EnduroGP is back, and GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona has shown he means business this season! Claiming a well-deserved Enduro2 class win at the first round of the series in Fafe, Portugal, Andrea’s fired up and looking good for 2024. Throwing down the gauntlet in less-than-ideal conditions on Saturday, the EC 350F racer topped the E2 category by over 12 seconds. Despite not fully gelling with the tests on Sunday, the six-time world champion stayed focused, fought hard, and clinched the runner-up spot to kick off his 2024 EnduroGP campaign with a strong start.
The 2024 FIM EnduroGP World Championship fired back into life on Friday evening in Fafe with the first Super Test of the season. Showing impressive speed on the tight, technical course, Verona got his weekend off to the perfect start by topping the Enduro2 class.
Saturday dawned wet and misty, and with the tests proving tough for all competitors, the conditions truly separated the elite from the rest of the pack. Andrea topped the Enduro2 timesheets on the first six tests to open up a healthy lead on his class rivals. Holding his advantage through to the finish, Verona secured the E2 victory and his first win of the season.
On Sunday, Andrea came out fighting once again, posting the second-quickest time in E2 on the first test before going fastest in tests two and three. The 24-year-old maintained an excellent pace over the following two laps, but despite pushing hard and making the minimum of mistakes, he couldn’t quite deliver the times he knew he was capable of. Bringing his GASGAS EC 350F home safely as runner-up in the Enduro2 category, Verona secured his second E2 podium of the weekend and heads to round two of the series, also held in Portugal, as joint leader of the class and third in EnduroGP.
Andrea Verona: “I’m pretty happy with how my weekend went. On Saturday, I was well in the fight for the EnduroGP win and was happy with how I rode and my E2-class win. On Sunday, things didn’t quite go to plan – I felt my speed was good but each test I was losing just a couple of seconds to the other guys. I didn’t make any big mistakes, I just struggled to find my rhythm. Fourth in EnduroGP and second in E2 isn’t bad, but I was really hoping for better. Overall, my weekend has gone well – I’m really happy with the bike, and the team have done a great job as always. Now, I have to get focused again and then full gas for next weekend and hopefully I can improve things a little more here in Portugal.”
Results: Round 1, GP of Portugal
Day 1 – EnduroGP
1. Josep Garcia (KTM) 56:17.60
2. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 56:49.70
3. Steve Holcombe (Honda) 56:50.87
Day 1 – Enduro2
1. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 56:49.70
2. Nathan Watson (Beta) 57:01.82
3. Samuele Bernardini (Honda) 57:51.72
Day 2 – EnduroGP
1. Steve Holcombe (Honda) 53:32.40
2. Josep Garcia (KTM) 53:36.79
3. Nathan Watson (Beta) 53:41.95
4. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 53:54.45
Day 2 – Enduro2
1. Nathan Watson (Beta) 53:41.95
2. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 53:54.45
3. Samuele Bernardini (Honda) 54:17.18
Championship Standings (After Round 1)
EnduroGP
1. Josep Garcia (KTM) 37 pts
2. Steve Holcombe (Honda) 35 pts
3. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 30 pts
Enduro2
1. Nathan Watson (Beta) 37 pts
2. Andrea Verona (GASGAS) 37 pts
3. Samuele Bernardini (Honda) 30 pts