2025 EnduroGP of Sweden Preview: All-eyes on Skovde for Rnd 3 this weekend
The Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship heads north to Scandinavia for the Polisport GP of Sweden, this weekend, May 23-25 as Skovde hosts round three of the 2025 season – complete entry list below.
After the opening two rounds of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship on the Iberian peninsula in Portugal and Spain, it’s time to head to Scandinavia for round three and the Polisport GP of Sweden.
For the third time, event organisers FMCK Skövde will organise the EnduroGP in Sweden, returning to Skövde and its Billingen rocky outcrops a couple of hours north east of Gothenburg.
Always a good one for action, and usually coming in the thick of the season, the Swedish GP historically has proven important for the championship.
Three laps of the 65-kilometre course will feature an unusual set of three tests, not typical of the Skovde GP in the past and a bit strange in places if we are being honest.
Expect lots of the results to be made up in the trees on a stony and rooty 5.5km Enduro test but also in a strangely narrow Cross test which in places is not very much like a Cross test at all.
The Super Test (on Friday evening) and part of the Extreme Test are in the Skövde Bandy Arena (under roofed building) and promises to be slippery on a concrete floor.
You can preview the track here: 2025 EnduroGP Rnd3 Onboard Track Preview – not your usual Swedish GP Tests!
Three-rider fight for EnduroGP dominance
The Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship proved hot and heavy last time out at the GP of Spain, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia emerging battered and bruised, but with the leader’s plate in hand.
The Spaniard injured his foot on the final day of racing and finished in second place but moved into the EnduroGP championship lead.
A confidence-boosting win on day two in Oliana, his first onboard the factory 450, GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona will carry momentum onto the Skovde tests, particularly the steep slopes of the ACERBIS Cross Test where his proven grass test skills and few more horses should see the Italian flying.
Holding third overall in EnduroGP scratch, Frenchman Zach Pichon lost ground to Garcia and Verona with a costly mistake on the GMOTO Enduro Test on day two in Spain. Consistency has won out in this championship many times over but despite a 16-point deficit behind Garcia, the TM MOTO rider remains a title challenger in 2025.
The battle to be inside the top five also remains close, with just one point separating Hamish Macdonald from fifth-placed Samuele Bernardini and Antoine Magain tied with on points.
All three will need to keep a watchful eye on multiple Swedish riders looking to impress on home soil. Triumph Factory Racing Enduro Team’s Mikael Persson, Fantic Factory Racing Team’s Albin Norrbin, WP Eric Auge’s Albin Elowson and Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Max Ahlin will have the backing of their home crowd throughout the weekend.
E1, E2 and E3 class actors
In E1, Garcia is clear of his rivals with four wins from four starts. Bernardini holds second, with third-placed Persson three points clear of Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo in fourth.
E2 class sees Pichon hold the championship lead over Verona. However, only two points split the duo entering Skövde. Beta Factory Enduro Team’s Nathan Watson is third.
Macdonald leads the way in E3, six-points ahead of his teammate Magain in second, with TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Leo Le Quere third.
Home race for Semb in Junior class
All eyes in the Junior class will be on the home boy entering his home Grand Prix, Fantic Factory Racing Team’s Axel Semb. The young Swede won both days in Spain and has the Junior class points lead.
This is arguably the toughest contest this season with some very fast (and determined) young riders looking at toppling Semb in Skövde. Ox Moto Beta’s Leo Joyon is second in class, with Fantic Factory Racing Enduro Team Specia’s Kevin Cristino third.
After winning both days at round one, MGR Kawasaki’s Kyron Bacon suffered illness at round two, slipping down the classification to fourth. But the multi-time Australian champion should go well in the Swedish dirt and will surely be one to watch.
Proving just how competitive the Junior class is, Thibault Giraudon (Sherco) in fifth and Manuel Verzeroli (TM MOTO) in sixth, are both tied on points with Bacon, while all of the top-six riders have stood on the podium at least once so far this season.
Dagna heads the Youth class charge in Skövde
With two wins and four podium results from four starts, Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Romain Dagna leads the Youth class ahead of round three. The young Frenchman has looked strong in Portugal and Spain and will look to keep that momentum high in Sweden although, like all classes this weekend, he faces some tough local opposition on the buzzing 125s.
TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Alberto Elgari is close behind in second and has also claimed a race win in 2025. So too has Fantic Factory Racing Enduro Team Specia’s Pietro Scardina in third. With the top three pulling clear of the rest of the field, Italians Elgari and Scardina will look to close the gap to Dagna in Sweden.
Complete entry list for Polisport GP of Sweden:
Photo Credit: Future7Media
