Day 1 of the Estonian EnduroGP, held under sunny skies and summer weather, had a surprise in store in the shape of 2017 Junior World Champion, Brad Freeman who has undoubtedly been the big surprise of the early part of the season.
The protege of
Jarno Boano has impressed everyone since the beginning of the season with his speed and his very positive attitude. Whether in the cold and snow of PÌ_ijÌ_nne (Finland) or the dust of the GP of Portugal, the Brit has been sporting as well and always sporting a smile!
However, on the Cross Test of Tallinn and Maardu, the youngster from Staffordshire hardly had time to catch his breath on the way to his debut win. Especially as fellow countryman
Steve Holcombe launched an attack with his usual determination and led the race at the end of the first lap, where
Christophe Charlier and Yamaha's
Jamie McCanney both fell heavily and lost a lot of time. While Holcombe led the dance, Freeman,
Alex Salvini and
Eero Remes were in ambush, meanwhile the rest of the pack were irretrievably outpaced by this flying quartet.
The long Enduro test which lasted more than 10 minutes would once again prove to make the difference, while Holcombe continued to lead the way at the end of the second lap by 7 seconds ahead of Freeman, fatigue started to creep in - Holcombe fell twice on the ET3 while Freeman opened the gas and took control of the race.
The Englishman wasn't seen again after that and he won the EnduroGP class on his 4th outing in the Senior ranks!
"I'm really happy... a few months ago I was looking up to and admiring all these riders from the side of the stage, and now I'm winning and finishing in front of them!" Freeman reflected, "It's really something I never imagined happening this early in the season!"
