The second round of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship of the current 2023 season was held in Lalin, a small town a few kilometres from Santiago de Compostela.
Report and Images courtesy of BetaMotor
The Motoclub Movete na Moto for the occasion designed a course with three special stages to be repeated three times a day, very technical and treacherous, which put all the top riders to the test. The Spanish race, inaugurated as usual on the evening of Friday 5th May with the Super Test, in the presence of a large and festive crowd, was characterised by a natural Extreme Test located in the centre of Lalin, 1 km long and with a mixed ground of earth and sand made particularly difficult by the presence of numerous slippery rocks. This was followed by a very fast Cross Test with mixed terrain of grass, earth and sand, and a 7 km Enduro Test inside a forest, with very soft terrain, made impervious by the presence of numerous roots along the way.
Over the weekend at Lalin the two Beta Factory Enduro Team riders dominated both days of competition, excelling in the Enduro GP and winning both Day 1 and Day 2 in their respective Class.
On Saturday, Brad Freeman rode an incredible race in the Enduro GP Class. The British rider finished the first lap in the heavy rain just behind the provisional leader, but it was in the second half of the day’s racing that he showed his strength, posting five fastest Overall times in the last six remaining special stages. A real domination for the official Beta rider who, besides winning the Enduro GP Class, also dominated and won the first day of competition in the E3 Class.
Also on Sunday Brad Freeman dominated the Enduro GP Class, recording eight best Overall times in the nine special stages on the programme, winning and over eleven seconds ahead of the second classified. With the victories in Class E3 and Enduro GP, Brad Freeman leads with full points in both Classes.
Steve Holcombe also performed excellently at Lalin. The British rider finished in third position on both race days in the Enduro GP Class, moving into provisional second position in the Overall Classification. Steve Holcombe also won both days of competition in the E2 Class, fending off his rival’s attacks with great technique and determination and distancing him by several seconds at the end of both race days. With his double success, the British rider now leads the E2 Class with equal points.
The performances of the following riders (OXMOTO) were also noteworthy: Theo Espinasse, second in Class in E1 and eighth Overall EnduroGp on Sunday, Luc Fargier, sixth in Class E3 and Leo Joyon, third in the Youth Class, riding a Beta RR 125 2T.
Filed the Spanish GP, after a short two-week stop, the EnduroGP will be back on stage on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th May, for the third round of the Enduro World Championship on Finnish soil, in Heinola.
Brad Freeman: “I am happy to come home again with the Gold Plate as the leader of the Enduro GP Class. The race in Lalin was not easy, but we got the maximum, double win in the Enduro GP and double win in the E3 class. Now we have a very challenging Scandinavian double GP ahead of us.”
Steve Holcombe: “A very good weekend here in Spain, the feeling with the bike is perfect but we still have to work to improve some details. Now we have a double GP in Finland and Sweden which will be very demanding and we have to arrive prepared and focused.”
