2019 EnduroGP
Round One – Germany

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The first round of the 2019 EnduroGP championship kicked off in Germany over the weekend, with Australian Wil Ruprecht impressing with his results on board the Swedish Team Yamaha Johansson MPE banner, claiming third overall in both the Junior and J1 results on Day 1, as well as second in the same classes on Day 2.

Ruprecht also impressed in the Akrapovic Super Test, where despite being a Junior rider, he set a 2:16.06, the fastest time of the test, ahead of Benjamin Herrera and Thomas Oldrati.

The 2019 EnduroGP season sees no official team from KTM and Husqvarna who seem to have abandoned the prime category of the EnduroGP series in pursuit of Enduro competition in other championships.

This largely leaves the premier class of EnduroGP to the Spanish brands Gas Gas, Beta and Sherco.

KTM and Husqvarna no doubt have their reasons for dumping the series, but I can say from a press and PR point of view, I can certainly see why.

Akrapovic Super Test Award Standings

1. Wil RUPRECHT 10 points
2. Benjamin HERRERA 9
3. Thomas OLDRATI 8
4. Daniel MCCANNEY 7p
5. Steve HOLCOMBE 6
6. Kirian MIRABET 5
7. Hamish MACDONALD 4
8. Andrea VERONA 3
9. Loïc LARRIEU 2
10. Alex SALVINI 1

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EnduroGP of Germany –  Day 1

Germany has once again proven its passion for Enduro with a huge number of spectators turning out to watch Day 1’s special tests. The loop-style lap consisted of two Enduro Tests, one Extreme Test, and a Cross Test. With three laps for all the EnduroGP riders, and two laps for the newly created Enduro Open categories.

In EnduroGP, Steve Holcombe has started exactly were he left off. The quadruple World Champion slotted himself quickly into the top spot despite having the tough job of opening the track. He won eight specials and increased his gap with each passing test. Holcombe completed the day with an advantage of 1 minute and 7 seconds.

The Brit took the overall top spot ahead of his compatriot, the new rider at TM – Danny McCanney. The rider from the Isle of Man took over second place in the middle of the morning. His pace allowed him to win two tests, but he struggled to really threaten the untouchable Holcombe. Danny continued his push all afternoon to widen his gap over Brad Freeman.

Freeman was in behind Holcombe for a good part of the morning. The Beta Boano rider had a dip in form and lost one place in the overall standings.

He had to spend the rest of the day controlling his gap to Christophe Nambotin, with the Frenchman starting the season in great shape. Fourth on of this first day, the factory Gas Gas rider gains a good points haul from the beginning of the season.

Perhaps the unluckiest rider of the day was Alex Salvini. The Honda rider lost out big time early in the day, running into radiator hose problems. This caused him to be late at the next time control and he therefore incurred a 4 minute penalty which plummeted him down the standings. Salvini tried hard to regain a few places but mistakes set him back further. He returned to the paddock at the end of the day in 25th position, more than 7 minutes behind the winner.

In the fight for the podium, Eero Remes was forced to give up after his chain broke. This DNF for Remes benefited Loïc Larrieu, who returned to parc fermé in fifth position.

In fact, three E3 riders made up the top five overall, with the big bikes showing strongly on the first day of this German GP.

In E1, despite his small drop in the overall rankings, Freeman won in front of 2018 Junior Champion Matteo Cavallo and Davide Guarneri.

In the E2 category, the disappointments of Remes and Salvini benefitted Loïc Larrieu who won ahead of Albin Elowson and Christophe Charlier, who was delayed by a crash and a pain in the shoulder.

In E3 Steve Holcombe won in front of Danny McCanney and Christophe Nambotin.

EnduroGP Day 1 Top 10

1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
2. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
3. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
4. Christophe NAMBOTIN – France
5. Loïc LARRIEU – France
6. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy
7. Albin ELOWSON – Sweden
8. Christophe CHARLIER – France
9. Thomas OLDRATI – Italy
10. Benjamin HERRERA – Chile

E1 Day 1 Results

1. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
2. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy
3. Thomas OLDRATI – Italy
4. Davide GUARNERI – Italy
5. Rudy MORONI – Italy

E2 Day 1 Results

1. Loïc LARRIEU – France
2. Albin ELOWSON – Sweden
3. Benjamin HERRERA – Chile
4. Giacomo REDONDI – Italy
5. Antoine BASSET – France

E3 Day 1 Results

1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
2. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
3. Christophe NAMBOTIN – France
4. David ABGRALL – France
5. Anthony GESLIN – France

EnduroGP Juniors – Day 1

In Junior Andrea Verona had to work hard to hold back a charge from Australia’s hot prospect Wil Ruprecht. The TM rider showed his typical composure despite losing some time with a stick in his wheel. He stayed focused on making no mistakes and in the end, he crushed the competition by winning by more than 1 minute and 25 seconds ahead of his Aussie rival.

At the beginning of the day Wil Ruprecht was fighting hard, but he ran out of steam and couldn’t hold off a quick Theo Espinasse. The Frenchman put in a strong performance during the three laps. Jack Edmondson finished in fourth place, a sluggish start for the son of Paul meant he had to push hard for the rest of the day.

Matthew Van Oevelen finished in fifth place, this result is encouraging for the rider who has just switched teams.

In J1 Verona showed his dominance over Espinasse and Ruprecht. In J2, Jack Edmondson won ahead of Enric Francisco and Leo Le Quere.

The Youth category was dominated by Hamish MacDonald, determined to leave his opponents in the dust. He won ahead of Claudio Spanu and Matteo Pavoni, who enjoyed a superb fight all day long.

Junior – Day 1

1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
2. Théophile ESPINASSE – France
3. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia
4. Jack EDMONDSON – United Kingdom
5. Matthew VAN OEVELEN – Belgium

Junior 1 (J1) – Day 1

1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
2. Théophile ESPINASSE – France
3. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia
4. Matthew VAN OEVELEN – Belgium
5. Thomas DUBOST – France

Junior 2 (J2) – Day 1

1. Jack EDMONDSON – United Kingdom
2. Enric FRANCISCO – Spain
3. Leo LE QUERE – France
4. Emanuele FACCHETTI – Italy
5. Till DE CLERCQ – France

Youth Cup – Day 1

1. Hamish MACDONALD – New Zealand
2. Claudio SPANU – Italy
3. Matteo PAVONI – Italy
4. Alejandro NAVARRO HUERTAS – Spain
5. Hugo SVARD – Finland

Enduro Open World Cup – Day 1

The Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup, a new initiative from the FIM has already proved a success considering the impressive number of riders entered for this first round. In the 4-stroke class Bernhard Schoepf won ahead of Luis Oliveira and Fraser Flockhart.

In the 2-stroke class, Portugal’s Goncalo Reis won ahead of Richard Tucker and Martin Ortner.

In Senior, Enduro legend David Knight took his first win since 2013. Werner Mueller and the returning Euan McConnell completed the top three.

Open Senior – Day 1

1. David KNIGHT United Kingdom
2. WERNER MUELLER Germany
3. EUAN MCCONNELL United Kingdom
4. FERNANDO FERREIRA Portugal
5. PATRICK ANDERSSON Sweden

Open 2 Strokes – Day 1

1. Gonçalo REIS Portugal
2. Richard TUCKER United Kingdom
3. Nico RAMBOW Germany
4. Martin ORTNER Austria
5. Rafal BRACIK Poland

Open 4 Strokes – Day 1

1. Bernhard SCHOEPF – Austria
2. Robert RIEDEL – Germany
3. Luis OLIVEIRA – Portugal
4. Fraser FLOCKHART – United Kingdom
5. Bas KLEIN HAVENELD – Netherlands

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EnduroGP of Germany –  Day 2

After an eventful first day, the EnduroGP stars were back on track for another day of competition in Dahlen. The tests had been significantly ‘cut up’ after so many competitors riding on the first day, and the second day offered up a lot of surprises.

Steve Holcombe did not have the same disadvantage as Day 1, where he had to open the tests. With the course well ‘bedded in’, the reigning EnduroGP Champion into his rhythm immediately. He impressed from the start, winning eight specials in a row on scratch.

Only Davide Guarneri, Brad Freeman and Danny Mccanney managed to ‘steal’ test victories from the Beta Factory rider on the overall times. Despite the pressure and the fatigue of the tough terrain, Holcombe showed perfect control.

The season is just beginning but Holcombe already seems to be at the top of his game. Naturally, he is leading the EnduroGP class and E3 class at the end of this weekend in Germany.

Brad Freeman snatched second place on the EnduroGP podium. The Beta Boano rider launched his offensive on McCanney just after mid-day. He managed to limit the damage to Holcombe, ending the day 43 seconds behind the reigning EnduroGP Champion.

Danny McCanney finished 3rd overall on this 2nd day and his debut weekend with TM Factory. The Brit could not fight back against Freeman, but he remained focused to secure an important 3rd spot.

Danny McCanney

“I finish third today, I’m a little disappointed, but overall I’m very happy with my weekend. I can’t wait to continue the season and gain some more good results.”

Eero Remes started the day aggressively as he was eager to put Saturday’s mechnical DNF behind him. His new Team Manager, Joakim Johansson was thrilled with the performance of his new signing. The Yamaha rider was solid all day, fighting continuously in the top five overall. He finished fourth.

Alex Salvini was also fighting with Remes and Larrieu for the top five all day. The Italian ended this 2nd day feeling more positive after his bad luck and DNF on Day 1. He said he felt confident for the next round of the EnduroGP Championship in Portugal.

Christophe Nambotin was the only big DNF on Day 2, after a strong performance on the opening day, the Gas Gas rider saw his race cut short by a gearbox failure. ‘Nambot’ was nevertheless satisfied with his form and felt ready to face the rest of the season.

In the E1 category, Brad Freeman confirmed his 2018 confidence has not wavered, and it was another victory for him ahead of Davide Guarneri and Thomas Oldrati.

Brad Freeman

“I’m happy because today I was able to increase my pace to catch up with Danny. I’m still a long way from Steve, but I’m happy to be on this 100 per cent British podium.”

The fight in E2 was intense between the three ‘favorites’ and it was Remes who eventually won ahead of Salvini and Larrieu, beating the Italian by just 0.16 seconds.

Eero Remes

“The first day was very disappointing for me and the team, but I told the team that the season is very long and we are going to catch up. I feel good and this victory in E2 is a first great reward.”

Holcombe took no prisoners in E3 and won the class ahead of Mccanney and Anthony Geslin.

Steve Holcombe

“It’s difficult to sum up how much of a surprise it is to win both days. My goal was to podium and claim strong points, so as you can imagine a double victory in EnduroGP and Enduro 3 is a huge result to take. I didn’t have a great Super Test on Friday – I never really do – but I wanted to push hard from the beginning on Saturday to see where I was at. That strategy paid off and I won by 70 seconds. I went with that tactic again on Sunday and made things count on the opening two laps. I ran out of steam a little on the final lap but knew that with the effort I’d put in earlier on, barring any major mistakes, I could win. We’ve a couple of weeks now until round two in Portugal, so the plan remains unchanged – keep working with the goal of getting stronger. I know there’s room to improve. Finally, a huge thanks to Beta and all the team – a result like this is very much a team effort.”

EnduroGP Day 2 Top 10

1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
2. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
3. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
4. Eero REMES – Finland
5. Alex SALVINI – Italy
6. Loïc LARRIEU – France
7. Davide GUARNERI – Italy
8. Thomas OLDRATI – Italy
9. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy
10. Benjamin HERRERA – Chile

E1 Day 2 Results

1. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
2. Davide GUARNERI – Italy
3. Thomas OLDRATI – Italy
4. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy
5. Rudy MORONI – Italy

E2 Day 2 Results

1. Eero REMES – Finland
2. Alex SALVINI – Italy
3. Loïc LARRIEU – France
4. Benjamin HERRERA – Chile
5. Antoine BASSET – France

E3 Day 2 Results

1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
2. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
3. Anthony GESLIN – France
4. David ABGRALL – France
5. Dennis SCHROETER – Germany

EnduroGP Juniors – Day 2

In the hotly contested Junior class, the surprise lay in the difficulties suffered by Andrea Verona early in the day. The Italian’s bike stopped in the first Cross Test and Andrea lost about 50 seconds and fell down to 7th position.

But the 2018 Youth Cup Champion had the resources to keep his focus and fight back test by test. After just six tests he was already back on the podium, about thirty seconds from the leader, Wil Ruprecht.

After overhauling Theo Espinasse for 2nd place, the factory TM rider went after Ruprecht, giving his all and taking the overall victory in the last special! The talented Australian admitted that he cracked under the pressure of the TM rider.

Wil Ruprecht

“I don’t know what to say to you, I am so disappointed, I cracked under the pressure, I crashed three times on the last test. Andrea was the better man and he deserves it. I can only try to learn and improve after such a defeat.”

Verona also won in J1 ahead of Ruprecht and Espinasse.  Enric Francisco, who had a great day, won in J2 ahead of Jack Edmondson and Emanuele Facchetti.

Andrea Verona

“This might be the most beautiful victory of my career so far. When I lost so much time this morning after the bike stopped in the Cross Test I knew I had the potential to win. My body hurts because I really attacked all day, but I’m super happy.”

In the Youth category, Hamish MacDonald confirmed his ‘favourite’ status with another comfortable victory. 2nd went to Matteo Pavoni, who overtook his compatriot, Claudio Spanu towards the end of the day.

Junior – Day 2

1. Andrea VERONA Italy
2. Wil RUPRECHT Australia
3. Théophile ESPINASSE France
4. Enric FRANCISCO Spain
5. Jack EDMONDSON United Kingdom

Junior 1 (J1) – Day 2

1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
2. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia
3. Théophile ESPINASSE – France
4. Matthew VAN OEVELEN – Belgium
5. Thomas DUBOST – France

Junior 2 (J2) – Day 2

1. Enric FRANCISCO – Spain
2. Jack EDMONDSON – United Kingdom
3. Emanuele FACCHETTI – Italy
4. Ruy BARBOSA – Chile
5. Jimmy WICKSELL – Sweden

Youth Cup – Day 2

1. Hamish MACDONALD – New Zealand
2. Matteo PAVONI – Italy
3. Claudio SPANU – Italy
4. Hugo SVARD – Finland
5. Nathan BERERD – France

Enduro Open World Cup – Day 2

David Knight completed his return to competition by taking the double in the Senior class double of the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Championship. He won in front of Werner Mueller and Euan McConnell.

In the 4-stroke class, Bernhard Schoepf clinched a second win ahead of Robert Riedel and Fraser Flockhart.

The 2-stroke category enjoyed a second different winner in two days of competition; Richard won in front of Rafal Bracik and Nico Ranbow.

The German Grand Prix was a real success – 155 riders delighted 18,000 spectators throughout the weekend. The next round of the Maxxis FIM EnduroGP World Championship will take place in Portugal in the city of Valpaços from May 3rd to 5th.

Open Senior – Day 2

1. David KNIGHT – United Kingdom
2. WERNER MUELLER – Germany
3. EUAN MCCONNELL – United Kingdom
4. ANDREA BELOTTI – Italy
5. FERNANDO FERREIRA – Portugal

Open 2 Strokes – Day 2

1. Richard TUCKER – United Kingdom
2. Rafal BRACIK – Poland
3. Nico RAMBOW – Germany
4. Martin ORTNER – Austria
5. Gonçalo REIS – Portugal

Open 4 Strokes – Day 2

1. Bernhard SCHOEPF – Austria
2. Robert RIEDEL – Germany
3. Fraser FLOCKHART – United Kingdom
4. Luis OLIVEIRA – Portugal
5. Bas KLEIN HAVENELD – Netherlands

Source: MCNews.com.au