Steve Holcombe crowned 2020 EnduroGP World Champion
By Press Release on 16th Nov 20
Enduro World Championship Steve Holcombe
Beta Factory Racings Steve Holcombe has won this years EnduroGP World Championship, bringing yet another year of racing to a memorable close in Portugal.
A spectacular end to the 2020 FIM Enduro World Championship, Holcombe added the EnduroGP crown to the Enduro 2 title he won on Saturday, lifting his world championship tally to seven.
After clinching the Enduro 2 World Championship title on day one of the seasons final event, Steve had just one all-important box left to tick as far as his 2020 season was concerned that of securing the EnduroGP crown. With a four-point lead over nearest rival Brad Freeman, things were anything but settled. And with weather conditions turning sour, the championship outcome came right down to the wire.
Trailing Freeman entering the final special test, Steve incredibly took the advantage when Freeman ran into trouble within sight of the finish. Brilliantly mastering the conditions, Steve exited the test ahead and in doing so became the new EnduroGP World Champion. The title marks Beta Motorcycles first EnduroGP crown on four-stroke machinery, clearly demonstrating the winning capabilities of their RR Racing 4T 350.
Despite what has been an eventful year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Steve has still managed to win two Enduro World Championship titles along with the Italian Enduro Championship, which he won two weeks ago. His performances show that hes back to his best having overcome the energy-sapping Epstein Barr illness that plagued his 2019 season.
"Im lost for words right now, its hard to explain how much winning this EnduroGP title on the 350F means to both Beta Motorcycles and myself," said Holcombe.
"Today was a crazy day, in a way I guess its fitting for how strange 2020 has been. I was behind kind of where I needed to be, but also not able to find the speed I had on day one. But I just tried to keep fighting and hoping for a break. When the weather turned, things changed, and, well, here I am as world champion.
"I feel for Brad because he was doing everything right, but in an instant his luck was out. Unfortunately, thats racing - Ive been there before and know how that feels. On the whole I just cant thank Beta and all the teams and my sponsors enough for all theyve done. Weve proved again that were the best team in the paddock and these titles are for them as much as for myself."
Results - Enduro World Championship, Rnd 4
EnduroGP - Day 1
1. Brad Freeman (Beta) 56:22.12; 2. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 56:24.41; 3. Josep Garcia (KTM) 56:48.54; 4. Andrea Verona
(TM) 57:10.40; 5. Thomas Oldrati (Honda) 57:32.83...
EnduroGP - Day 2
1. Josep Garcia (KTM) 1:03:32.76; 2. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 1:04:16.50; 3. Brad Freeman (Beta) 1:04:38.28; 4. Danny
McCanney (Honda) 1:05:11.83; 5. Andrea Verona (TM) 1:05:20.57...
Championship Standings (After Rnd 4 of 4)
EnduroGP
1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 146pts; 2. Brad Freeman (Beta) 140pts; 3. Andrea Verona (TM) 100pts...
Enduro 2
1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 154pts; 2. Loic Larrieu (TM) 118pts; 3. Danny McCanney (Honda) 116pts...
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