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Garcia, Verona Swap EnduroGP Wins K TM's Josep Garcia and Gas- Gas' Andrea Verona each took a piece of the spotlight during the two-day FIM EnduroGP round in Portugal, September 13-14. Gar- cia kicked things off with a win on Saturday, followed by Verona's victory on Sunday. Every second mattered during this hot and dry— and competitive—weekend. Garcia, Verona and Zach Pichon (TM Moto) were the three favorites going into the week - end. The title challengers battled closely all day on Saturday, with Garcia coming out on top, much of which had to do with a late- race surge. After all the seconds were tallied, Garcia came out on top by just 19 seconds over Ve - rona, and Pichon was just eight seconds behind Verona. The fourth- and fifth-placed riders weren't far behind, either, with Sherco's Hamish MacDon - ald taking fourth and Triumph's Morgan Lesiardo taking fifth. Just approximately a minute and a half separated the top five riders. "It was a good day of racing for me," Garcia said. "The times in the Cross Test and Extreme Test were very tight, but I was able to open a gap in the Enduro Test, which made the difference today." "Day one was a positive day, second overall and winning in Enduro2 [class]," Verona said. "I had a good feeling on the bike, without making too many mis - takes. I found the Enduro Test the most challenging." "I didn't have the best feeling today," Pichon said. "I think I was a bit asleep this morning. I think I lost the day there on lap one. After that I figured some things out and rode good for the final two laps." It was another close one among the same top racers on Sunday, but this time, Verona got the edge, capitalizing on small mistakes by runner-up Garcia and third-placed Pichon. The day, however, was cut short when a brush fire, which was quickly knocked down, erupted next to one of the tests. The incident caused a lengthy delay, which WIND IN THE P54 Andrea Verona finished out the weekend in Portugal with the day's EnduroGP win, but Saturday's winner, Josep Garcia, still leads the overall championship. PHOTOS: FUTURE7MEDIA