Rain and surprises on the second day of the Enduro GP in Bettola: Andrea Verona triumphs amid unexpected events – The rain that fell during the night forced the organizers to review the plans for the second and final day of the fourth round of the Enduro GP World Championship scheduled in Bettola, in the province of Piacenza. The swollen Nure stream and some sections of the route made even more treacherous by bad weather led to the decision to cancel the first scheduled test, the Extreme Test. The latter was covered in the opposite direction compared to the previous day, allowing the pilots to carry out a reconnaissance of the new controlled section.
The Extreme Test, known as the most demanding test of enduro racing, risked becoming too dangerous due to the slippery surface. Therefore, the organizers decided to reverse the direction of travel, transforming the steep climbs into descents, still challenging but safer for all participants.
Photo gallerysecond day enduro championship
The stage was absolutely not monotonous, reserving several surprises already in the first special test, the 5.2 km long Enduro Test. The very favorite Josep Garcia left with the 28th time due to an inconvenience, finding himself almost 50 seconds behind the Englishman Steve Holcombe, who was the best. From that moment, Garcia began an impressive comeback, climbing back to fifth position after two timed sections and third at the end of the following special stage. Having managed to move to the top of the overall classification, the Italian Andrea Verona, riding the GasGas, seemed able to easily manage the advantage, but with two special tests to go he lost all the margin, finishing two seconds behind Holcombe in the sum of times. At the end, torrential rain made the course extremely slippery and treacherous, but Verona managed to take the lead, with just 49 hundredths of a second on Holcombe and 22 seconds on Garcia.
«On a descent of the first special a root pushed me off the line, and I ended up on an embankment. The front mudguard blocked by branches prevented me from moving, I was stuck there, with no possibility of getting out. I lost almost 50 seconds to free myself, and my race started from zero, or rather below zero. The positive aspect is that I recovered and gave everything I could to recover from 28th place where I finished, and in the end I recovered about 30 seconds. So I’m satisfied, it means I did a good job. Then, before the final test it started raining heavily, there was a lot of slipping, but it was the same for everyone; it’s normal, you have to get used to all situations quickly, always”, commented Josep Garcia.
At the end of the fourth stage (now there are still three to go, in Slovakia, Great Britain and France), the provisional ranking features the same riders who got on the podium, with relatively small gaps: Garcia has 144 points, Verona follows with 134, and Holcombe is third with 128. The challenge for the most coveted ranking has attracted attention, but the results valid for winning the title in the three most important categories should not be underestimated. Verona also clearly dominated the E2 class, ahead of Matteo Pavoni; Holcombe won the direct challenge with Garcia in the E2, and the Belgian Antoine Magain, with Sherco, won the E3 class thanks to fourth place overall. Among the Juniors, Manolo Morettini achieved the best time with Honda in the J1 class, ahead of the Swede Max Ahlin on a KTM, winner of the J2 category. Four Italians achieved the first four positions in the Youth ranking, dedicated to the youngest: Luca Colorio, Manuel Verzeroli, Alberto Elgari and Pietro Scardina. In the women’s ranking, the Spanish Mireia Badia beat the English Rosie Rowett, both on Rieju, while the Czech Jiri Hadek, the English Alfie Webb and Duccio Graziani finished in command in classes 2, 4 and Senior of the Open category .
Bettola’s appointment coincided with two important anniversaries for two Italian teams with great experience in top-level enduro competitions. The Pesaro-based TM and Jolly Racing celebrated 40 years of activity in a special way: the official TM motorbikes were set up in the Red Dream Edition colour, replacing the white and blue with the red of the 1980s, in homage to the founder Gastone Seraphim. The Jolly Racing riders took part in the competition wearing clothing inspired by the colors of the historic sponsor Totip, the popular horse racing ticket.
During the three days of racing organized by the Moto Club Bettola, involved for the first time in an event valid for the world championship, Valnure attracted a large audience, even with the almost autumnal weather on Sunday. The cross special stage, a wide course visible from the SS 654, attracted many spectators, creating an atmosphere similar to that of the great cycling classics. That it was a race worthy of a world stage is confirmed by the words of Josep Garcia: «I must say that in these three days I participated in a real enduro race, a difficult, technical and physically tough race. For me it was a beautiful race.” From Monday, Bettola will return to being the quiet town on the banks of the Nure stream, where the life of the approximately 2,500 inhabitants will resume with more serene rhythms than those of a top-level enduro race, which will certainly remain in the memories of many.
