VOL. 53 ISSUE 23 JUNE 14, 2016 P37
REMES, PHILLIPS SPLIT WINS IN FINLAND
T
he FIM Enduro
World Champion-
ship headed north to
Finland for the fourth
stop of the 2016
circuit, where Eero
Remes took advan-
tage of racing on his
home soil to take
the opening day win.
Remes briefly moved
into the champion-
ship lead on account
of his win, but
Sherco's Matt Phillips
answered back on day two with a
win of his own, tying up the Endu-
roGP points chase with Remes.
Remes was fast and consis-
tent on day one, and rode to a
24-second victory over factory
Beta's Steve Halcombe, who
was less than eight seconds
clear of KTM's Nathan Watson in
third. Halcombe had a consistent
day and claimed the E3 class win
while Remes bested Watson in
the E1 category. Top E2 rider of
the day was Matt Phillips, who
finished fourth in the combined
EnduroGP category.
"I just wasn't quite fast enough
in a few tests to fight for the over-
all win, but in Enduro 2 things
were good," Phillips said. "All-in-
all it was a pretty decent day."
American rider Taylor Robert
was fifth in E2 (eighth Endu-
roGP) for the day.
On day two of the GP of
Finland, Phillips fought back
with a nine-second advantage
over Remes for the overall win.
Watson also joined in to make it
a three-way battle for the Endu-
roGP win, but had to settle for
third behind Remes. Holcombe
struggled with a bike issue that
dropped him out of a points-
scoring position, and though
he still retains his third-place
standing in the championship, it
is now a distant third.
Phillips' win vaulted him back
into the EnduroGP points lead,
although tied with Remes at 125
points, each rider with three
wins apiece.
Taylor Robert notched an-
other fifth-place finish in the
E2 category, this time seventh
overall. The factory KTM rider is
seeking improved results as they
head into the second half of the
season, and admits to having a
difficult time in Finland.
"It's been a really frustrating
GP for me," Robert said. "It was
the same for everyone but as
my first time racing in Finland it
was a real eye-opener for me. It
was so hard to go fast
on any of the tests.
Day one was tough; I
struggled to get to grips with the
terrain. Day two was better but
nowhere near where I wanted to
be. I felt good going into the final
cross test but got some plastic
track tape caught in my rear
wheel and crashed. Not what I
hoped for but I'm just glad to be
in one piece."
Racers head straight into the GP
of Sweden next weekend for the
next stop of the championship. CN
ENDUROGP DAY 1:
1. Eero Remes (TM)
2. Steve Holcombe (Bet)
3. Nathan Watson (KTM)
4. Matt Phillips (Shr)
5. Mathias Bellino (Hus)
ENDUROGP DAY 2:
1. Matt Phillips (Shr)
2. Eero Remes (TM)
3. Nathan Watson (KTM)
4. Mathias Bellino (Hus)
5. Alex Salvini (Bet)
(Left) Sherco rider Matt
Phillips started out with
a fourth-place finish
in Finland, but his win
on day two puts him
back in the EnduroGP
championship lead (tied
with Eero Remes).
(Right) American rider
Taylor Robert is currently
sixth in the EnduroGP
standings but looks to
improve in the second
half of the 2016 season.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
FUTURE
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