The 2026 FIM EnduroGP Championship got underway with the EnduroGP of Italy, April 10-12, where KTM’s Josep Garcia kicked things off by winning Friday’s Akrapovic Super Test and taking the overall win on Saturday, while Beta’s Brian Freeman, who sat out all of last year with a knee injury, showed that he’s back and ready to get down to business again by winning day two. American Rachel Gutish returned to defend her number one plate in the Women’s division.
Photos by Future7Media.
The dry, dusty and rocky terrain of Custonaci in Sicily challenged the 123 riders, with just a few seconds separating most of the podium finishers after over an hour of timed special-test racing.
Garcia carried his momentum from his Super Test win into the GP’s first day, quickly setting the pace ahead of Zach Pichon and Andrea Verona, with the top 10 separated by less than nine seconds. Steve Holcombe, aboard the Sherco for the first time, topped the enduro test ahead of Antoine Magain. Garcia, however, increased his lead to nearly eight seconds by the end of the first lap.
Despite having a broken thumb, Pichon stayed competitive, with Magain close behind.
The competition intensified again on lap two when Verona topped the cross test, leaving Garcia just two seconds ahead of Holcombe. Magain, Verona, and Theo Espinasse remained close. Holcombe aggressively pushed in the late stages, winning the second-to-last enduro test and the final cross test. However, Garcia responded effectively, maintaining his lead and securing the victory. Holcombe finished second (but won the Enduro3 class), with Verona third, ahead of Magain. Espinasse was narrowly behind in fifth place, just eleven-hundredths of a second behind.
Verona topped the Enduro2 category, with Pichon second and Beta Factory Team’s Nathan Watson third.
In the Women’s class, Beta’s Justine Martel claimed her first World Championship win by 48 seconds. Gutish, on the factory Rieju, came in second despite a one-minute penalty, while Sara Traini, competing on home soil, finished third and also won the Junior Women’s category.
On day two in the Polisport Extreme Test, Holcombe was the quickest at the start, leading over Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo, Pichon and Garcia. Holcombe continued to lead in the cross test over Freeman, Lesiardo, Garcia and Verona.
However, the eight-and-a-half-minute enduro test had the greatest impact on the overall results. Nathan Watson won the test, just slightly ahead of Beta teammate Freeman and Holcombe, with all three finishing within one second on lap two.
Watson performed an excellent second lap, recording the fastest time in the cross test, putting him in contention for the overall. Meanwhile, Andrea Verona gained momentum as the day progressed, positioning himself well for the final timing beam.
Watson lost third place on the overall podium due to an infringement during a test—exiting and not re-entering at the closest point—causing him to drop from third to seventh overall.
During the third and final lap, Holcombe made a mistake in the enduro test, dropping him to fifth (though he did get the E3-class win).
Freeman took full advantage and went on to take the day’s overall win ahead of Verona and Holcombe.
Garcia was struggling on the day, with a twisted ankle hindering him. “I had a crash in the cross test where I twisted my ankle a little,” he said. “After that, it was difficult to get back into my rhythm.”
Despite the injury, Garcia showed strength by finishing strong and recording the fastest times in the final two tests, securing third place overall and winning the E1 category.
After winning the Women’s class for the first time ever on Saturday, Martel won again on Sunday. Martel battled Gutish for the win until Gutish picked up a 30-second time penalty near the end of the day, giving Martel the victory. Gutish finished third in class behind runner-up Marine Lemoine (KTM) of France. CN
2026 FIM EnduroGP Round 1 Results
DAY 1
OVERALL (Top 5)
- Josep Garcia (KTM)
- Steve Holcombe (She)
- Andrea Verona (KTM)
- Antoine Magain (She)
- Theo Espinasse (Fan)
DAY 2
OVERALL (Top 5)
- Brad Freeman (Bet)
- Andrea Verona (KTM)
- Josep Garcia (KTM)
- Antoine Magain (She)
- Steve Holcombe (She)
