KTM’s Christophe Nambotin and Beta’s Steve Holcombe emerged as the big winners during the penultimate round of the 2016 Enduro World Championship, the Acerbis EnduroGP of Italy in Fabriano, Italy, July 16-17.
Nambotin struck first, scoring the Enduro GP during Day 1 on Saturday while Holcombe came through to score the EnduroGP win during Day 2 on Sunday. The event also marked the crowning of the first two 2016 FIM Enduro World Champions as Giacomo Redondi clinched the Enduro Junior title and Jack Edmondson locked up the Enduro Youth title.
Day 1
Heavy rain on Friday meant that the conditions on Day 1 started out slippery, but sunshine throughout the day dried the course, allowing the riders to be aggressive rather than focus on surviving.
Nambotin, who has struggled through injury and poor racing luck throughout the 2016 FIM World Enduro campaign, finally had a trouble-free day in Fabriano, and he made the most of it, scoring three wins out of the last five special tests and edging EnduroGP points leader Matthew Phillips by just under 5 seconds in the overall timing. It was an important win for the Frenchman, who is expected to be sidelined for the rest of the year after undergoing a scheduled knee surgery. Nambotin plans to be back in 2017, healthy and ready to ride.
“It feels great to ride like I know I can,” Nambotin said. “It’s been a tough year for me, and I will have a knee surgery very soon, so to show that I can still win is very important. I liked the conditions and felt good. Things started well with the win on the Super Test, which doesn’t happen too often. I made a few small mistakes but it was a good day. It’s good to win again.”
Although Phillips missed out on the EnduroGP win, his runner-up finish allowed him to add even more of point advantage in his bid to land the inaugural EnduroGP world title. Holcombe, the closest threat to Phillips in the EnduroGP standings, finished third after failing to match the pace of Nambotin and Phillips.
Finland’s Eero Remes once again showed the way in Enduro 1 aboard his factory TM, finishing more than a minute and a half ahead of Italians Oscar Balletti and Alessandro Battig, both Honda-mounted. Meanwhile, KTM’s Nathan Watson suffered through a bad day but was still able to muster fifth place despite posting poor times in the enduro and motocross tests.
Of course, the winner of the EnduroGP classification is always the winner of his respective class as well, and in Enduro 2 that was Nambotin, who finished ahead of ahead of Phillips and factory Husqvarna rider Mathias Bellino. Yamaha’s Loic Larrieur of France finished fourth, and American rider Taylor Robert finished fifth aboard his Red Bull KTM.
Holcombe secured his ninth Enduro 3 class win of the year after finishing ahead of previous round winner Manuel Monni by 30 seconds. Holcombe was the fastest rider through four of the day’s special tests, extending his class points lead. Holcombe’s Beta teammate, Johnny Aubrt finished third, ahead of Husqvarna-mounted Thomas Oldrati and Jeremy Joly of France.
The RedMoto Honda team had plenty to celebrate on Day1 as Redondi smoked the field in Enduro Junior en route to clinching a class title that he has been gunning for but missed the mark during the past few seasons. Davide Soreca and Josep Garcia finished second and third respectively.
“To finally win the Enduro Junior title after finishing as runner-up on so many occasions, it just feels great,” Redondi said. “The team have been great, to be able to win here in front of my fans and at my home race is amazing.”
Likewise, Edmondson also clinched the Enduro Youth title after winning the class on Day 1. Edmondson finished more than a minute ahead of Valerian Debaud and Lee Sealey.
Day 2
Holcombe topped Remes and Yamaha factory rider Loic Larrieu of France in the EnduroGP standings on Day 2 while series leader Phillips saw his day go in the dumper when his bike suffered mechanical issues. Holcombe scored the fastest time in the opening Enduro test and was consistent enough throughout the rest of the day to score the win by 20 seconds.
“All GPs are important but to be able to give my [factory Beta] team a winning result at their home round of the series is great,” Holcombe said. “I was pleased with my day one result, but knew I could ride better. As much as I liked the slippery conditions I also enjoyed the drier conditions, and had a really good day. The enduro test was great, and I just kept pushing as hard as I could. It was fun battling with Remes, but I managed to get the win.”
Remes cruised to the Enduro 1 class win, finishing 33 seconds ahead of a rejuvenated Watson. Factory Husqvarna rider Danny McCanney also rebounded from a disappointing Day 1 to finish third, another 31 seconds adrift of Watson.
Phillips’ DNF helped to pave the way for Larrieu to land the Enduro 2 class win, and it was a close one, the Frenchman carding a time that was just barely more than 1.5 seconds than Bellino’s time. Beta’s Alex Salvini finished third, 15.1 seconds behind Larrieu.
Holcombe owned the Enduro 3 class win and now sits 17 points ahead of Aubert in the class standings. Monni slipped from second to third on Day 2.
Adding icing to the cake that was his 2016 FIM Enduro Junior World Championship, Redondi won again on Day 2, finishing just under a minute and a half ahead of Garcia, who swapped Day 1 finishes with Soreca. With no pressure on him, Edmondson also rolled to another Enduro Youth win, finishing about 45 seconds ahead of Lee Sealey with Andrea Verona third.
The remaining FIM Enduro World Championship titles will now wait to be decided as the series takes a long break before returning for the series finale, the GP AMV France in Cahors, France, September 10-11.
2016 FIM Enduro World Championship
Acerbis EnduroGP of Italy
Fabriano, Italy
Results: July 16-17, 2016 (Round 7 of 8)
Day 1
EnduroGP
1. Christophe Nambotin-KTM/55:36.66
2. Matthew Phillips-Sherco/55:41.26
3. Steve Holcombe-Bet/56:10.84
4. Mathias Bellino-Hus/56:10.96
5. Eero Remes-TM/56:18.76
Enduro 1
1. Eero Remes-TM/56:18.76
2. Oscar Baletti-Hon/57:56.41
3. Alessandro Battig-Hon/58:38.83
4. Mikael Persson-Yam/58:54.02
5. Nathan Watson-KTM/58:56.41
Enduro 2
1. Christophe Nambotin-KTM/55:36.66
2. Matthew Phillips-She/55:41.26
3. Mathias Bellino-Hus/56:10.96
4. Loic Larrieu-Yam/56:58.20
5. Taylor Robert-KTM/56:59.22
Enduro 3
1. Steve Holcombe-Bet/56:10.84
2. Manuel Monni-TM/56:40.54
3. Johnny Aubert-57:33.14
4. Thomas Oldrati-Hus/57:47.66
5. Jeremy Joly-KTM/58:01.12
Enduro Junior
1. Giacomo Redondi-Hon/56:37.47
2. Davide Soreca-Hon/57:51.53
3. Josep Garcia-Hus/57:57.27
4. Matteo Cavallo-Bet/58:31.66
5. Albin Elowson-Hus/58:47.34
Day 2
EnduroGP
1. Steve Holcombe-Bet/1:05:23.69
2. Eero Remes-TM/1:05:44.12
3. Loic Larrieu-Yam/1:06:00.10
4. Mathias Bellino-Hus/1:06:01.59
5. Alex Salvini-Bet/1:06:15.28
Enduro 1
1. Eero Remes-TM/1:05:44.12
2. Nathan Watson-KTM/1:06:17.38
3. Daniel McCanney-Hus/1:06:48.92
4. Pascal Rauchenecker-Hus/1:07:49.00
5. Alessandro Battig-Hon/1:08:00.22
Enduro 2
1. Loic Larrieu-Yam/1:06:00.10
2. Mathias Bellino-Hus/1:06:01.59
3. Alex Salvini-Bet/1:06:15.28
4. Christophe Nambotin-KTM/1:06:34.87
5. Taylor Robert-KTM/1:06:52.28
Enduro 3
1. Steve Holcombe-Bet/1:05:23.69
2. Johnny Aubert-Bet/1:06:16.21
3. Manuel Monni-TM/1:06:21.20
4. Jaume Betriu-KTM/1:06:44.44
5. Romain Dumontier-Yam/1:07:49.25
Enduro Junior
1. Giacomo Redondi-Hon/1:06:22.24
2. Josep Garcia-Hus/1:07:46.72
3. Davide Soreca-Hon/1:08:09.66
4. Albin Elowson-Hus/1:08:16.23
5. Matteo Cavallo-Bet/1:09:25.81
2016 FIM Enduro World Championship Series Points Standings (after 7 of 8 rounds)
EnduroGP
1. Matthew Phillips-198
2. Steve Holcombe-183
3. Eero Remes-181
4. Mathias Bellino-172
5. Nathan Watson-151
Enduro 1
1. Eero Remes-252
2. Nathan Watson-235
3. Daniel McCanney-166
4. Ivan Cervantes-140
5. Pascal Rauchenecker-130
Enduro 2
1. Matthew Phillips-234
2. Mathias Bellino-216
3. Loic Larrieu-198
4. Taylor Robert-188
5. Alex Salvini-176
Enduro 3
1. Steve Holcombe-244
2. Johnny Aubert-227
3. Manuel Monni-195
4. Antoine Basset-191
5. Jaume Betriu-152
Enduro Junior
1. Giacomo Redondi-280
2. Albin Elowson-194
3. Josep Garcia-155
4. Henric Stigell-147
5. Diogo Venura-144
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