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All content © Bob MuIIins | |||
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The Rain in Spain 27/29th April The 2nd Round of the FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship moved to Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, north-west Spain this weekend. The Spanish Grand Prix began with the Friday night with the first Akropovic Supertest of the season outside the San Lorenzo Stadium, The weather was cool with blustery gusts blowing across the log strewn course. Italy's Alex Salvini (Husqvarna) won the EnduroGP class - one second ahead of reigning champion Steve Holcombe on the Beta. Loic Larrrieu (Yamaha) was 3rd, Thomas Oldrati (Honda) was 4th and Brad Freeman (Beta) was 5th, Danny McCanney (GasGas) was 10th. Jamie McCanney (Yamaha) was 23rd and Josh Gotts (TM) was 25th. Jean Baptiste Nicolot (Yamaha) set the fastest time in the Juniors ahead of Matteo Cavallo (Beta), Mikael Persson (KTM), Theophile Espinasse (Sherco) and Andrea Verona (TM). Joe Wootton (Husqvarna) was 11th and Jack Edmondson (Sherco) was 16th. Belgian Matthew Van Develen (Sherco) won the Youth class. Hamish McDonald from New Zealand was runner up on a Sherco and Chilean Ruy Barbosa (Husqvarna) was 3rd. Alex Walton (Yamaha) was 10th and Dan Mundell (Sherco) was 11th.
Saturday Day 1 of the GP of Spain dawned bright but cool in Santiago. The first test was on the extreme track and Steve Holcombe led off with a 4,36,14 - 10 seconds faster than the 2nd rider Eero Remes. Alex Salvini then consolidated his overnight lead with a fastest time of 4.34.54 and Brad Freeman improved his position with the 2nd fastest time, Heading out of town Alex Salvini led from Steve Holcombe, Loic Larrieu, Brad Freeman and Matthew Phillips. Jamie McCanney had a better run than in the Prologue and he moved up into 8th with Danny McCanny in 9th. Thomas Oldrati, Josh Gotts and Christophe Charlier all incurred penalties. Steve Holcombe set the fastest time on the first 5km Enduro Test and a good run by Jamie McCanney moved him up into 4th. In the Juniors Enric Francisco was the quickest, Mikael Persson was 2nd and Jack Edmondson was 3rd - moving him up into 6th. Recent heavy rain had left deep pools on the 4.5km MX test. Steve Holcombe was the first to part the waters but a following Eero Remes looked like he was on a jet ski finishing 3 seconds up on Davide Guarneri. Dan Mundell could have done with a jet ski or a canoe. He dropped 2 minutes. At the end of the first lap Alex Salvini led from Steve Holcombe by 4 seconds. Loic Larrieu was 3rd, Eero Remes 4th and Jamie McCanney 5th, Brad Freenman was 7th, Danny McCanney 9th and Josh Gotts 25th. The top 3 in the Juniors were Mikael Persson, Matteo Cavallo and Jack Edmondson. Joe Wootton was 8th. Steve Holcombe and Jamie McCanney pushed hard on their 2nd Enduro test to finish in 1st and 3rd with Alex Salvini in the sandwich but the wet MX test put the dampers onto Steve Holcombe's day where he lost over a minute and dropped down to 10th. Jack Edmondson also dropped a lot of time. At the end of lap 2 Alex Salvini led from Loic Larrieu and Jamie McCanney. Bred Freeman was 6th, Danny McCanney was 8th and Steve Holcombe was 10th. In the Juniors Mikael Persson, Matteo Cavallo held their positions while Theophile Espinasse replaced Jack Edmondson who dropped back to 7th - one place ahead of Joe Wootton. Alex Salvini stayed focused on the victory and he took it emphatically after a lot of consistency throughout the day. This emotional win confirms “Rocky” has returned to the forefront after two difficult seasons. But the rider from Bologna still had to keep a close eye on the two very pacy Yamaha Outsiders riders, Loïc Larrieu (F - Yamaha) and teammate Jamie McCanney (GB). Marc Bourgeois's two protégés seemed well on their way to accompanying Salvini on the podium before both made mistakes on the last Extreme Test! This double mistake meant Finland’s Eero Remes (TM) inherited a superb second place in the EnduroGP (scratch) category despite also losing quite a lot of time in a quagmire of Cross Test 2). This allows Remes to strengthen his leadership position in the Championship. On this wet Galician terrain, the British riders felt very comfortable and Danny McCanney (GB - Gas Gas) was able to take an great 5th place. The young 2017 Junior World Champion, Brad Freeman (I - Beta Boano) also earned a remarkable 7th place among much more experienced riders. A determined Davide Guarneri (I - Honda Red Moto) finished 8th overall, while Antoine Basset (F - Gas Gas) and Matthew Phllips (AUS - Sherco) completed the Top 10. Just outside the Top 10 was Christophe Nambotin (F - Gas Gas), on a terrain which was not to his liking. Jamie McCanney (Yamaha) confirmed that he will be the man to beat this season in E1 with this first victory today in Santiago, but Brad Freeman (Beta) and Davide Guarneri (Honda Red Moto), 2nd and 3rd, also showed their potential in the class. Antoine BASSET 4th and Victor Guerrer (E - Yamaha) 5th, also put in good performances. For Alex Salvini taking a double win (EnduroGP & E2) was important for showing his rivals that he is undeniably one of the main contenders, even though Eero Remes is still looking strong after switching to the mid-size category. Loïc Larrieu also seems able to keep the pressure on Salvini and Remes, while Matthew Phillips (Sherco) 4th will work hard tomorrow to be in contention for the win. It was also a strong Day 1 for Thomas OLDRATI (I - Honda Red Moto), who took a great 5th, just in front of a consistent Deny PHILIPPAERTS (I - Beta Boano). Josh GOTTS was 9th. Danny MCCANNEY (GB - Gas Gas) proved his speed and experience in E3, scoring a valuable 20 points with his victory, in front of the unlucky Steve HOLCOMBE who was pushed back to second position in class, ahead of Christophe NAMBOTIN who completed the E3 podium. Fellow Frenchmen, Romain DUMONTIER (F - Yamaha) and Anthony GESLIN (F - Beta) also performed well. There was also a thrilling battle in the Junior class, with a number of
young stars putting in excellent test times, with race pace worthy of the
Senior classes. Yet it is with a undeniable disappointment that we report more
misfortune for the talented Swede, Mikael PERSSON (KTM), who had returned to
the world circuit following a serious illness last summer. Quick and strong,
PERSSON seemed to be on course for a dominant win, but while the battle was
raging with Matteo CAVALLO (I - Beta Boano), the Scandinavian made a mistake
on a tree root and looks to have broken his hand. A very tough blow for this
talented youngster, who seems to be plagued with bad luck! After the retirement of PERSSON, it was the Italian Matteo CAVALLO (I - Beta) who held his nerve and took a great win in the J2 category, with a good margin over a returning Jack EDMONDSON (GB - Sherco), and Enric FRANCISCO (E - KTM). While Joe WOOTTON (GB - Husqvarna) made a promising start as he finished 4th ahead of Davide SORECA (I - TM) in J2. Didier VALADE, manager of the Sherco Academy team, thought he would win the Youth 125cc class thanks to his talented young Belgian driver Matthew VAN OEVELEN (Sherco) who, throughout the 7 hours of racing, delivered a superb battle with Sweden's Joakim GRELSSON (KTM), the Chilean Ruy BARBOSA (Husqvarna) and the rookie from New Zealand, Hamish MACDONALD (Sherco). But in the end top honours, by just a few seconds, went to the promising Scandinavian Joakim GRELSSON in this category of more than 24 riders, full of talent and motivation. Alex WALTON and Dan MUNDELL finished in top half 9th and 10th. Steve HOLCOMBE, who for many people was the favourite this year, has
endured a tricky start to the season, made worse by the speed of SALVINI,
REMES, LARRIEU and the MCCANNEY brothers ...
What They Said: Steve HOLCOMBE : “I am very frustrated today. I rode well but it is what it is, and we can’t do anything about conditions ... tomorrow will be another day!” Eero REMES : “Finishing second really pleases me especially after I went “swimming” in Cross Test 1! It's a good race with a lap full of quality and beautiful specials test.” Christophe NAMBOTIN : “I’m a bit disillusioned...today was not my day! Too many mistakes, crashes, and issues with bike setup ... it will be better tomorrow!” Jamie MCCANNEY : “I'm mainly focusing on the E1 category without looking at the EnduroGP results. This is my main goal and winning today gives me a lot of motivation and proves my hard work is paying off. But it’s still a long road to the title.” Danny MCCANNEY : “Obviously winning here in Spain and bringing this success to Gas Gas is great. I’m very happy with this victory.” Sunday
Surprises, twists and turns happened from special to special, and shook up the standings throughout the day - especially in the EnduroGP category; after a brilliant E3 win on Day 1, Danny McCanney (GB - Gas Gas) was one of the unluckiest riders, despite a perfect start to the day. An issue with the front wheel plunged him into the depths of the rankings ... and, in fact, all the main players in EGP suffered various falls and slip ups. But the one who was best able to limit the errors was Steve Holcombe (GB - Beta), and he took an important victory, despite crashing on a slope in Enduro Test 1 - fortunately without damage to the bike or himself. Leader of the EGP class, factory TM rider, Eero Remes (SF - 5th), also suffered a few errors which kept him out of the podium battle. Following a very good start this morning, Christophe Nambotin (F - Gas Gas) longed for the overall victory, but he lost time on the third lap, which relegated him to just 7th place. Ditto for his compatriot Loïc Larrieu (F - Yamaha Outsiders) who looked on course for the win before losing 40 seconds in Extreme Test 3. Steve HOLCOMBE who found himself down in 6th position at the end of the first lap, pulled the pin and went on to set the fastest times in tests 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12! And take his first ‘scratch’ success of 2018. Only a very strong and determind Alex SALVINI (I - Husqvarna) was able to worry the Brit, he kept up the pace and took to the EGP podium, just behind an impressive Jamie MCCANNEY (GB - Yamaha). After his disappointments of Day 1, where he took a 7 minute penalty, Christophe CHARLIER (F - Beta) showed he can never be counted out! He was 6th, while Brad FREEMAN (GB - Beta Boano) and Antoine BASSET (F - Gas Gas) completed the TOP 10 along with an excellent Luis OLIVEIRA! Meanwhile, Matthew PHILLIPS (AUS - Sherco) finished just outside the Top 10 (11th)...
Alex Salvini enjoyed a superb double in E2 after an intense battle with Loïc Larrieu and Eero Remes. But Christophe Charlier (4th) is expected to improve race by race and will likely have something up his sleeve as the season goes on, as will the spectacular Sherco rider, Matthew Phllips (6th).
Like most Brits, Jack EDMONDSON (GB - Sherco) was very quick in the Junior
class in the challenging ‘deluge’ race conditions. But he also made a lot
of mistakes and in the end it was the extremely talented and promising Andrea
VERONA (I - TM) who won this second day in the overall Junior category, in
front of his compatriot Davide SORECA, for a historic double TM podium! Andrea VERONA won the J1 (under 250cc) class, ahead of the promising Frenchman Theo ESPINASSE (Sherco) and Belgian hopeful Antoine MAGAIN (KTM) - who took his first podium after two seasons of improvements. Davide SORECA returned to success in the J2 (+ 250cc) class, with a large lead over his rival Matteo CAVALLO (I - Beta Boano) and France’s David ABGRALL (F - Sherco), who is also brilliantly rewarded for all his efforts and panache. Tonight the beer ought to be flowing abundantly among the Belgian supporters! Indeed after Antoine MAGAIN's first podium in Juniors, his compatriot Matthew VAN OEVELEN (B - Sherco Academy) won the Youth 125cc category! After struggling a little on Day 1, and “only” managing a podium, the young protégé of Didier Valade felt at home on the wet Galician ground, and clearly outpaced Hugo SVARD (SF - Husqvarna) and the Chilean Ruy BARBOSA (Husqvarna). This is a historic victory because VAN OEVELEN gives Belgium its first ever win in the history of the World Enduro! Hamish MACDONALD (NZ - Sherco) took a great 4th in his debut, and Joakim GRELSSON (S - KTM), 5th, lost out. As did Marcus ADIELSSON (S - Yamaha) and Roni KYTONEN (SF - Husqvarna). But that this Youth 125cc category is always brilliant to watch, and this is where these young riders from 16 to 21 years old offer a remarkable show and shine with their enthusiasm and talent. After water problems on Day 1 Dan MUNDELL showed his speed on Day 2 by leading from the start for a lap and a half until he hit an under water rock on the 2nd MX test. The EnduroGP ‘family’ will leave a spectacular but wet Galicia tomorrow, hoping to find more "arid" and dry lands 600 kms away... heading south! Indeed, next weekend, the 3rd round of the season will be held in Castelo Branco for the Polisport Grand Prix of Portugal which promises to be very open and thrilling again! What They Said Alex SALVINI: “It was a very physically and mentally tiring day... but I’ve made good ground in E2 and another EGP podium is a great start to the season for me.” Jamie McCANNEY: “The day was long... very long! Finishing 2nd in EnduroGP is great... especially since my main rivals used soft tyres, unlike me. My Yamaha worked perfectly in these extreme conditions and I want to thank all the Yamaha Outsiders Team for their excellent work.” Christophe CHARLIER: “I'm probably one of the few who has not crashed today! It has been amazing for me, discovering these racing conditions on my factory Beta. But unfortunately I hit a post in the last Enduro Test and it got stuck in my back wheel which made me lose a lot of time... it’s a shame!" Anthony GESLIN: “I’m very happy... of course I did take advantage of the problems which befell Danny MCCANNEY, but the race is like this, and to achieve a Senior podium in World Enduro gives a feeling of intense happiness and makes you forget the months and years of efforts and sometimes of suffering!" Matthew VAN OEVELEN: "The day started badly... I took in some water in the first Enduro Test which made me lose a lot of engine power - then I fought back all the way to the finish! Hearing the Belgian National Anthem on the podium was a great emotion and I hope that this first victory will further promote Enduro in Belgium!” |
The locals will tell you... the weather in Galicia is very changeable! And
on the last Sunday in April, the heavens opened and poured torrents of water,
and sometimes even hail, on the second day of the 2018 Spanish World Enduro
Grand Prix. Which, you can imagine, made life difficult for even the elite
riders in the discipline - juggling fast pace against quagmires, puddles, and
extremely slippery and tricky terrain.
Jamie
MCanney had no rivals to match up to his impressive form in E1
today, even if his compatriot Brad Freemab was also very strong (2nd), ahead
of Antoine Basset. The Gas Gas rider took his first podium in three years,
despite coming under attack from Spain’s Victor Guerrero (E - Yamaha) and
Finland's Eemil Pohjola (Gas Gas).