Over the weekend, the second round of the 2024 Italian Enduro Championship was run in Caltanissetta, Sicily.
Words and Images by Betamotor
The Fuorigiri Motoclub planned a track with an eight shape for the occasion, consisting of three special stages to be repeated four times on Saturday and three times on Sunday, for a total of 21 PS.
The race day saw, as usual, the start at the paddock, followed by the scheduled special tests: a Cross Test over a very long (4.20 km) and fast track characterised by hard and dusty ground; an Enduro special test of 6.5 km in length, mostly located inside a forest with mixed ground; and a natural and rocky Extreme Test of 4.5 km in length featuring slow and technical stages.
Excellent performances for the Beta Factory Enduro Team, which ruled on both race days with Brad Freeman and Nathan Watson.
On the opening day Brad Freeman ran a perfect round; the British rider brought out all his determination and fought the whole time with his team-mate, Nathan Watson. Brad Freeman came into the race not yet in top physical condition, but he amazed everyone by winning both the Foreigners Class and the Overall of the Day. Nathan Watson also had an excellent day’s racing, finishing just 6.30 seconds behind his team-mate, thus taking the 2nd position in both the Foreigner Class and the Overall of the Day.
Just as good were the riders performances on Sunday. Nathan Watson competed until the last special test for first position overall. The British rider remained first for almost the entire race, unfortunately a mistake in the last Enduro Test caused him to slip to second position. Nevertheless, Nathan finished the day with another excellent 2nd position Overall, which earned him the 1st position in his Class. Brad Freeman did not start as strong as on the previous day but still gave his best and took a good 3rd Overall for the Day and 2nd in his Class.
Nathan Watson and Brad Freeman now hold the 2nd and 4th positions in the Championship Standings, respectively.
Brad Freeman: “I got to Sicily not yet in the best physical condition, my injured hand still has problems and the virus I contracted in Portugal debilitated me a lot. Here in Caltanisetta it was important to run a good race, smooth and consistent, and so it was. I am happy with the results, especially with the first day.”
Nathan Watson: “The feeling with the bike is improving race by race and here in Caltanisetta I was able to realise the hard work we are doing with the whole team. Two second positions overall in the two days of racing are a good result, now full concentration for the next stages of the Assoluti and the World Championship.”
The Assoluti d’Italia di Enduro 2024 will now take a break of over a month to return on the weekend of June 1st and 2nd in Spoleto (PG) for the fifth and sixth rounds of the season.
