Verona, Garcia Split Wins at
Romanian EnduroGP
F
or the first time in 11 years,
the EnduroGP series returned
to Romania for the GP of Ro-
mania, May 11-12. Two days
of racing saw Andrea Verona
(GasGas) split wins with Josep
Garcia (KTM), who managed to
take over the points lead at the
weekend's conclusion.
Four laps and 12 total tests
awaited the competitors on
day one. Nathan Watson kicked
things off with a three-second
win on test one but later bobbled
and dropped out of the runnings
for an overall podium. Verona
and Garcia split wins on lap one,
with Garcia holding a narrow ad
-
vantage going into lap two. Steve
Holcombe moved into third after
Watson's mistakes.
Verona then swept all three
specials on lap two, putting his
Factory GasGas back into the
top spot by a mere four-tenths
with six tests left on the docket.
However, a costly mistake on
lap three saw his lead slip back
into the hands of Garcia. The win
would come down to the final
three tests on lap four.
Garcia faulted on the final lap,
losing seven seconds on one test
alone. This allowed Verona to
strike as he ended the day with
an impressive win on the final
special. The Italian claimed the
overall win on day one, his first of
the year, by a total of 13.62 over
Garcia, with Holcombe a distant
58.04 back in third.
"It feels awesome to get my
first overall win of the season,"
said Verona at the end of day
one. "I rode strong all day. I'll try
again tomorrow and push hard."
"I crashed on the final extreme
test and lost the lead," said Gar
-
cia. "The pace is fast and very
close. It shows you can't make
mistakes out there."
WIND
IN THE
P66
Josep Garcia
is the new
FIM EnduroGP
points leader
after a strong
performance in
Romania.
PHOTOS:
FUTURE7MEDIA
