|
|
||
All content © Bob MuIIins | |||
|
Holcombe doubles season opener! Despite the Covid-19 health crisis which has substantially postponed the start of the season, the FIM Borilli EnduroGP World Championship finally resumed this weekend at the Acerbis Grand Prix of France in Réquista. In the Supertest on Friday evening the spectators witnessed a brilliant victory by Steve HOLCOMBE (GB - Beta) against his great rival and reigning EGP World Champion, Brad FREEMAN (GB - Beta) by 60 hundredths of a second. Behind the Beta Factory teammates, it was the Chilean Ruy BARBOSA (Husqvarna) who set the 3rd fastest time ahead of Loïc LARRIEU (F - TM). Danny McCanney was 10th, Joe Wootton was 24th.and Alex Snow was 31st. In the Juniors, it is therefore BARBOSA with a few seconds ahead of the Sherco duo Théo ESPINASSE (F) and Krystof KOUBLE (CZ) Alex Walton was 19th.In the Youth 125cc, Jed ETCHELLS (GB - Fantic) impressed! and team mate Harry Edmondson was 7th In Open 2-stroke, Robert FRIEDRICH (CZ - KTM) won the inaugural special while Benet GOMEZ (E - Honda). Sam Davies was 6th. In the Open class.and Arnaud ADAM (F - Honda) did the same in 4-stroke and Senior. Provisional Standing : 1. Steve HOLCOMBE 10pts ; 2. Brad FREEMAN 9pts; 3. Ruy BARBOSA 8pts; 4. Loïc LARRIEU 7pts; 5. Andre VERONA 6pts; 6. Matteo CAVALLO 5pts ; 7. Thomas OLDRATI 4pts ; 8. Théo ESPINASSE 3pts ; 9. Davide SORECA 2pts; 10. Jérémy TARROUX 1pts…
The Acerbis French Grand Prix in Réquista, much anticipated by all Enduro fans after a long delay to the season start due to Covid-19 crisis, kept everyone in suspense on a dusty first day. The riders enjoyed themselves and put on a show over all three of the tests created by the Réquista Moto Sport club... On top of that, we were close to witnessing ‘the comeback of the year’ already! The reigning EnduroGP World Champion, Brad FREEMAN (GB - Beta), who had a somewhat sluggish start to the day, put together a crazy last lap to put the pressure on his teammate Steve HOLCOMBE (GB). But the blond number 12 rider missed out by the tiniest margin, with the first EnduroGP class victory going to HOLCOMBE by an incredible two tenths of a second! Despite many mistakes on the last lap, HOLCOMBE impressed throughout the day, even going as far as 18 seconds ahead of FREEMAN at one point! Another great protagonist on this first day of the 2020 season was the 2019 Junior World Champion, Andrea VERONA (I - TM). The rookie in the Senior classes was seriously quick and leading proceedings at the end of the first lap. He admitted at the end of the day that he is still a little ”green”, and the Factory TM rider made a few too many mistakes under pressure. Nevertheless, he secured a brilliant 4th place in the top class. In fact, VERONA was just one and a half seconds from 3rd place, which was occupied by a very solid Loïc LARRIEU (F - TM). The Frenchman woke up this morning with a painful shoulder but that did not prevent him from being strong and consistent throughout the day. Last minute entry to the 2020 season, Davide GUARNERI (I - TM) shone on his first day back in the FIM Borilli World Enduro Championship and he pulled off an excellent Top 5! Two Betas and three TMs in the Top 5 meant unchallenged Italian domination in terms of manufacturers. Note also the good performances of the returning Jérémy TARROUX (F - Sherco) and Jaume BETRIU (E - KTM) who joined the 10 fastest riders on the day. VERONA, Unbeatable In E1! In Enduro 1, Andrea VERONA made an emphatic start to his campaign with a brilliant victory. He outclassed much more experienced riders such as Thomas OLDRATI (I - Honda), 2nd, and Christophe CHARLIER (F - Beta), 3rd. The final two places in the Top 5 were occupied by Jérémy TARROUX and the promising Antoine MAGAIN (B - Sherco). Alex Snow (GB - Honda) was 8th. Over in E3, Brad FREEMAN claimed his first victory in the category ahead of Davide GUARNERI and Jaume BETRIU. Antoine BASSET (F - Beta) and Marc SANS SORIA (E - KTM) were next up. The Junior classes are traditionally some of the hardest fought of the FIM Borilli World Enduro Championship, and the opening round hasn’t disappointed so far! The crowd in Requista were treated to a magnificent battle between Ruy BARBOSA (CL - Husqvarna), home rider Théo ESPINASSE (F - Sherco), Roni KYTÖNEN (SF - Honda), Hamish MACDONALD (NZ - Sherco), Lorenzo MACORITTO (I - Beta Boano) and Wil RUPRECHT (AUS - Beta Boano)! In the lead from the get-go, BARBOSA eventually cracked under the combined pressure of ESPINASSE, MACDONALD and KYTÖNEN. At the end of the 10 specials of the day it was the Frenchman, just recovering from a rupture of the cruciate ligaments, who won on Saturday in front of his Sherco team-mate, MACDONALD, and Finland’s KYTÖNEN. The Chilean had to be satisfied with 4th position while MARCORITTO stepped up his game at the end of the day to get into the Top 5, demoting his Beta Boano team-mate to 6th.
In Youth 125cc we believed that the day was going to be a 100% Fantic duel between Jed ETCHELLS (GB) and Harry EDMONDSON (GB)! The impressive Brits dominated head and shoulders above the rest of the field at the start of the day, but their charge came to an end against Claudio SPANU (I - Husqvarna) and Sergio NAVARRO (E - Husqvarna). While the Spaniard believed he could take the victory until the last stage, he was pipped to the post by the Italian! The son of legend Paul EDMONDSON, Harry, takes his very first world podium while ETCHELLS and Hugo SVARD (SF - Fantic) finished 4th and 5th. Three Fantics in the first 5 riders, not a bad return to the World Championship for the Italian brand! Finally, in the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup, Gonçalo REIS (P - KTM) started 2020 as he finished 2019, on the top step of the 2-Stroke class podium, ahead of Sam Davies (GB) and Trials rider Loris GUBIAN (F - Sherco) with the Czech Republic’s Robert FRIEDRICH (KTM) i 4th. In Open 4-Stroke, there were two Belgians in the top two places in the form of Damiaens DIETGER (KTM) and Mathias VAN HOOF (Husqvarna). Benet GOMEZ (E - Honda) completed the podium. In the Senior class, David MARTINEZ CORBALAN (E - KTM) won this first day after a great battle with the Frenchman Arnaud ADAM (Honda) and the Italian Duccio GRAZIANI (Beta). What They Said: Brad FREEMAN : “It took me too long to get going today, and out in front Steve and VERONA started very strong. I want to keep a mentality where I never give up, so despite dropping 18 seconds behind HOLCOMBE, I really wanted to give my all on the last lap, and I must admit that I am a little upset to finish second. But tomorrow will be another day and I better get up to pace faster!” Andrea VERONA : “Obviously, I am very happy with this first victory in E1! I also had the joy of being able to be EGP leader at the end of the first lap which, I must admit, put a little pressure on me. No matter how much I told myself to stay calm when I saw the provisional classification, I couldn’t prevent the errors which were linked to stress I think. But at least I was able to ensure a nice victory in E1, my first in the Senior ranks! I also know what mental aspect I have to work on now, I have to stay cool and consistent.”
HOLCOMBE Does The Double! After a dusty first day, torrential rains over night on Saturday gave a whole different flavour to Sunday’s proceedings. Despite not being muddy, the three tests had nevertheless changed… although that didn’t change anything for the top riders, who continued their quest for the top. Once again, Steve HOLCOMBE (GB - Beta) had to watch his back at the end of
the day when both Andrea VERONA (I - TM) and Brad FREEMAN (GB - Beta) closed
to within 16 seconds of him. HOLCOMBE almost lost all his hard work on the
last test when his two pursuers were very hot on his heels. But the Factory
Beta rider managed to take another slim victory, just 3 seconds ahead of Brad
FREEMAN (GB - Beta)! Just like Day 1, the 2019 EGP World Champion took a while
to get into the groove and once again narrowly missed out on a win. This is
something he will have to sort out before next weekend in Italy. However,
despite being out of the Top 3 for the majority of the day FREEMAN was still
able to grab second place, proof of his strength of character. As yesterday,
Andrea VERONA (I - TM) took 3rd place on the EGP podium. The Italian Senior
class rookie could have taken advantage of HOLCOMBE's drop in power to get his
first victory in the premier class but a fall in the very last Champion Enduro
Test of the weekend deprived him a win and even 2nd place! Behind the leading
trio, Jaume BETRIU (E - KTM) had a very good race. In the overall lead at the
end of the first lap, the Catalan has been out of Enduro for a while to focus
on the Dakar Rally, but he clearly hasn’t lost any of his speed during his
time off, taking a great 4th place. Fourth on Day 1, France's Loïc LARRIEU
(TM) took another Top 5 to the detriment of Danny MCCANNEY (GB - Honda). New Day, Same Winners! In Enduro 1, we also find the same winner from the day before in the form of the 2019 Junior World Champion, Andrea VERONA. TARROUX was next up with Thomas OLDRATI (I - Honda) 3rd. The last two places in the Top 5 went to Antoine MAGAIN and Christophe CHARLIER (F - Beta). On the E3 side, the same story goes with FREEMAN beating Jaume BETRIU. After a great day of racing, Marc SANS SORIA snatched the last step of the podium from Davide GUARNERI (I - TM) while Cristobal GUERRERO (E - Beta) finished 5th ... Over in the closely contested Junior class, Théo ESPINASSE (F - Sherco) once again made life difficult for all his competitors with another win. He will head to Italy next weekend with the Junior leader's plate! He finished more than 27 seconds ahead of his Sherco Factory team-mate, Hamish MACONALD (NZ) and Matteo PAVONI (I - Beta Boano). In difficulty at the start of the day, the Australian Wil RUPRECHT (AUS - Beta Boano) made an explosive comeback on the last lap but he was far too far from the leading trio to see a podium! A third Beta Boano rider brought up the rear of the Top 5 in the form of Lorenzo MACORITTO (I). Recognised as two of the best teams for bringing on young talent, Sherco Factory and Beta Boano took the lion’s share in the under 23 years classes... ESPINASSE therefore also took the double in J2 ahead of Hamish MACDONALD and Matteo PAVONI while Lorenzo MACORITTO won Junior 1 against Roni KYTÖNEN (SF - Honda) and the Brazilian Bruno CRIVILIN (Honda).
Finally, in Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup, Gonçalo REIS (P - KTM) continues to dominate the Open 2-Stroke category ahead of Robert FRIEDRICH (CZ - KTM). While Loris GUBIAN (F - Sherco) secures a second podium. In Open 4-Stroke, things were unchanged with Damiaens DIETGER (KTM) as the winner, with Mathias VAN HOOF (Husqvarna) 2nd, and Benet GOMEZ (E - Honda) 3rd. In the Seniors category, we saw a shake up as Italy’s Duccio GRAZIANI (Beta) took his first victory of the season ahead of the France’s Arnaud ADAM (Honda) and Spain’s David MARTINEZ CORBALAN (KTM). Junior What They Said: Brad FREEMAN : “Once again, I'm angry! When I see the last lap that I put together, it drives me crazy that I didn't find the rhythm at the start of the day! But in the provisional Championship standings, Steve is not too far away and it’s only the start of the season. Anyway, I’m very happy with my double win in E3 but I have to look for more in EnduroGP!” Andrea VERONA : “I am much more satisfied with today than yesterday! I fought all day with HOLCOMBE for the victory, but unfortunately my fall in the very last special of the day cost me a potential victory and also second place. But after all, I was not really expecting to achieve the double in E1 and also get so close in EnduroGP, so I’m really pleased!” Théo ESPINASSE : “Yesterday I won by 15 seconds, today by almost 30 ... not bad at all for an injury comeback! I am very happy with myself and with all the work done by the CH Racing team, which has been exceptional all weekend.
|
Day
1
ESPINASSE
& SPANU Prevail…
Day
2
First
Victory For Fantic