Garcia and Verona - World Enduro

Posted on April 15, 2024

Red Bull KTM Racing Racing’s Josep Garcia continued his relentless pace in the FIM EnduroGP World Championship by claiming an EnduroGP and Enduro1 class win on day one at round two in Valpacos, Portugal. With further podium results on day two, the Spaniard is now tied on points for the championship lead in both classes.

With round two coming hot on the heels of last weekend’s season opener, Garcia was eager to continue his winning ways in Portugal. Kicking things off with victory in the Friday night Akrapovic Super Test for the second week in a row, Josep was fired up for the next two days of racing to come.

A strong start to Saturday saw the KTM 250 EXC-F mounted rider build an early lead after setting the fastest time on both the cross test and enduro test. Despite a hectic pace at the front of the field, Garcia held firm at the top of the classification. Going on to win a further three special tests, while never dropping outside of the top four, saw him claim a well-deserved victory in EnduroGP and Enduro1.

On day two, Garcia set about repeating those winning results. But a crash on the enduro test put the Spaniard on the back foot. Regrouping and pushing hard, he raced his way from sixth up to third overall. Edging ever closer to securing a double victory in Valpacos, Garcia was in the hunt as he entered the 10th and final special test of the day. Going all-in like only the Spaniard can, the tactic unfortunately didn’t pay off for him this time. A small crash saw his chance of victory slip away, forcing him to settle for third overall in EnduroGP and second in Enduro1.

Just one week after clinching a double podium in Enduro2 at the FIM EnduroGP World Championship season opener, GASGAS Factory Racing's Andrea Verona has stormed through the second GP of Portugal. Unleashing the full potential of his EC 350F to dominate the E2 class on both race days, he now leads the Enduro2 standings.

In contrast to round one of the EnduroGP World Championship, the second leg of the 2024 series, held in Valpacos, Portugal, was raced in dry, scorching conditions. Action got underway with the Friday night Super Test, where Verona steered his EC 350F to third place on the tight and twisting track, setting himself up nicely for the long and grueling day one.

Attacking the 11 tests on Saturday, Andrea went fastest in the Enduro2 class on eight of them to claim a comfortable win, well over one minute ahead of the second-placed rider. Verona’s performance also secured him a well-earned third place in the overall EnduroGP category.

Fired-up for Sunday, and focusing on the areas of his riding that cost him time on the previous day, Andrea got his head down right from the off, showing his intentions to his two closest EnduroGP-class rivals. What followed was a day of intense racing between the tapes, with the top three often separated by fractions of a second on each test.

At the midway point through day two, Verona lay second overall, less than 10 seconds down on the leader. Putting in an incredible performance on the unforgiving Portuguese terrain, the Italian closed to within just less than six seconds of leader Holcombe going into the final test. Giving his all, Andrea delivered another test win, but it wasn’t quite enough – the GASGAS star was forced to settle for second overall, missing out on his first EnduroGP victory of 2024 by a mere 1.08 seconds!

At the close of racing in Portugal, with two rounds completed, Verona leads Enduro2 by 15 points and lies third in the EnduroGP class, trailing the joint leaders by just 10 points. The FIM EnduroGP World Championship now takes a one-month break before resuming with the GP of Romania on May 10-12.

Andrea Verona: "Overall, it's been a really good weekend. I won both days in E2 and finished on the EnduroGP podium twice as well. Throughout the entire weekend, things were tight between Josep (Garcia), Steve (Holcombe), and me, often with less than a second separating us in each test. After finishing third in EnduroGP on Saturday, I knew I had to give everything on Sunday, and I pushed as hard as I could right from the start. I have to say that missing out on the overall win by just one second is really frustrating, but that's racing. I gave 100 percent and I know my speed is good. The plan now is to train more before the next round. We have a few things to work on, so hopefully, we can come back even stronger in Romania next month and take the win. Thanks to the team and everyone who supports me. It's been an intense couple of weeks here in Portugal, and we're going full gas into the next one."

Josep Garcia: “It’s been a good, solid weekend for me. Winning EnduroGP and Enduro1 on Saturday was perfect really, along with also topping the Super Test on Friday night. I didn’t make too many mistakes on day one and that made the difference. I had some mistakes on Sunday, which cost me a chance of winning, but I still finished on the podium in both classes. Like round one, the pace was incredible this weekend. Everyone is pushing so hard and there’s no room for error. I feel good on the bike and I’m happy with how I’m riding. I just need to keep this level at the next round.”

Results: FIM EnduroGP World Championship, Round 2

EnduroGP - Day 1

1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 1:11:20.16

2. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 1:11:34.07

3. Andrea Verona (ITA), GASGAS, 1:11:46.72

EnduroGP - Day 2

1. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 1:01:24.91

2. Andrea Verona (ITA), GASGAS, 1:01:25.99

3. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 1:01:45.15

Enduro1 - Day 1

1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 1:11:20.16

2. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 1:11:34.07