2024 EnduroGP World Championship results from day two of the Italian GP in Bettola where rain turned the tests on their heads (and some riders!), Josep Garcia crashed leaving Andrea Verona and Steve Holcombe fighting to the wire for the win.

EnduroGP Rnd 4, Italy Day 2 in a nutshell:

• Day two dawned wet following overnight rain which continued as riders fed away from the starting ramp in Bettola on a day adjusted due to the weather conditions to just eight tests in total for the main classes.
• As yesterday it was straight to the nearby quarry but day two’s weather saw them bypass timing, and just go for a sighting lap spin on lap one – they then tackled that troublesome test in reverse direction on lap two.
• Championship leader and day one winner Josep Garcia dramatically hit problems early on the first visit to the enduro test. The Spaniard slipped down a bank and spent almost one minute trying to get back up on course again for a heavy deficit to his rivals straight off the bat.
• It’s tempting to say the British or Northern European riders should do well in these conditions but it’s a nonsense in reality, it rains everywhere and the best riders are the best whatever the weather.
• Meanwhile Steve Holcombe, dare we say it, was making a familiar faster start on day two than he had 24hrs earlier, going fastest first.
• Andrea Verona also quickly found his stride, buoyed by home fans but also staying true to his word yesterday that; “the speed was there, I just need to make less mistakes.”
• The GASGAS rider looked like he had it in the bag but on test eight, the final visit to the enduro test, a crash lost all of his advantage, handing the lead back to Holcombe.
• It was a gift the reigning champion happily accepted but two things stood in his way: the final cross test where he hadn’t been the fastest all day and the weather which arrived in bucket loads as they all arrived.
• Theo Espinasse went fastest as the rain lashed down, Garcia was second quickest and crucially Verona was third, two and a half seconds faster than Holcombe which meant the Italian clocked in with just a 0.46 faster time overall for the day win. It was that close.
• Verona’s efforts in front of the home crowd were rewarded with his second win of the season: “It was unbelievable to take the win on my home GP. I was fighting with Steve all day, I pulled a bit of a gap but crashed in the last enduro test and lost everything. I went into the final test full gas, and the rain was really heavy but despite a small crash I was able to take it by half a second, it’s an incredible feeling.”
• Holcombe was disappointed to lose by such a narrow margin but happy enough with turning things around on day two and claiming some points back on Garcia in E1: “It’s never good to lose it in the last test but Andrea rode better than me and it’s as simple as that. It was a completely different day with the rain and lap two is really where I lost it. I should have been a better. But overall I’m happy with second and the win in class.”
• Josep Garcia did what he could after that early mishap, topping the time sheets throughout the rest of the day and unbelievably going from 28th to third just four tests later. It was a hell of a comeback helped by excelling in the conditions but third was beyond his expectations after the crash: “It wasn’t a big crash or anything, I just slipped into the woods and my bike got stuck. I took 45 or 50 seconds to get out. From that point my mentality was to push and to come back from 28th position to finish on the box is a win for me today.”
• Hamish Macdonald proved he could thread the needle after his Friday Super Test win, day two’s slick conditions saw the Kiwi finding the lines also. But, despite beating the E3 world champion Brad Freeman (who wasn’t looking himself and crashed in the last test), Hamish wasn’t the best rider on a 300cc two-stroke Sherco today.
• That honour went to Antoine Magain who we’re gonna say benefitted from some testing on the media launch in France last week (horrendous weather there FYI!). The Belgian claimed the big bike class overall which is his and Sherco and his country’s first? The fact checking fairy is still checking…certainly it’s Sherco’s first one-two in E3 and 4th, 5th and 6th scratch.
• Manolo Morettini quickly got to grips with the slick conditions in the Junior category. Despite the day one winner Max Ahlin hounding at times, the Honda RedMoto rider found his home soil groove on day two for a win by a comfortable 42s.
• It was a similar story in the Youth 125 class, Italian’s ruling the roost. Luca Colorio, Manuel Verzeroli and Alberto Algari sailed away with it, minutes clear. Colorio on the Husqvarna it was who clocked the win ahead of Verzeroli and, unusually, six different manufacturers in the top six.
• The Enduro Women had a lie-in this morning and a much easier day in terms of time on the bike. Day one winner Mireia Badia was on her A-game today, smashing test times miles better than her rivals – half a minute faster in the enduro test anyone?! – and duly took the win in some style, almost one minute fastest.
• With plenty of experience in these conditions, Rosie Rowett was consistent across all tests today and quickly settled into second behind her teammate for P2 overall and a trademark smile on the podium. An up and down day literally for Elodie Chaplot eventually brought third in EW.  
• It was a bit of a disaster weekend for Rachel Gutish. After losing a dead-cert win on day one she lost loads of time in a crash on the transfer and missed her time controls to the extent to be disqualified.  
• The Open World Cup class saw experienced Jiri Hadek battling with Britain’s Alfie Webb for the win with the Czech rider clocking the scratch and Open 2T win – Webb takes a maiden Open 4T honour home also.

2024 GP of Italy, day 2 results, overall:

E1 class:

E2 class:

E3 class:

Junior overall:

Youth 125 class:

Enduro Women class:

Open class scratch:

Photo Credit: Future7Media | Nicki Martinez