More than a month after the last round in Romania the FIM EnduroGP World Championship is back for the fourth round on the calendar. It was a special weekend for Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team, racing the home GP in Bettola, near Piacenza.
In mixed conditions, once again Steve Holcombe was among the major players of the weekend. Third in Friday’s Supertest, the British rider kept up the pace on both race days, finishing on the podium. After Saturday’s P2 in E1 only behind Garcia, on Sunday he left no room for mistakes and took a beautiful class victory and second place Overall. Thanks to these results, he confirms the second position in the E1 standings and the third in the EnduroGP, just a few points behind the first position.
Samuele Bernardini keeps on his positive season as a great performer in E2. Fifth on Saturday just because of a few too many mistakes in the first lap, on Sunday he took his revenge finishing in P3 of his class and the top five Overall.
Masterpiece race for Manolo Morettini, who takes his first victory in the World Championship at the end of a perfect race. Fast on Saturday with a good P2 in the EJ1, and close to the Junior Overall podium, on Sunday he was phenomenal, getting a well-deserved double win with a lead of almost a minute over his rival Ahlin.
Unlucky weekend for Francesca Nocera, who could not start the race due to a crash while she was reaching the paddock. She fractured three ribs and punctured a lung.
Still out is Thomas Oldrati, who is recovering from a bad crash in the last round of the Italian Championship.
Steve Holcombe #1
“A really good weekend for me. After a good Supertest, on day 1 with dry conditions, I struggled a bit to keep the peace of the front guys, but still had a good result. On Sunday, with the rain, I was more comfortable and I finished close to the victory. I’m a bit disappointed I could not win, but I did everything I could. Thank you to the team for all the efforts. See you in Slovakia”.
Samuele Bernardini #23
“On Saturday I crashed immediately in the first Extreme losing several seconds. I slowly recovered finishing in the top 5. On Sunday, the race was in completely different conditions and I set good time laps. I fought until the end for P2, finishing third due to a mistake in the last Cross test. That’s good, now we look forward to the next challenge”.
Manolo Morettini #38
“Great weekend. On Saturday, I made a big mistake at the beginning, but I recovered finishing on the podium. Sunday was a wet race with a lot of mud: I made a good start and took my first World Championship win. I’m really happy: thanks to the team for the great job!”.