2024 FIM EnduroGP of Wales Results

Cycle News Staff | August 6, 2024

Steve Holcombe and Josep Garcia traded day wins at the FIM EnduroGP of Wales, August 3-4. Honda-mounted Holcomb started off the weekend with Saturday’s overall win, and Garcia capped things off with Sunday’s overall victory.

Josep Garcia at 2024 FIM EnduroGP of Wales — Josep Garcia won Sunday’s race by just fifteen-hundredths of a second.

It’s been 15 years since the last EnduroGP was held in Wales.

The local fans got what they wanted to see on Saturday: a battle of the Brits between Holcombe and Brad Freeman on the Beta. The two went head-to-head and battled back and forth all day, with Holcombe edging out Freeman by just four seconds at the finish.

“I felt like I had a little pressure on myself to perform this weekend,” Holcombe said. “The Super Test went great, and I put in two solid laps today. The last lap, I hesitated a bit too much in places, but I was still able to take the win. It’s been awesome today—the home crowd support is amazing, and I can’t wait for tomorrow!”

“I started on the back foot after crashing in the Super Test,” Freeman said. “But I feel like I rode well to come back up to second. I just had too many mistakes towards the end, and Steve rode better, so hats off to him. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

KTM’s Garcia (pictured below) was right there, as well. The Spaniard took third less than two seconds behind Freeman.

“I missed a bit of feeling and speed during the first two laps and had some crashes,” Garcia said. “I tried to regroup, but Steve and Brad were on it today to be honest. I feel I matched their speed on the last lap, so I feel ready for tomorrow.”

Brad Freeman at 2024 FIM EnduroGP of Wales — **Brad Freeman (pictured) and Holcombe battled back and forth all day, with Holcombe edging out Freeman by just four seconds at the finish.**

GasGas rider Andrea Verona was fourth, and Sherco’s Wil Ruprecht was fifth.

On Sunday, Garcia nipped Freeman by a scant fifteen-hundredths of a second, the closest ever for a win in the sport’s history. Holcombe was just five seconds back in third.

“I started out today pushing to win,” Garcia said. “We were fighting a lot with Brad. On the last lap, I pushed hard again, and then everything got decided on the final test. It’s a great result for the championship with just one round remaining.”

Andrea Verona at 2024 FIM EnduroGP of Wales

Verona (pictured above) was fourth again and pipped his Sherco teammate Ruprecht for fifth.

Verona clinched the Enduro2 Championship with his 4-4 overall and 1-1 for the class.

“I’m really happy to get the Enduro2 title with one race to spare,” the Italian said. “It’s been a great season, and I’m so happy to have won every single day except one. This was one of our goals for the year, and we have pushed hard all season to get here. Thank you to the GasGas Factory Racing team and everyone who has helped me all year. For sure, we will take the fight to Josep at the final race for the EnduroGP title!”

Taking in a wild-card ride at the GP of Wales, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Gus Riordan produced one of the standout performances of the weekend. Despite round six marking the young Australian’s first EnduroGP outing, he didn’t let the occasion faze him.

Gus Riordan at 2024 FIM EnduroGP of Wales — **U.S. competitor Gus Riordan won the Junior class. The Aussie is currently leading the Pro 2 class in the U.S Sprint Enduro Championship.**

Blisteringly fast in Friday’s Super Test, the KTM youngster let everyone know he’d arrived by setting the outright fastest time. Competing in the highly competitive Enduro Junior category, Riordan won day one. He almost made it two-for-two on Sunday, finishing less than half of a second from victory as runner-up.

With one round to go, Garcia leads the overall EnduroGP Championship over Verona by 17 points, 212-195. Holcombe is third with 189. CN