Day 1 – Garcia controls the dust
Dry, slippery tests defined Saturday’s opening action. Red Bull KTM’s Josep Garcia was unstoppable, topping six of nine special tests to claim his sixth overall win of the season by 18 seconds. GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona kept the pressure high for second, with TM Boano’s Zach Pichon completing the podium.
Fantic’s Kevin Cristino triumphed in Juniors after a tense fight with Thibault Giraudon and Leo Joyon. In Women’s Enduro, Rachael Gutish capitalised on Francesca Nocera’s retirement to take a commanding win over Rosie Rowett and Nieve Holmes.
Youth 125 saw drama: TM Boano’s Alberto Elgari initially won but was disqualified for a bike swap, giving victory to Romain Dagna. Brazil’s Patrik Capila set the pace in the Open World Cup.
Day 2 – Verona seizes the moment
Sunday brought intense battles before an unexpected twist. Andrea Verona mastered lap two to grab the scratch lead from Garcia, just before a small forest fire near the course forced organisers to end the day after six tests.
With the result frozen at lap two, Verona earned his first overall win since round one, ending Garcia’s streak of four victories. Pichon secured another solid third.
Hamish Macdonald claimed fourth and extended his unbeaten run in E3, while Miki Persson survived a heavy crash to secure fifth thanks to FIM’s 75% race distance rule.
In Juniors, Cristino stretched his winning run to four consecutive days, comfortably beating Joyon and Giraudon. Enduro Women saw a comeback from Francesca Nocera, who dominated ahead of Gutish and Marie Holt.
Elgari redeemed himself in Youth 125, taking a decisive win over Dagna. Capila kept Brazil on top in the Open World Cup.
