Steve Holcombe: EnduroGP's Next Big Thing
By Team TMX on 27th Apr 16
Enduro World Championship Steve Holcombe
After an impressive start in Morocco and then clinching his first EnduroGP victory in Portugal 21-year-old Brit Steve Holcombe already holds a 13-point lead in the Enduro 3 championship standings. Life is pretty sweet at the moment for the Beast of Exmoor...
Q: Steve it's just your second complete season in Enduro. Did you expect to be this competitive so early in the season?
Steve Holcombe: "No, I certainly didn't. My plan for this year was to finish on the end-of-year podium in E3 and to get one or two day wins. Beta gave me a great opportunity this year to be a part of an awesome team and to learn from two experienced and highly professional riders.
To have three day wins and to be leading the E3 class after the first two rounds is beyond my expectations. It's been an amazing start to my first season as a full-time rider.”
Q: Have you reassessed your goals and looking now for the EnduroGP title?
SH: "No. I'm not going to get too carried away with things. I've made a great start, but my main focus is fighting for the E3 title.
It's very easy to get mixed up in the GP results during the day and lose focus on what's really important – for me that's the E3 title. Sure, I would love to win the EnduroGP title – I'm sure all riders would – but it's a long season and the guys I'm fighting against in EnduroGP have a lot more experience than I do.”
Q: Were there any other contract offers on the table before you signed with Beta?
SH: "I was fortunate to receive interest from a number of teams but obviously I decided to stay with Beta. Being a part of the Boano Beta team last year was fantastic. I got on really well with everyone in the team and they supported me with all they could. I owe Jarno and the team so much.
But it's been awesome to move onto the Beta factory team. I'm excited to be working with such an awesome bike and an incredible team of people.”
Q: You have two World Champions as new team-mates, Do they give you advice?
SH: "I have trained with both Johnny (Aubert) and Alex (Salvini) and am currently living at Alex's house in Italy. It's great to see how these two world champions train and go about their racing. I have learned a great deal from them both, and am still learning from them. I'm very grateful to them both for letting me train with them. It's fun to be at the races with them both.”
Q: Why did you choose the Beta RR 300cc two-stroke to ride this year?
SH: "At this stage of my career it's the perfect bike. The bike is incredibly easy to ride and the perfect tool for the job. Moving into the senior classes for 2016 was my big change. I wanted to be racing a bike that I knew and enjoyed.”
Q: Looking back to last season, do you have any regrets not contesting the opener in Chile? You could be the current Junior Champion.
SH: "It would have been great to ride in Chile. But I prefer to look at the positives from 2015, and not wonder ‘what if'. It was a long way to travel and would've cost me a lot of money. I was still working more or less full-time then so I made my decision. That can't be changed now.
With how the year panned out it would have been a great to fight for the championship with Jamie and Giacomo, but I'm more than happy with finishing third. That's what's catapulted me into 2016.”
Q: It was so wet in Portugal that Matt Phillips the morning before day two predicted you'd win EnduroGP. How comfortable do you feel racing in muddy conditions?
SH: "Wow. It's great to know that Matt said something like that. I have huge amount of respect for him, he's an awesome guy. Yes, I enjoy riding in muddy conditions because coming from the UK you have to get on and learn to ride mud.
You'd soon become miserable if you didn't! More often than not when we race and ride in the UK it's wet, but not always super muddy. I feel comfortable in any conditions really as I have a great set-up and feeling with my Beta, which gives me great confidence. I'm less experienced on hard-pack and rocky terrain because it's difficult to find any enduro courses with that terrain in the UK.”
Q: Lastly, what areas do you think you can improve on?
SH: "There are lots of areas where I think I'm able to improve. That's why I'm a little surprised but excited to be in the position I'm in now. 2016 is a learning year for me. Experience only comes with time, so I just need to keep competing to improve that.”
