Volle bak regen in Bettola met een ingekorte race. Max Schwarte weer aan de finish met nu 7 strafminuten op een 36e plaats, E1 11e. Antoine Magain wordt 4e scratch en hij wint de E3 klasse.
Bettola, Italy – Overnight rain forced organizers to revise plans for the second and final day of the fourth round of the Enduro GP World Championship, held in Bettola, Piacenza. The swollen Nure River and increasingly treacherous sections of the course led to the cancellation of the initial Extreme Test. This test was run in reverse from the previous day, allowing riders to familiarize themselves with the new controlled section.
The Extreme Test, known as the most challenging part of enduro races, risked becoming too dangerous due to the slippery conditions. Therefore, organizers reversed the course, transforming steep climbs into descents, still challenging but safer for all participants.
The stage was anything but dull, delivering surprises right from the first special test, the 5.2 km Enduro Test. Favorite Josep Garcia faced an issue, finishing 28th, nearly 50 seconds behind England’s Steve Holcombe, who posted the best time. From that point, Garcia began an impressive comeback, climbing to fifth after two timed sections and third after the next special test. Meanwhile, Italy’s Andrea Verona, riding a GasGas, took the overall lead and seemed poised to manage his advantage comfortably. However, two special tests before the end, he lost his margin, falling behind Holcombe by two seconds in the aggregate times. In the final stretch, a torrential downpour made the course extremely slippery and tricky, but Verona managed to reclaim the lead, finishing just 49 hundredths of a second ahead of Holcombe and 22 seconds ahead of Garcia.
«On a descent in the first special test, a root pushed me off track, and I ended up in a ditch. The front fender was blocked by branches, preventing me from moving. I was stuck there, unable to get out. It took almost 50 seconds to free myself, and my race restarted from scratch, or rather below zero. The positive aspect is that I recovered and gave everything I had to climb back from 28th place, and I eventually recovered about 30 seconds. So, I’m satisfied; it means I did a good job. Then, before the final test, it started raining heavily, making the course very slippery, but it was the same for everyone; it’s normal, you have to quickly adapt to all situations», commented Josep Garcia.
At the end of the fourth round (with three more to go in Slovakia, Great Britain, and France), the provisional standings feature the same riders who reached the podium, with relatively small gaps: Garcia leads with 144 points, followed by Verona with 134, and Holcombe in third with 128. The battle for the top spot has captivated attention, but the results for the titles in the three main categories are also significant. Verona clearly dominated the E2 class, ahead of Matteo Pavoni; Holcombe secured the direct competition with Garcia in the E2 class, and Belgian Antoine Magain, riding a Sherco, won the E3 class thanks to his fourth-place overall finish. Among the Juniors, Manolo Morettini recorded the best time with his Honda in the J1 class, ahead of Sweden’s Max Ahlin on a KTM, who won the J2 category. Four Italians captured the top four spots in the Youth standings: Luca Colorio, Manuel Verzeroli, Alberto Elgari, and Pietro Scardina. In the Women’s category, Spain’s Mireia Badia beat England’s Rosie Rowett, both on Rieju, while Czech rider Jiri Hadek, England’s Alfie Webb, and Italy’s Duccio Graziani led the classes 2, 4, and Senior of the Open category.
The Bettola event also marked significant anniversaries for two renowned Italian enduro teams. TM from Pesaro and Jolly Racing celebrated 40 years of activity in a unique way: TM’s official bikes sported the Red Dream Edition colors, replacing white and blue with the red of the 1980s, in hommage to founder Gastone Serafini. Jolly Racing riders competed in gear inspired by the historic colors of their longtime sponsor Totip, the popular horse racing betting slip.
Throughout the three-day event organized by Moto Club Bettola, hosting a world championship event for the first time, the Valnure area drew large crowds, even in Sunday’s almost autumnal weather. The cross special test, a wide track visible from the SS 654, attracted many spectators, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of major cycling classics. That this was a race worthy of a world championship stage is confirmed by the words of Josep Garcia: «I have to say that in these three days, I participated in a real enduro race, a difficult, technical, and physically demanding race. For me, it was a fantastic race».
Tomorrow, Bettola will return to its peaceful rhythm as a quiet town on the banks of the Nure River, where the lives of its 2,500 residents will resume at a slower pace than the high-level enduro race just concluded, which will surely be remembered by many.