Cycle News Staff | April 5, 2023
Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman kicked off the 2023 FIM EnduroGP Championship with a double victory in Italy, April 1-2. The 2021 EnduroGP World Champion, who struggled last year with injuries, topped both days of racing.
Photos by Future7Media
GasGas Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona and Beta’s Factory Racing’s Steve Holcombe went 2-3 both days.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself coming into round one to hit the ground running,” Freeman said following day one’s win. “After a tough 2022 I wanted to show I’ve still got it. I worked super hard this winter to be ready and was able to come out swinging and win. My nerves were so high all day, it’s been more than 12 months since I won in EnduroGP, so I’m stoked to top the podium.”
After completing the sweep on Sunday, Freeman said, “The day started off great,” I went for it on the first enduro test and put in a fast time to build a lead. I lost a bit of my rhythm in the middle part of the day but was able to control things and regroup for a final push on the last lap, despite a crash on the last enduro test. It was hard to judge conditions at times and I think that’s why I crashed. But a double win is a perfect start to the season!”
“Overall, I’m happy with my weekend and first race in the Enduro2 class,” said the class winner, Verona. “So twice finishing second in EnduroGP and a double win in Enduro2 is a very strong start to the year. The racing is tight out there, Brad was fast this weekend and Steve was pushing hard, too. But now we’re up and running I’m pleased with things. As a home round it was exciting and stressful in many ways, but having the crowd behind you in each test was wonderful.”
Holcombe, who also struggled with injuries last year, said, “I honestly didn’t expect to podium both days, so it’s been an awesome result. I kept things as smooth as I could. In the last couple of years, I injured myself at round one, so I didn’t want to do that this year and ruin my season.”
Josep Garcia (KTM) was a factor on day two, as he battled Holcombe for the final spot on the podium but came up just three seconds short. Garcia paired his fourth on day two with a sixth on day one. CN
Day 1 (Overall)
- Brad Freeman (Bet)
- Andrea Verona (GG)
- Steve Holcombe (Bet)
- Zach Pichon (Sher)
- Hamish MacDonald (Sher)
Day 2 (Overall)
- Brad Freeman (Bet)
- Andrea Verona (GG)
- Steve Holcombe (Bet)
- Josep Garcia (KTM)
- Hamish MacDonald (Sher)