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Verona World Enduro Champion

Aug 4

Race Report

He's done it! Sealing the deal with one round to spare, GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona has won the FIM Enduro2 World Championship after topping the timesheets on both days at the GP of Wales. Winning every day except one so far, where he finished as runner-up, Andrea’s near-perfect season has earned him a well-deserved seventh career world title.

Switching to the GASGAS EC 350F and the Enduro2 category for the 2023 season, Andrea finished the year as runner-up. Now in 2024 and with more experience under his belt, the number 99 has enjoyed a dominant season in the class, taking 11 wins from the 12 days raced, and headed into the penultimate round with an impressive 39-point lead in the Enduro2 standings. Talk about consistency!

Arriving at the GP of Wales with a 39-point lead in Enduro2, Andrea looked to get his weekend off to a solid start in Friday’s Super Test on his GASGAS EC 350 F. Unfortunately, a small crash put a dampener on things. But quickly getting back on the gas Saturday, the Italian went on to top the Enduro2 timesheets on all but one test.

Winning the class by a comfortable 59 seconds moved him one step closer to clinching the 2024 title. Raring to go on Sunday, Verona came out swinging to top the opening test in Rhayader. Maintaining his streak of winning results, and despite a crash on the cross test on lap two, the Italian won nine of the 10 tests raced to bring his EC 350F home 24 seconds ahead of his nearest E2-class rival. In securing the win, Verona claimed the Enduro2 world title with one round to spare – an amazing achievement for the insanely fast 25-year-old!

With the Enduro2 title wrapped up, all eyes are now on the final round of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship, where Andrea will look to take the fight to Josep Garcia in EnduroGP. Narrowly missing the podium on both days in Wales, Andrea still lies second overall in the EnduroGP class standings. And you can be sure the GASGAS star will be giving his all at the final round, held in Brioude, France, on September 13-15.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia capped off the penultimate round of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship in Wales with victory in both the EnduroGP and Enduro1 categories on day two. The Spaniard, locked in a battle for the top step of the podium both days, was able to increase his lead in the EnduroGP class to 17 points with one round remaining.

Two weeks after his winning ride at the GP of Slovakia, Garcia was back on track for the penultimate round of the EnduroGP season in Wales. With the leader’s gold plate on his KTM 250 EXC-F, Josep was focused on strengthening his advantage over his nearest rivals.

Placing second in the Friday evening super test, Garcia began Saturday in confident spirits. However, the Spaniard struggled to find his rhythm on the special tests during the opening two laps. On the third and final lap, things began to click for the KTM rider and the fight for victory was back on.
Fastest in the penultimate cross test and final enduro test, he closed the gap to the leading two riders. Giving it his all on the final two tests, he placed just five seconds behind the winner in third in EnduroGP, while finishing as runner-up in Enduro1.

Knowing how to best judge the tough Welsh terrain, Garcia came out swinging on day two. Quickly putting himself into the overall lead on lap one, he set about capturing that EnduroGP win. Fighting all day with rivals Brad Freeman and Steve Holcombe, Garcia trailed Freeman for the lead by one second as they began the tenth and final special test of the day.

Blitzing the cross test to set the fastest time, Josep went on to take the EnduroGP victory by an incredible 15 hundredths of a second. The result also saw him top the podium in Enduro1 for the seventh time this season.
Now, with just the seventh and final round of the championship remaining, Garcia will arrive at the GP of France, on September 13-15, with a 17-point advantage in EnduroGP, while also leading Enduro1 by six points.

Taking in a wild card ride at the GP of Wales, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers' Gus Riordan produced one of the standout performances of the weekend. Despite round six marking the young Australian’s first EnduroGP outing, he didn’t let the occasion faze him.

Blisteringly fast in Friday’s Super Test, the KTM youngster let everyone know he’d arrived by setting the outright fastest time. Competing in the highly-competitive Enduro Junior category, Gus went on to win day one. Aiming to back that up on Sunday, he almost made it two-for-two, finishing less than half of a second from victory as runner-up.

Andrea Verona: “I’m really happy to get the Enduro2 title with one race to spare! It’s been a great season and I’m so happy to have won every single day except one. This was one of our goals for the year and we have pushed hard all season to get here. Thank you to the GASGAS Factory Racing team and everyone who has helped me all year. For sure we will take the fight to Josep Garcia at the final race for the EnduroGP title!”

Josep Garcia: “It’s been a super competitive weekend in Wales, but I’m pleased to have come away with the EnduroGP victory on day two. Saturday started out a bit tricky. I didn’t find my rhythm on the first two laps and was just off the pace of the top two. I felt good on the last lap, but ran out of time to finish better than third. I knew day two could be better and began fast. The battle was super tight, and it all boiled down to the final test. I’m so happy I won and can now look forward to the final round in France next month.”

Results: FIM EnduroGP World Championship, Round 6

Day 1 – EnduroGP

1. Steve Holcombe (Honda) 56:54.44

2. Brad Freeman (Beta) 56:58.65

3. Josep Garcia (KTM) 57:00.04

4. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 57:16.70

Day 2 – EnduroGP

1. Josep Garcia (KTM) 55:02.28

2. Brad Freeman (Beta) 55:02.43

3. Steve Holcombe (Honda) 55:07.72

4. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 55:45.23

Day 1 – Enduro2

1. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 57:16.70