{"id":38126,"date":"2017-06-29T07:37:28","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T05:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enduro.nl\/?p=38126"},"modified":"2017-06-29T07:37:28","modified_gmt":"2017-06-29T05:37:28","slug":"gp-maxxis-greece-preview-holcombe-leads-endurogp-title-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/38126\/gp-maxxis-greece-preview-holcombe-leads-endurogp-title-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"GP Maxxis Greece Preview: Holcombe leads EnduroGP title fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Davide<\/a>The Enduro world stars enjoyed only a few days of rest before returning to service for this fifth stage of the\u00a0Maxxis FIM EnduroGP World Championship<\/strong>. After a Maxxis GP of Hungary full of twists and turns that saw the big return on the first step of the podium of\u00a0Christophe NAMBOTIN (F – KTM)<\/strong>, the rendezvous in Greece, more precisely in\u00a0Grevena<\/strong>, is well known by riders last year. The\u00a0Maxxis Grand Prix of Greece<\/strong>\u00a02016 had indeed marked the spirits, as rain and storms had been invited to the Fiesta throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n

On the trail in the heart of the Pindus Natural Park<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dimitris ATHANASOULOPOULOS<\/strong>, Enduro manager of the\u00a0AMOTOE\u00a0<\/strong>(Greek Federation), with the support of his\u00a0Off Road Team<\/strong>, is back again in the\u00a0EnduroGP\u00a0<\/strong>adventure. As in the previous year, he has helped\u00a0Yannis SIOULIS<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0Grevena Moto Club<\/strong>\u00a0to organise the\u00a0Maxxis Grand Prix in Greece<\/strong>. Strong organisers in 2016 where they faced terrible weather, the\u00a0Off Road Team<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Moto Club Grevena\u00a0<\/strong>will have the heavy task of doing as well or even better.<\/p>\n

With a nice track of nearly 65 kilometres in the vicinity of\u00a0Grevena<\/strong>, the riders will delight in this idyllic setting in the\u00a0Pindus National Park<\/strong>, considered one of the most beautiful in Greece. This\u00a0Maxxis Grand Prix of Greece<\/strong>\u00a0will start Friday night with the traditional\u00a0Akrapovic Super Test<\/strong>, which looks very technical and spectacular. After the start,\u00a0HOLCOMBE<\/strong>,\u00a0PHILLIPS<\/strong>,\u00a0LARRIEU\u00a0<\/strong>and others will take the direction of the\u00a0Maxxis Cross Test\u00a0<\/strong>which is located 6km from the city. They will then ride to the\u00a0Technomousse Xtreme Test\u00a0<\/strong>and then complete the lap with the\u00a0KTM Enduro Test<\/strong>, which is a real special test that gave competitors some cold sweat last year.<\/p>\n

Grevena<\/strong>, a town in northern Greece with a population of about 13,000, is 180 kilometres from\u00a0Thessaloniki<\/strong>. In a region with many natural treasures,\u00a0Grevena\u00a0<\/strong>offers a setting with magnificent mountainous landscapes as well as the green river\u00a0Venetikos\u00a0<\/strong>and especially the\u00a0Pindus National Park<\/strong>\u00a0also known as\u00a0Valia-Calda<\/strong>. It is home to a large number of bears.<\/p>\n

EnduroGP: NAMBOTIN is back<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the\u00a0EnduroGP\u00a0<\/strong>category, last weekend’s Grand Prix of Hungary saw the return of KTM factory rider\u00a0Christophe NAMBOTIN<\/strong>\u00a0to the title race. Somewhat in difficulty during the start of the season, the Frenchman made an impeccable double at Paradf\u00fcrdo and took precious points on the leader of the championship, Britishman\u00a0Steve HOLCOMBE (Beta)<\/strong>. The latter is now only 21 points ahead of Yamaha Outsiders competitors\u00a0Lo\u00efc LARRIEU (F)\u00a0<\/strong>and 26 points on\u00a0NAMBOTIN<\/strong>. The Beta Factory rider must up his pace at the\u00a0Maxxis Grand Prix of Greece<\/strong>\u00a0if he wants to keep the #1 golden plate.\u00a0Lo\u00efc LARRIEU<\/strong>\u00a0demonstrates race after race that he is improving and is well engaged in the race for victory and title. Comfortably holding second position and consistent in his results, he\u2019s a regular podium guy.
\nMatthew PHILLIPS (AUS – Sherco)\u00a0<\/strong>had a very complicated Hungarian GP. The observers awaited him firmly after the Italian GP where a mechanical problem had forced him to give up on day 1 and to concede a large number of points to his rivals. Expect the defending champion to attack in\u00a0Grevena\u00a0<\/strong>and take back the top step of the podium.
\nNathan WATSON (GB – KTM)<\/strong>\u00a0is currently fifth in the standings and is very mature facing the experienced\u00a0Alex SALVINI (I – Beta)\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Cristobal GUERRERO (E – Yamaha)<\/strong>. The Italian, DNF on Saturday in Par\u00e1df\u00fcrd\u0151, will certainly want to catch up in\u00a0Grevena<\/strong>.
\nWinner of the Akrapovic Super Test in Hungary,\u00a0Christophe CHARLIER (F – Husqvarna)<\/strong>\u00a0will be absent after fracturing his hand. His teammate\u00a0Mathias BELLINO (F – Husqvarna)\u00a0<\/strong>had a smooth return to action and looks to increase the pace during this fifth GP.
\nMeanwhile,\u00a0Ramon QUER MOLGO (E – Husqvarna)<\/strong>\u00a0will try to confirm his more than honourable results from Hungary (9\/11).
\nFinally, local stars\u00a0Christos PAPATHEODOROU<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Vasilios SIAFARIKAS<\/strong>\u00a0will benefit from the favours of their public on their Honda.<\/p>\n

Enduro 2: GARCIA, REMES, MCCANNEY race for victory<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Josep GARCIA (E – KTM)<\/strong>,\u00a0Eero REMES (FIN – TM)\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Jamie MCCANNEY (GB – Yamaha)<\/strong>\u00a0led the Hungarian GP at a sizzling pace. The battle for the Enduro 2 title is raging. This\u00a0GP Maxxis of Greece<\/strong>\u00a0promises a superb fight between this trio who are separated only by 11 points in the provisional classification.
\nIn this fight,\u00a0Pascal RAUCHENECKER (A – Husqvarna)<\/strong>, fourth in the championship and his teammate,\u00a0Danny MCCANNEY<\/strong>, are still looking for a result that matches their ambitions.
\nDaniel SANDERS (AUS – KTM)<\/strong>,\u00a0Henric STIGELL (SF – Husqvarna)\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Thomas OLDRATI (I – Husqvarna)<\/strong>\u00a0are riding strong and hope to have the opportunity to disrupt the Top 5.
\nReturning to the forefront in Par\u00e1df\u00fcrd\u0151, Italian\u00a0Davide GUARNERI (Honda)\u00a0<\/strong>will try to keep the same dynamic.
\nJonathan BARRAGAN (E – Gas Gas)<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Manuel MONNI (I – TM)<\/strong>\u00a0will have to work hard to keep their places in the top 10. The same applies to\u00a0Lorenzo SANTOLINO (E – Sherco)<\/strong>,\u00a0Rudy MORONI (I – KTM)<\/strong>,\u00a0Gianluca MARTINI (I – Suzuki)<\/strong>,\u00a0Victor GUERRERO (E – Yamaha)\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Romain DUMONTIER (F – Yamaha)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Juniors: FREEMAN gains momentum<\/strong><\/h2>\n

British youngster\u00a0Brad FREEMAN (Beta)\u00a0<\/strong>has taken a third consecutive victory, which hampers the business of\u00a0Davide SORECA (I – Honda)<\/strong>, current leader of the Junior. Disappointing last weekend, the Italian can\u2019t afford to rest on his laurels because\u00a0FREEMAN<\/strong>,\u00a0Mikael PERSSON (S – Yamaha)<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Matteo CAVALLO (I – Beta)<\/strong>\u00a0are strong at this mid-season. Indeed,\u00a0SORECA\u00a0<\/strong>only has a 21-point advantage over\u00a0PERSSON<\/strong>.\u00a0Kirian MIRABET (E – Sherco)<\/strong>,\u00a0Albin ELOWSON (S – Husqvarna)\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0Tosha SCHAREINA (E – Husqvarna)<\/strong>\u00a0can also play the spoils in the Under 23 category.<\/p>\n

In FIM Youth 125cc,\u00a0Andrea VERONA (I – TM)<\/strong>\u00a0seems untouchable. He secured a fifth consecutive win in Hungary and is now 51 points ahead of\u00a0Hugo SVARD (SF – Husqvarna)<\/strong>. The fight for the podium involves French\u00a0Leo LE QUERE (TM)\u00a0<\/strong>and Chilean\u00a0Ruy BARBOSA (Husqvarna)<\/strong>.\u00a0Alex ISCLA (AND – KTM)<\/strong>, victim of a heavy crash in Hungary, will be unable to compete and we wish him all the best.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Maxxis Grand Prix of Greece<\/strong>\u00a0is therefore a pivotal moment of the\u00a02017 Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship<\/strong>\u00a0as it marks the mid-season. The stars of\u00a0EnduroGP\u00a0<\/strong>will be pleased to find Greece and the small town of\u00a0Grevena\u00a0<\/strong>for this fifth Grand Prix of the season where the organisers have planned a high quality event.<\/p>\n

Informations :<\/h2>\n

– Grevena (West Macedonia);
\n– 180 kilometres from Thessaloniki;
\n– Friday, June 30th: Akrapovic Super Test from 18.00;
\n– Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd July: Start 9h00 \u2013 Finish around 16h30;
\n– Organiser:\u00a0Off-Road Team<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0AMOTOE<\/strong>;
\n– Websites: www.endurogp.org;
\n– Track: 65kms \u2013 3 laps;
\n– Airport: Thessaloniki (180kms),<\/p>\n

– Points GPS
\n– KTM Enduro Test:\u00a040\u00b0 3’19.88″N 21\u00b026’10.71″E<\/a>
\n– Maxxis Cross Test:\u00a040\u00b0 3’34.86″N 21\u00b026’14.09″E<\/a>
\n– Technomousse Xtreme Test : \u00a040\u00b0 3’5.02″N \u00a021\u00b028’52.91″E<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Enduro world stars enjoyed only a few days of rest before returning to service for this fifth stage of the\u00a0Maxxis FIM EnduroGP World Championship. After a Maxxis GP of Hungary full of twists and turns that saw the big return on the first step of the podium of\u00a0Christophe NAMBOTIN (F – KTM), the rendezvous…<\/p>\n

Lees meer “GP Maxxis Greece Preview: Holcombe leads EnduroGP title fight”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ekwk","category-persberichten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}