Max Schwarte wordt 38e in de EnduroGP en 12e in de E1. Keurig uitgereden zonder tijdstraf. Antoine Magain wordt 9e en 4e in de E3.
Bettola, Piacenza – Following Friday’s thrilling prologue in Ponte dell’Olio, considered the first test of the initial day, the Italian round of the Enduro GP World Championship moved to Bettola, where the headquarters of this significant event were set up. As scheduled, the race began at 9 AM from the center of Bettola, featuring a 164 km course with three challenging special tests to be tackled four times.
While the previous day’s artificial track saw a surprising victory from New Zealander Hamish Macdonald, Saturday’s results aligned more closely with those of previous rounds and seasons. The overall winner was Spain’s Josep Garcia on KTM, finishing with a total time of 1h 12′ 21″ in the timed sections. Andrea Verona, riding a GasGas, attempted to challenge the strong Spanish rider but settled for third place on the podium, preceded by England’s Brad Freeman.
«The race was very beautiful – said Andrea Verona – with a lot of spectators, very warm with us Italians, it was exciting. My race went quite well, I finished third overall and first in my category, despite a few mistakes, but it wasn’t too bad. We’ll try again tomorrow, I’ll aim to be more consistent in my pace and make fewer errors. In any case, I didn’t encounter any particular problems, just a few slip-ups here and there that led to this result».
It’s important to note that the top three finishers were also the winners of the three main categories: E1, E3, and E2 respectively, highlighting the quality of the course set by the organizers of the Moto Club Ponte dell’Olio, balanced and suitable for all displacements.
In addition to the 41 riders competing in the top three categories, the classifications also highlight other notable performances, starting with the Juniors, divided into J1 and J2 sections. The best performer was Sweden’s Max Ahlin on a KTM in J2, who finished over a minute and 43 seconds ahead of France’s Thibault Giraudon, the top J1 rider.
An Italian one-two in the Youth category, reserved for young riders, is also noteworthy: Manuel Verzeroli and Luca Colorio, separated by just 0.08 seconds, outperformed their 22 rivals, including France’s Romain Dagna, who was over 28 seconds behind. The Women’s category closed the classifications, with Spain’s Mireia Badia and USA’s Rachel Gutish competing closely throughout the day, as reflected by the 4.71 seconds that separated them. Italy’s Francesca Nocera was absent due to an injury sustained before Friday’s prologue. The race program is completed by the Open categories, divided into 2-stroke and 4-stroke sections, and the Senior category. The winners were the Belgian Tim Louis, and the Italians Riccardo Nicoli and Andrea Belotti, respectively.
Sunday will repeat Saturday’s program, with a start at 9 AM from Piazza Colombo in Bettola, featuring three and a half laps and three special tests to be repeated four times: the 1.2 km Extreme Test, the 5.2 km Enduro Test, and the 5.1 km Cross Test.