Cycle News Staff | May 16, 2022
TM Racing’s Wil Ruprecht emerged victorious after a fierce three-way scrap at the GP of Portugal, taking a double victory at the second stop of the 2022 EnduroGP World Championship. The Australian topped the time sheets on both days of competition in the warm conditions in Peso da Regua, May 14-15, claiming his first wins of the 2022 season.
Photos by Future7 Media
The battle for overall supremacy was kept close by KTM’s Josep Garcia and GasGas rider Andrea Verona, who ended the weekend second and third, respectively.
Day one started out with a wet and slippery start, and Hamish MacDonald lead the way aboard his Sherco. The young New Zealander headed the field throughout the first two (of three) circuits on the four special tests, and looked to be on his way to a career-first EnduroGP victory until a hard crash and subsequent knee injury ended his weekend. Ruprecht capitalized on MacDonald’s misfortune, inheriting the lead heading into the final lap of the day. Garcia gave chase, but couldn’t close the gap to Ruprecht. The Spaniard ultimately had to settle for second while Verona collected third over Thomas Oldrati (Honda) and Brad Freeman (Beta).
The four special tests were effectively beat up after day one, and day two greeted riders with warm and dry conditions. Three laps on each day proved to be exceptionally tough and demanding for the competitors, and it’s no surprise the Aussie handled the arid terrain the best, riding to a double victory.
Ruprecht opened day two by topping the Just1 Enduro Test, pulling over eight seconds on Garcia with Verona in third. Three tests in, the top three remained, but with Garcia closing in on Ruprecht. But after the second Acerbis Cross test, Ruprecht was pulling clear, now with an 18-second lead. It was then, however, that disaster nearly struck. A major mistake by Ruprecht nearly lost him the lead, as he yielded almost 15 seconds to Garcia. Only a three-second gap between the two put Garcia well within striking distance in the final tests of the day.
Ruprecht turned up the heat in the next two tests, rebuilding his time buffer over the KTM rider. Garcia posted faster times in the final two tests of the weekend, but it wasn’t enough for the overall victory. The Spaniard had to settle for second ahead of Verona.
The fight for fourth was one to watch, as well, as riders Mikael Persson (Husqvarna), Thomas Oldrati, Theo Espinasse (Beta) and Alex Salvini (Husqvarna) traded the position, with only seconds spanning the gap between the four. In the end, it was Oldrati who emerged with the point, claiming fourth ahead of Espinasse.
In their battle for overall supremacy, Ruprecht and Garcia dominated the Enduro2 ranks with Salvini rounding out the class podium. Verona handily won the Enduro1 division with Oldrati and Espinasse rounding out the top-three in the small-bore ranks. In Enduro3, it was Fantic’s Davide Guarneri who claimed a memorable win ahead of Persson and Beta’s Antoine Basset.
In the Women’s category, Fantic’s Jane Daniels swept all special tests over both days of competition to further extend her championship lead. Rieju’s Mireia Badia took second while Portugal’s Rita Vieira ended her home GP in third. CN
Day 1
- Wil Ruprecht (TM)
- Josep Garcia (KTM)
- Andrea Verona (GG)
- Thomas Oldrati (Hon)
- Brad Freeman (Bet)
Day 2
- Wil Ruprecht (TM)
- Josep Garcia (KTM)
- Andrea Verona (GG)
- Thomas Oldrati (Hon)
- Theo Espinasse (Bet)