IN
THE
WIND
P54
HOLCOMBE TAKES CONTROL AT ITALY
ENDUROGP
T
he Acerbis Grand Prix of
Italy showered riders with
some steep challenges, includ-
ing a deluge of rain on Sunday.
Beta rider Steve Holcombe was
able to take a big step forward
in the EnduroGP championship
when his main competitor Alex
Salvini (Husqvarna) dropped out
of Saturday's competition due to
bad fuel.
Salvini attempted to redeem
himself on Sunday, but the wet
conditions seemed to favor
Holcombe once again. The Brit
stormed to another big win while
Salvini rode to a third-place finish.
For Holcombe, it marked his
first double-victory of the sea-
son. He was followed on the
EnduroGP podium by fellow
Beta-riding Brit Brad Freeman,
who finished second on both
Saturday and Sunday. Salvini
rounded out Sunday's podium
followed by Honda's Thomas
Oldrati and GasGas rider Chris-
tophe Nambotin.
"Finally I took a double win!"
Halcombe exclaimed. "After
experiencing a lot of difficulties
early in the season, I decided
not to take a vacation this sum-
mer and instead prepare for the
last three rounds. So I'm happy
to see my work pay off and leave
to Edolo with the EnduroGP
leader's plate. Now I want to
continue in this way to be even
closer in three weeks' time in
France!"
"After the inexplicable fuel
problem yesterday, I was keen to
catch up today," said Salvini. "I
quickly realized that I could not
get to Steve, but I'm still happy
with this podium in EnduroGP,
and I limited the damage. No-
body is immune to a mechanical
problem and there are still four
days (two rounds) left to race,
so I remain confident in my title
chances in EnduroGP."
The fight is on to the end,
with the penultimate round in
Methamis, France on September
22-23, and the final round on
Woltersdorf, Germany, October
13-14. CN
EnduroGP Saturday:
1. Steve Holcombe (Bet)
2. Brad Freeman (Bet)
3. Eero Remes (TM)
4. Jamie McCanney (Yam)
5. Loic Larrieu (Yam)
EnduroGP Sunday:
1. Steve Holcombe (Bet)
2. Brad Freeman (Bet)
3. Alex Salvini (Hus)
4. Thomas Oldrati (Hon)
5. Christophe Nambotin (GG)
Steve Holcombe made a strong
comeback after the summer break,
taking his first double-victory of
the season and regaining the
championship lead.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
DARIO
AGRATI/FIM
