Enduro

Alex Salvini Stars at Spanish Enduro Grand Prix Day One

Posted:

Sunday, April 29th, 2018

2:51 PM

After three years without a win Alex Salvini stood on the top step of the podium at the Spanish GP on day 1.

Day 1 of the Spanish Grand Prix held in the world famous city of Santiago de Compostela was just as enthralling as anticipated and the chilly conditions on the start line did little to cool the fiery ambitions of the EnduroGP elite.

In high spirits due to his Friday night Super Test win, Alex Salvini continued to shine throughout Day 1 and took top honours in the top category (EnduroGP) and also in the E2 class. Yet he had to work hard to hold off the defending champion Steve Holcombe, and the pair had an incredible duel right up until the mid-race point. But the factory Beta rider lost a huge amount of time in a very wet section of the Cross test on lap 2, where he had to drain his airbox and replace his air filter! The Brit then resumed the race after a long stop of over one minute, and he was plunged into the depths of the rankings. Holcombe then started a great comeback which put him back into 6th place overall at the end of the day.

Alex Salvini stayed focused on the victory and he took it emphatically after a lot of consistency throughout the day. This emotional win confirms ‰ÛÏRocky‰Û

Enduro 1 Class Podium

Yamaha's Jamie McCanny confirmed that he will be the man to beat this season in E1 with this first victory today in Santiago, but Brad Freeman and Davide Guarneri, 2nd and 3rd, also showed their potential in the class. Antoine Basset 4th and Victor Guerrero 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. LoÌøc Larrieu also seems able to keep the pressure on Salvini and Remews, while Matthew Phillips 4th will work hard tomorrow to be in contention for the win. It was also a strong Day 1 for Thomas Oldrati, who took a great 5th, just in front of a consistent Deny Philippearts.

Danny McCanny 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 and Anthony Geslin also performed well.

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 McCanny brothers ...

But it‰Ûªs hard to draw too many conclusions as it could be all change again for Day 2 of this exciting Spanish Grand Prix - especially as rain is expected!