Holcombe, Verona Share EnduroGP Wins
S
teve Holcombe and Andrea Ve-
rona split wins at the EnduroGP
of Slovakia, July 1-2. Beta Factory
Racing's Holcombe topped day
one and GasGas Factory Racing's
Verona took day two.
Unfortunately, the weekend's
racing was marred by the pass
-
ing of Slovakian racer Jaroslav
Diro during Friday's Super Test.
Despite the best efforts of the on-
site medical team, Diro, who was
competing in the Enduro Open
Four-Stroke class, succumbed to
injuries sustained in a fall.
Saturday
Holcombe and Verona battled
back and forth all day. It wasn't
until the final tests that Hol
-
combe was able to pull away
from Verona, taking the day's
victory by 27 seconds.
Sherco's Wil Ruprecht finished
out the day in third place. Theo
Espinasse (Beta) was fourth and
Hamish MacDonald (Sherco)
was fifth.
Championship leader Brad
Freeman (Beta) had a short day
after crashing out during the
second test.
"Our enduro world was rocked
yesterday with the sad passing
of Jaroslav Diro in yesterday's
Super test," said Holcombe.
"My thoughts are with his fam
-
ily today, and naturally I want to
dedicate this victory to him. As
ever Slovakia always puts on a
great race and I really enjoyed
the tests today. They got chewed
out towards the end of the day.
I was able to keep pushing hard
and come out on top."
Verona said, "It feels great to
be back on the EnduroGP podium
after what's been a difficult cou
-
ple of rounds. I fought a lot with
Steve today, and I feel like I can
build on that tomorrow. I would
like to send my thoughts to the
family and friends of Jaroslav
Diro after yesterday's events."
Ruprecht had mixed emotions
at the end of the day. "It was
devastating to learn the pass
-
ing of Jaroslav Diro and he was
in my thoughts all day," he said.
"He was one of us and I send my
condolences to his family. De
-
spite the difficult circumstances,
it is nice to be back inside the
EnduroGP top three after a tough
WIND
IN THE
P34
Steve Holcombe topped
day one at the EnduroGP
of Slovakia and is also the
new championship leader.
PHOTOS: FUTURE7MEDA
