggling to perform at his best after a severely interrupted night’s sleep due to food poisoning. “I gave today everything during the first lap, I had to because I knew how fast Phillips would be,” said Bellino. “Starting the second half of the series with a win is great… now I have to stay strong during the coming GPs.”

The fastest rider in the Enduro Junior class was Beta mounted Steve Holcombe. But the day two win went to Jamie McCanney as the Manxman was able to take advantage of the fact that Holcombe ran into troubles in the enduro test, taking water into his bike and losing precious time. Fighting hard he closed to within eight seconds of McCanney at the finish. Rounding out the podium was Beta’s Giacomo Redondi. “Hats off to Steve, he was the fastest rider today,” commented Jamie. “I didn't feel great today but to get the win was important for my championship.”

Dominating the 125cc Youth Cup Mikael Persson (Yamaha) produced a highly impressive performance to finish minutes ahead of his closest competitor – EWC first time podium finisher Jack Edmondson (KTM). Third went to Italian Mirko Spandre.

Pela Renet: “I needed this result. To win both days is great, not only for my championship but also for my confidence. Twice this year – in Chile and Spain – I was leading and crashed, and that really knocks you. It’s really good to win. I made a really good start on the first day, both the first and second laps went really well. I started to worry too much about the mistakes I made in Chile and Spain, and didn't ride so well then. I also got stuck on a climb in the final extreme test, but I managed to win. I was sitting in second on day two at the start. I was fortunate that Antoine Meo made a mistake on the enduro test, which was really easy to do. We both pushed really hard after that and I got the win. There are three more races to go in the championship and after this result I’m looking forward to the GP of Italy.”

Mathias Bellino: “The GP of Greece was really all about the enduro test. You had to have some luck there, but also be consistent and push at 100 per cent for close to 10 minutes each time. I won the first day, but I was a little lucky that my rival Matt Phillips started the day with a penalty. But anyway a win is a win and we both pushed very hard all day. I knew I needed t push hard from the start on day two, which I did. I had a really good opening lap and managed to open up a small gap. Two wins as we pass the half way point of the series is really good for me and the team. Next we have Italy, which will be another hard race.”

Danny McCanney: “Day one didn't start well and didn't end well. I didn't find my rhythm on the enduro test and then hit a tree on the first extreme test. Only towards the end of the day did I start to turn things around a little. I guess it was just one of those days you want to forget about. Day two was completely different. I started well and managed to keep fighting for the podium. Nambotin wasn’t too far ahead of me, so I kept pushing hard. On the last lap I took it safe, I’m really pleased to have finished third.”

Jamie McCanney: “The first day went well. I think I was fastest outright at the end of the opening lap, which was great. On the second enduro test my bike took in water and it stopped. I was sure my day was over. Luckily it wasn’t but I lost a lot of time. I gave the second and third laps everything and had nothing for the final lap. Day two was a real struggle. I just couldn't free up and get into it like I wanted – I couldn't get into a flow like I did on day one. It’s really hard with such a long, technical enduro test. There were a lot of places where you could take either a good line or a bad line, so getting it correct every time was tough. Steve Holcombe rode great, so well done to him but he had some bike problems that allowed me to get another win. More points towards the championship is always a good thing, so all in all a really good weekend.”

The 2015 Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship continues in two weeks with the GP of Italy.