Beta factory rider Steve Holcombe has moved 16 points clear at the top of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship standings following a hugely successful GP of Italy, held in Edolo, northern Italy. Revelling in the wet and challenging conditions Steve topped the opening day of competition by a sizeable one-minute and 27 seconds before going on to secure a 32 second margin of victory on day two. In doing so he moved ahead of championship rival Alex Salvini in the EnduroGP standings with two rounds remaining.
Going all out at the start of day one Steve won all three special tests on the opening lap to open up an important lead. Excelling on the long, one-lined enduro test, in winning nine of the day’s special tests he secured a commanding overall victory. Despite a few mistakes early on day two Steve soon found his rhythm, going on to take his third overall day win of the championship.
Steve Holcombe: “I always knew that this Italian GP would be a really important one for me and my World
Championship campaign, but I never imagined things would go as well as they did. Not just because of my winning result, but it’s been a great event – a true Italian enduro. It’s never great when one of your rivals has technical issues like Alex (Salvini) did, but that’s racing unfortunately. The wet weather was good for me in a way, I guess, but I was really up for this race. I’ve been working hard during the summer to be ready for the final races of the season and everything went really well here. I pushed hard from the start of day one, and that really paid off. I felt comfortable throughout the day and managed to open up a good lead, which I held till the end of the day. I always knew it would be harder to open up such a gap on the second day. I made a few mistakes on the first lap but felt strong so I pushed hard for two laps and managed to get the job done. It’s great to be leading the championship, now it’s all about continuing to work hard and staying focused on the upcoming races.” (source: future7media)
STORY: Holcombe Extends Enduro GP Championship Lead With Round 7 Win
photos (c) Future7Media