The final round of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship saw GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona sign off on a busy year by claiming an Enduro2 class victory on day one in Portugal, despite riding with suspected broken bones in his throttle hand!
Over and out for 2023! After seven wild and hectic races, the FIM EnduroGP World Championship came to a close in Portugal with our man Andrea Verona claiming his fifth Enduro2 victory of the season.
In what’s been a super-exciting championship battle, Verona arrived at the final stop of the year in Santiago do Cacem, Portugal eager to end his season on a high. Holding a mathematical chance of still winning both the EnduroGP and Enduro2 titles, the EC 350F racer was not ready to give up without a fight.
On day one, Andrea immediately put himself at the sharp end of the results sheet. Once again finding himself in a three-way battle for the overall victory with Josep Garcia and Steve Holcombe, the GASGAS rider was pushing hard.
The trio swapped and changed positions numerous times before Andrea ended his day just seven seconds shy of taking the EnduroGP class win. But, by claiming an important victory in Enduro2 over title rival Holcombe, it meant the title fight would go down to the wire.
Heading into day two and it was all to play for. Only 15 points separated Andrea from Steve in the fight for the Enduro2 title. Not willing to give up without a fight, Andrea piled the pressure on early. Going on to finish second and beat Steve, Andrea did all he could, but unfortunately it would not be enough this time around.
In the end, he had to settle for vice-champion in the Enduro2 class, while also ending his EnduroGP campaign in third overall.
Andrea Verona: “I fought like hell until the end but unfortunately I couldn’t win the title this time. I'm happy though, it’s been a hell of a season. We never gave up. We had our ups and downs as we adjusted to the new EC 350F. I feel like we were super strong in the second half of the season. I’m excited to build on that momentum even more during the winter and then come out swinging next year. Roll on 2024!”
Results: Round 7, GP of Portugal
Day 1 - EnduroGP
1. Josep Garcia (KTM) 1:12:01.87
2. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 1:12:08.24
3. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 1:12:10.45
Day 1 - Enduro2
1. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 1:12:08.24
2. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 1:12:10.45
3. Samuele Bernardini (Honda) 1:13:42.94
Day 2 - EnduroGP
1. Josep Garcia (KTM) 1:00:43.45
2. Nathan Watson (Honda) 1:01:01.75
3. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 1:01:16.86
Day 2 - Enduro2
1. Nathan Watson (Honda) 1:01:01.75
2. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 1:01:16.86
3. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 1:01:30.57
Final Championship Standings
EnduroGP
1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 222pts
2. Josep Garcia (KTM) 210pts
3. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 209pts
Enduro2
1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 260pts
2. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 247pts
3. Hamish MacDonald (Sherco) 188pts