Josep Garcia Charges to Day One EnduroGP Victory in Dusty Fafe Conditions

The opening day of racing at round four of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship saw Josep Garcia continue his impressive form with a commanding EnduroGP victory in Fafe, Portugal.

Following the excitement of Friday night’s Akrapovic Super Test, the championship got down to serious business on Saturday, with riders facing hot temperatures, dry terrain and heavy dust throughout the day. Competitors tackled three laps of a demanding 50-kilometre course, with each lap featuring a GMOTO Enduro Test, Polisport Extreme Test and Expotrade Cross Test.

Garcia, who topped Friday’s Super Test for the third time this season, wasted little time stamping his authority on the event by winning the opening GMOTO Enduro Test of the day. The Polisport Extreme Test then went the way of Sherco Racing Factory rider Steve Holcombe, before Garcia rounded out the opening lap with victory in the Expotrade Cross Test.

After the first lap, Garcia held a slender four-second advantage over Holcombe. Andrea Verona sat third, with Zach Pichon in fourth. Just 15 seconds covered the top four riders, while Sherco Racing Factory’s Hamish Macdonald remained firmly in contention in fifth.

The second lap saw Garcia once again prove fastest in the GMOTO Enduro Test, while Macdonald claimed victory in the Polisport Extreme Test and Verona topped the Expotrade Cross Test. Despite the different test winners, the overall order remained unchanged heading into the decisive final lap.

Garcia continued to control proceedings and ultimately secured victory by 13 seconds. However, drama unfolded for Holcombe on the final test of the day. Running second overall, the British rider suffered mechanical problems and was unable to finish.

Holcombe’s misfortune opened the door for Pichon, who produced a blistering final lap. The Frenchman set the fastest time in all three special tests on lap three to surge into second overall, while Verona completed the podium in third.

Macdonald narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth, with Fantic Factory Racing’s Theo Espinasse rounding out the top five.

In the Enduro3 class, Espinasse claimed his first victory of the season, capitalising on Holcombe’s retirement in the closing stages. The Fantic rider was perfectly positioned to inherit the class lead and secure the win. Sherco Racing Factory’s Julien Roussaly finished second, while NSA Racing’s Albin Norrbin completed the podium in third.

The Enduro2 class saw Pichon secure his first victory of the season. The Frenchman controlled the class throughout the day and finished 31 seconds clear of Verona in second. Macdonald remained within striking distance of Verona all day and eventually secured third place, finishing 14 seconds behind the Italian. Australia’s E2 rider Kyron Bacon had a DNF.

Garcia was equally dominant in Enduro1, setting the fastest time in all 10 special tests to take victory by an impressive one minute and 44 seconds. Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo finished second, while Triumph Factory Racing’s Jeremy Sydow completed the podium in third.

Elgari Returns to Winning Form in Junior Enduro

The Tsubaki Junior Enduro category saw Alberto Elgari bounce back from a disappointing Finnish round to return to the top step of the podium.

The Italian won six of the day’s 10 special tests and secured victory by 24 seconds.

Leo Joyon proved to be Elgari’s closest challenger. After winning Friday’s Akrapovic Super Test, the Frenchman capped off his day by setting the fastest time in the final Expotrade Cross Test to finish second overall.

Thibault Giraudon claimed third, although the battle for the final podium position remained incredibly close. Giraudon, Johansson, Australian Will Dennett and Kevin Cristino were separated by just 1.44 seconds after more than one hour and six minutes of special test racing.

In the Putoline Oil Youth Enduro class, Pietro Scardina returned to winning ways and secured his third victory of the season. After suffering a costly non-score on day two in Finland, Scardina arrived in Portugal determined to bounce back and did exactly that, taking victory by a commanding 65 seconds.

The fight for the remaining podium positions was much tighter. Valentin Mersin secured second place, while Simone Cagnoni edged out Yago Dominguez by six seconds to claim third.

Gutish Leads Women’s Enduro Charge

The Expotrade Women’s Enduro class belonged to Rachel Gutish, with the RIEJU Factory Team rider producing a consistently strong performance to secure victory by 36 seconds.

Gutish looked comfortable in the hot, dusty Portuguese conditions, regularly placing inside the top two on special tests and recording four fastest test times during the day.

Canada’s Shelby Turner made an immediate impression on her EnduroGP debut with Triumph. After surprising many by winning Friday night’s Akrapovic Super Test, Turner maintained that speed throughout Saturday as she adapted to the EnduroGP format. Winning all three Expotrade Cross Tests, she showed enough pace to suggest she could challenge for victory on day two.

Rosie Rowett also demonstrated strong speed, highlighted by the fastest time on the second GMOTO Enduro Test. The British rider maintained pressure on the leading duo throughout the day to finish third.

ET James Sherco UK’s Nieve Holmes ended the opening day fourth, while Ambiance Moto’s Justine Martel completed the top five in fifth.

Finishing seventh overall, Lorna Lafont was the leading Expotrade Women’s Junior Enduro rider on day one aboard her Husqvarna.

Racing continues tomorrow for Day Two.