Report: Enduro World Championship - Hawkstone
By Future 7Media on 28th Sep 17
Enduro World Championship Hawkstone Park
Switching away from the traditional two-day, long course, time card enduro format, the EnduroGP World Championship welcomed the first sprint enduro/ cross-country event, staged at the iconic Hawkstone Park.
The sprint/ cross-country event proved popular with riders, teams and spectators, with the sandy English track serving up a serious beating to those entered into the three-hour XC event.
Finally able to show what theyre capable of on the world stage, in front of a home crowd most of the British riders had a good weekend at Hawkstone.
But frustratingly for a few, things didnt go exactly to plan.
The first days sprint enduro certainly ended well for Steve Holcombe, who started the event knowing that if things went well he might well be heading home as 2017 EnduroGP World Champion.
Quick to make his mark he finished the first half of the sprint having topped all six of the enduro tests in the EnduroGP class.
Carrying a sizeable advantage over to the six runs around the shorter motocross test, Steve saw his lead reduced but nevertheless ended the day 30 seconds ahead to wrap-up his fourth day win of the series.
I couldnt have asked for anything better than putting in the fastest time on all of the enduro tests, he said. The test was good, a great mix and really technical in places.
I think it surprised a few riders as to just how difficult it was. I felt good and things went exactly like I hoped they would. I knew I would have a hard time matching the times of some of the riders with more motocross experience than me, but I didnt lose too much and managed to get a good win.
Nathan Watson also enjoyed a good sprint, finishing as runner-up behind Steve and 12 seconds up on third placed Christophe Charlier.
It was a lot trickier than I expected but things started well, said Watson. I wasnt too far behind Steve on the first lap but on the second lap things went wrong.
I lost the rear wheel on one of the tricky uphills and came back down them. Then I panicked and crashed again. The last four tests were ok, but the damage was done early on.
With Charlier third, the rest of the places were filled by EnduroGP regulars apart from Brad Anderson, who claimed the penultimate spot in the EnduroGP results and Craig Norrey, who finished 12. David Knight crashed and ultimately retired from the event having taken a bang to the head.
In the Enduro 2 class it was a case of what could have been for Jamie McCanney at the end of the sprint, as the Manxman looked to reduce the gap between himself and class leader Josep Garcia. With a couple of small mistakes hampering his performance, he ultimately placed third.
Two small mistakes cost me, but in general things went well, said McCanney. My riding was good but my bike set-up wasnt quite what it needed to be. I know I could have been fighting for the win so its frustrating to finish third.
Finlands Eero Remes brought his TM home in second despite winning just one motocross test. But in producing one of his most mistake-free performances of the year Josep Garcia topped the sprint podium.
Separated from brother Jamie by less than five seconds, Danny McCanney ended the sprint disappointed at having not made it onto the podium but having ridden well and taken two enduro test wins.
Better was to come from Danny during the cross-country race. Returning to racing following a wrist operation, Josh Gotts completed the Enduro 2 class results with a 17th-place finish.
Brad Freeman did exactly what he hoped to do in the Enduro Junior class, topping the results at the end of what was a solid days riding.
Despite one or two mistakes Brad placed 18 seconds ahead of Albin Elowson, with class leader David Soreca importantly down in fourth.
Joe Wootton finished seventh, but more than three-and-a-half minutes behind Freeman, with Jed Etchells 11th, William Hoare 17th and Luke Flack 18th.
In the 125cc Youth class it was series regulars Ruy Barbosa, Leo le Quere and class champion Andrea Verona who filled the podium, with Alex Walton fifth and Jordan Ridgway sixth.
While the sprint format was similar to what the EnduroGP regulars know, the second days cross-country race was a complete departure from the norm. Those who thought the sprint was tough were in for a shock.
From the start it was Steve Holcombe who led in the EnduroGP class, potentially heading towards a world championship title on home soil.
But frustratingly for Steve, having not put a foot wrong during the opening 45 minutes, an issue with his rear wheel saw him pull into the pits and his team frantically set towork on his bike. Returning to the track having lost a considerable amount of time, Steve kept grafting.
Nathan Watson, who pushed hard to match Steves pace and broke free from then third-placed rider Loic Larrieu, took over the lead and remained out front for the majority of the race.
I got to third on the first lap, caught up to Steve and then took the lead, he said. I pushed hard at the start and used a fair bit of energy. I struggled after my second pit stop but kept pushing as best I could.
I knew Charlier was coming, he was running a very strong pace but I managed to get my third stop done before he did, which helped me get out front and take the win, which was awesome. It was one of the toughest races Ive done, so Im pleased all the hard work paid off.
Although falling just short of taking the win, Charlier put in one of the stand-out performances having been left behind at the start. Working his way back into contention he led twice despite a crash near destroying the front end of his bike.
Making it an all four-stroke top three, Loic Larrieu placed third having put together a strong and consistent ride. Spains Jaume Betriu was another rider to deliver an impressive performance, giving the top factory backed riders a run for their money and eventually placing fourth and just eight seconds behind Larrieu.
After setting the pace early in the race, and then setting the fastest lap of the race once out of the pits and back on track, Holcombe eventually finished fifth and was hugely disappointed at what could have been.
I couldnt have had a better start, everything went to plan I got the holeshot, got some good early laps in and was starting to get settled when I had the problem with my rear wheel, he said.
That was pretty much game over for me. I pushed hard but I was stopped for too long. Its frustrating because I was looking at winning a world title at my home GP, which would have been special. Now its on to Germany and the final round of the series.
Like he did on the first days sprint event, Brad Anderson battled his way to the finish of the cross-country race in ninth, with Craig Norrey completing the EnduroGP results in 10th.
While he didnt look like it during the early stages of the race, Austrian Pascal Rauchenecker was the rider to beat in the Enduro 2 class, crossing the finish line fresh faced and two minutes clear of his nearest class challenger.
So impressive was Pascals pace that he managed to overtake all of the EnduroGP class riders ahead of him to finish the three-hour marathon first overall.
Its amazing to win my first ever world championship race here at Hawkstone, and to become the first ever Austrian to win a world enduro event, said Pascal.
I loved the cross-country race. It was tough but I felt so good at the finish, I could have raced another three hours.
That certainly wasnt the case for most riders, but for Danny McCanney the cross-country race went well as he finished as runner-up to his Husqvarna team-mate.
Being able to finish on the podium here in the UK is great, said Danny. I just missed the podium yesterday, so to be able to get second is great. Its been a tough season for me so to finally show that I have the speed is a great feeling.
Rounding out the E2 podium, Josep Garcia dropped back a little during the closing stages of the race but in managing to finishing on the podium and ahead of closest championship rival Jamie McCanney now heads to the final round in Germany 13 points up in the title fight.
Just as on day one, things didnt quite go Jamie McCanneys way during the three-hour cross-country race.
Well placed at the start despite his bike not firing instantly into life at the drop of the flag it was to be one of those races where Jamie result wasnt a true reflection of his pace.
The team did a great job this weekend but unfortunately it wasnt just at the start that my bike didnt fire into life a quickly as I needed it too, he admitted. I lost time on a number of occasions during the race, which cost me at the finish. One of my pit stops didnt go too well, and generally things just didnt go so smoothly when we needed them to.
Rounding out the E2 class results, Josh Gotts battled his way to the end of physically draining three-hour race in 15th.
For Brad Freeman the cross-country race went exactly to plan, with the exception of a coming together with an Enduro 2 class rider hed caught during the first hour of the race.
Running an impressive pace, Brad quickly found himself in amongst riders in the classes ahead of him yet kept a level and did what he needed to do in winning the Junior class, just as he had on day one.
Its been the perfect home GP for me, said Brad. I was confident heading into the three-hour race but I had to keep telling myself not to get involved in any battles with riders in other classes.
I felt good and wanted to keep pushing, it was tricky to manage.
But it worked out and I got the win and Im just four points behind in the championship standings now, which is great.
Junior class championship leader Davide Soreca finished second ahead of Swedens Albin Elowson with Joe Wootton the best-placed Brit behind Freeman in ninth.
Luke Flack, Jed Etchells and William Hoare all finished the race placing 14th, 15th and 16th respectively.
