Kicking off the action at round five of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship, the AKRAPOVIC Super Test saw Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman take the win for the first time this season.
The POLISPORT GP of Slovakia is already proving to be action-packed, with Freeman topping the timesheets at the closely fought AKRAPOVIC Super Test in Gelnica and starting his weekend off on a high. Beta Factory Racing teammate Nathan Watson and CH Racing Sherco’s Zach Pichon went head-to-head in front of the packed crowd to cross the finish line with the exact same time, just 0.26 seconds short of Freeman.
As the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship visits Slovakia for the third year in a row, the Friday evening AKRAPOVIC Super Test provided no shortage of entertainment for the stands full of eager fans.
The grass course, littered with manmade bridges, jumps and rock gardens, quickly developed a clear racing line as the classes went through, with the EnduroGP class taking to the track last.
In what will certainly be a memorable moment this season, Enduro3 class leader Beta Factory Racing’s Brad Freeman put down a time that no one could beat and denied the joint fastest-time holders of a historic win.
Stunning the entire crowd in Gelnica, Beta teammate Nathan Watson took on the AKRAPOVIC Super Test against CH Racing Sherco’s Zach Pichon with the pair clocking the exact same time down to the millisecond to finish as joint runners-up.
The last two riders to take to the start were GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia. Favourites to contest the top spot, the pair both made a few small mistakes to finish fourth and fifth respectively.
In the GALFER FIM Junior Enduro World Championship, it was Czech youngster KBS Team’s Matej Skuta who clocked in fastest for the first time in 2024. Less than half a second behind was Fantic Racing Team’s Kevin Cristino, followed by Team Beta Oxmoto’s Leo Joyon in third.
Clearly suiting the AKRAPOVIC Super Test setup, Romain Dagna (Sherco) set the fastest time in the Enduro Youth class for the second time this season. JET Zanardo Husqvarna’s Luca Coloria was hot on Dagna’s heels, just 0.18 seconds behind the Frenchman. Alex Puey completed the top three after an impressive lap.
Brad Freeman (Beta): “That was really good! It was only a small margin of victory but I’m really happy. It’s been a while! It’s going to be a hard weekend so I’m glad to get it started with a victory and a great feeling on the bike.”
