San Remo. The FIM EnduroGP World Championship finally got underway this weekend with the Italian Grand Prix in Arma di Taggia – San Remo. The race was about 50 km long, with three special tests (cross, enduro, extreme) to repeat four times per day. The 1.3 km SuperTest was raced on the sands of San Remo beach on Friday evening.
In E1, an excellent start for Thomas Oldrati, who once again showed his talent. On Saturday, he started slow but increased the pace, finishing close to the podium. On Sunday, he battled all day with Pichon and Espinasse, taking second place.
Unlucky Saturday for Nathan Watson in E2: unfortunately, the English rider was forced to withdraw due to a technical problem during the second lap, while on Sunday he finished 4th. Two 4th positions for Manolo Morettini in Junior 1.
Thomas Oldrati | EnduroGP class Day1 > 10° – Day2 > 8° | E1 class Day1 > 4° – Day2 > 2°
“I didn’t like the terrain very much, but it went well. I got a slow start on Saturday, but then I made up. On Sunday I managed to finish second. I’m really happy to have started the season with a podium, thanks to everyone for the support”.
Nathan Watson | EnduroGP class Day1 > nc – Day2 > 6° | E2 class Day1 > nc – Day2 > 4°
“Saturday, at the beginning of the second lap, I had a technical problem which forced me to the withdraw. On Sunday I started penalised by not having raced the previous day and the special tests changed quite a bit. It was tough, but I got as many points as I could. It’s a shame to start the season in this way”.
Manolo Morettini | Junior class Day1 > 6° – Day2 > 9° | EJ1 class Day1 > 4° – Day2 > 4°
“The race went fairly well, unfortunately, a couple of crashes made me miss the podium on both days. I’m not too happy with the weekend, now let’s work for the next races”.
In the second line-up, good debut for Francesca Nocera: on Saturday she took the 3rd step of the podium, while on Sunday she finished 4th after having lost 3rd position due to a crash. In E2, 4th and 5th place for Samuele Bernardini, while in E1 Roni Kytonen finished 7th and 5th.
Samuele Bernardini | EnduroGP class Day1 > 11° – Day2 > 13° | E2 class Day1 > 4° – Day2 > 5°
“Sunday went better than Saturday. The cross test was good, while the other were tougher. The race was tough, but I managed it. It’s a good start”.
Roni Kytonen | EnduroGP class Day1 > 19° – Day2 > 15° | E1 class Day1 > 7° – Day2 > 5°
“I had more feeling on Sunday. Let’s store this weekend and hope to do better in the next challenge”.
Francesca Nocera | Women’s class Day1 > 3° – Day2 > 4°
“Positive debut. I’m happy with the good job done and we continue to work hard in view of the next challenge. My two direct rivals are tough, but I know that the podium is within my reach”.