There's no doubting
Red Bull's ability
to put on a great
event. But is it World
Championship-
worthy?
MANUFACTURERS DISCUSS WORLD ENDURO CROSSROADS
dous popularity in many national
championships.
"I honestly think we need to
come back [to] traditional en-
duro," said Sherco's Curvalle.
"The ISDE is full, the French, Ital-
ian, Spanish, Portuguese, UK,
German, Belgium, Dutch enduro
championships work! The five
French classics are always full.
We need to come back to great
and beautiful enduro like some
years ago."
On account of the ongo-
ing success of national enduro
series, Kowalski suggests the
EWC come together with these
championships in order to
boost amateur attendance. "Our
common wish is the merge the
European championship with the
World Championship," he stated.
The spirit of classic enduro,
the adherence to a consistent
FIM-sanctioned format and the
seniority of the Enduro World
Championship are values that
currently compel a number of
manufacturers to adhere to the
EWC. But the WESS Champion-
ship is illuminating other impor-
tant factors—such as amateur
participation and powerful media
returns—that even the most stal-
wart cannot disregard.
THE FUTURE
OF WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP
In a classic case of conservative
versus progressive ideas, the
push-pull of EWC versus WESS
is bound to spur change in the
landscape of world champion-
ship racing. As we near the
close of the first season of
WESS racing, there are many
factors to look at, and many
more questions to ask. Where
will the majority of manufactur-
ers invest their resources going
forward? How will each world
championship evolve in 2019?
Which one will be regarded as
the gold standard? Will that de-
cision be made by riders, fans
or manufacturers? Only time will
give us the answers. CN
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