The final day of racing in the sixth round of the EnduroGP World Championship Paulo Duarte FIM was a true thriller, with Josep García, from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, clinching a hard-fought victory after an epic battle for the top of the podium. The Spaniard secured the win by just one second ahead of Steve Holcombe, from Beta Factory Racing, with Andrea Verona, from GASGAS Factory Racing, rounding out the podium.
Following an exciting day of racing on Saturday, the action on this Sunday in the sixth round of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship was equally thrilling in Valpaços, Portugal. Despite the very tough special tests and intense heat, the competitors raced hard under the Portuguese sun.
After the titanic battle on Saturday between Josep García (KTM), Steve Holcombe (Beta), and Andrea Verona (GASGAS), the trio picked up where they left off in the first Extreme Test at POLISPORT. To make up for his slow start on the first day, Holcombe immediately set the pace by posting the fastest time and then backed it up by winning the opening JUST1 Enduro Test to claim an early advantage over Garcia and Verona.
The battle for fourth place was equally intense with Daniel Milner from TM Racing, Hamish MacDonald from CH Racing Sherco, and teammate Zach Pichon, plus Mikael Persson (Husqvarna) all separated by just one second.
Closing the first lap with the victory in the ACERBIS Cross Test, Garcia gained some ground on Holcombe, but in the second lap he started working to win the Enduro Test and the Cross Test, before winning the last POLISPORT Extreme Test to stay two seconds behind the British rider.
Throughout the rest of the day, little would separate them. A fall from Verona in the last JUST1 Enduro Test caused the Italian to drop out of the overall fight. With a victory in the last ACERBIS Cross Test, Garcia amazingly overtook Holcombe to claim the win.
Behind the top three, it was Nathan Watson from RedMoto Honda who managed to reach fourth place. The British rider found some extra pace in the last lap to overtake MacDonald and Pichon and secure a well-deserved result.
García takes the lead in Enduro1
With his fight for EnduroGP honors keeping him away from his Enduro1 colleagues, Josep Garcia secured an impressive victory. The Spaniard finished the day with a minute and 40 seconds advantage over Zach Pichon in second and Jamie McCanney from Fast Eddy Racing in third.
Satisfied with his day’s performance, Steve Holcombe claimed victory in Enduro2. The Beta rider was joined on the podium by Andrea Verona in second and Nathan Watson in third.
Despite losing contact with his EnduroGP rivals, Brad Freeman (Beta) kept his Enduro3 title hopes on track by securing two consecutive victories in Portugal. Mikael Persson held off Christophe Charlier from JET Zanardo Husqvarna by one second to take second place.
Norrbin conquers victory in Junior Enduro
In the GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship, it was Albin Norrbin of Fantic Factory Racing who emerged victorious on the second day. After losing to Jed Etchells of Fantic JET Racing yesterday, the Swede was very serious today. With seven wins in 11 tests, Norrbin led the standings with a 26-second advantage over Etchells. Australian Kyron Bacon (Yamaha) had an excellent race and secured his first podium with third place.
The Youth Enduro class saw Kevin Cristino (Fantic) claim two victories in two starts in Portugal. The Italian now appears to be the favorite to win the title at the final round next weekend. Leo Joyon of Beta once again finished second in Valpaços, with Pietro Scardina (Fantic) rounding out the top three.
The 2023 Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship concludes with the seventh and final round next weekend in Santiago do Cacém, in the south of Portugal, from October 6th to 8th.
Top 20 in the championship after the round in Portugal:
