SuperEnduro star Dominik Olszowy delivered a surprise result, setting the outright fastest time to take an impressive win in front of a packed and rain-soaked crowd.
Starting mid-pack, the Polish rider took a smart and strategic approach to the slippery, rain-drenched track. He rode cautiously on his first lap to get a feel for the conditions, then turned up the intensity on lap two. “I enjoyed that a lot,” Olszowy said. “It was really difficult with the rain, but I took the first lap easy to get into a rhythm and then I gave it everything. I was sliding in the corners, just on the limit the entire time, and it clearly paid off. My SuperEnduro skills definitely helped me tonight.”
His second lap pushed him ahead of early pace-setter Alex Puey by half a second, and no one was able to top his time as the session progressed.
Only a few riders came close, including Frenchman Zach Pichon, who finished just one-tenth behind. Sherco Factory Team’s Hamish Macdonald also impressed, rounding out the top three.
As the track conditions deteriorated, several title favourites struggled. Reigning EnduroGP and Enduro1 champion Josep Garcia set off last and could only manage ninth. Brit Steve Holcombe, Andrea Verona, and Brad Freeman and Nathan Watson were also caught out by the challenging conditions.
In the Junior class, Alex Puey set the early benchmark and held off a field of 30 competitors. Manuel Verzeroli, making his Junior debut as the reigning Youth Enduro World Champion, finished just nine-tenths off the top time, with Luca Colorio close behind in third. Australian Kyron Bacon was 6th
The Youth category brought another tight contest, with Spain’s Aleix Samuell claiming the class win. Pietro Scardina was just nine-hundredths of a second behind, while Romain Dagna took third.
In the Women’s class, France’s Marine Lemoine set the time to beat, edging home hero Joana Goncalves by just one second. Francesca Nocera, and Rachel Gutish and Rosie Rowett, all challenged but couldn’t unseat Lemoine from the top spot.
The event also marked the debut of the Expotrade FIM Junior Women’s Enduro World Cup. Great Britain’s Elizabeth Tett put in a dominant performance to comfortably top the class, finishing over 40 seconds ahead of Lorna Lafont, with Matilda Ahlstrom a further 20 seconds back in third.
With the Akrapovic Super Test complete, attention now shifts to two full days of intense racing in Fafe, as the 2025 EnduroGP season gets fully underway.
