Garcia Crowned in France
R
ed Bull KTM Factory Rac-
ing's Josep Garcia clinched
the 2026 FIM EnduroGP World
Championship in France, July
17-19, with one round still on
the schedule. It's the Spaniard's
ninth career FIM Enduro World
Championship.
The weekend, however, started
with Frenchman Zach Pichon,
of the TM Moto Boano Factory
Enduro Team, winning Friday's
Super Test and Saturday's GP. It
was the first EnduroGP victory
for Pichon on home soil. Pichon
won eight of the day's special
tests. Heading into lap two with
an 11-second advantage over
Sherco Racing Factory's Steve
Holcombe in second, with Garcia
1.46 seconds further back in
third, Pichon continued to build
on that lead with another clean
sweep of special test wins on lap
two. With two more fastest times
on lap three, before ending the
final Extreme Test with the third
quickest time, the victory was his.
Garcia took advantage of a
late mistake by Holcombe to
take second. Another mistake
by Holcombe allowed Garcia's
teammate Andrea Verona to
pass, making the day's final
finishing order: Pichon, Garcia,
Verona and Holcombe. French
-
man Julien Roussaly rounded
out the day's top five.
Pichon and Garcia battled all
day Sunday. Pichon was the ear-
ly leader until making a mistake,
allowing Garcia to take over.
During the third and final lap, Pi
-
chon mounted a comeback and
closed the gap on the KTM rider,
Garcia, to just 1.31 seconds.
However, Garcia, with the 2026
EnduroGP title within his grasp,
managed to keep Pichon at bay
to take the day's overall win and
the championship.
Holcombe finished out the day
a distant third, followed by Beta
Factory Team rider Brad Freeman
and Sherco's Hamish MacDonald.
Garcia also clinched the En
-
duro1-class championship with
his 12th class win of the season.
Pichon topped the Enduro2 class
both days, and Holcombe won
the Enduro3 class both days.
With one round to go in Wales,
Garcia has an uncatchable 226
points in the EnduroGP (overall)
division, followed by Verona
with 180 and Pichon with 175.
WIND
IN THE
P36
Josep Garcia and the KTM
crew celebrate Garcia clinching
the 2026 FIM EnduroGP World
Championship in France.
PHOTOS: FUTURE7MEDIA.
