Freeman returns from injury to win in EnduroGP

For Beta Factory Team’s Brad Freeman, day two at the GP of Italy proved one of reckoning. Having missed the entire 2025 season due to a serious knee injury, the 10-time world champion showed that he is back, fighting fit, healthy, and as hungry as ever to win, ending his day standing on the top step of the podium.

An incredible day of racing in the EnduroGP category showed just how competitive this 2026 season is. With no less than 14 world champions among 34 riders in the category fighting it out for victory, the top 10 were split by 44 seconds after nearly one hour of timed special test racing.

On the opening POLISPORT Extreme Test, Sherco Racing Factory’s Steve Holcombe was clearly fired up from his runner-up result on day one and led the way over Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo and TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Zach Pichon. Day one winner, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia was fourth, with NSA Racing’s Albin Norrbin just one second behind Holcombe in fifth.

After the EXPOTRADE Cross Test to mark the end of lap one, Holcombe continued to lead, holding a 5.84 second advantage over Freeman in second, with Lesiardo, Garcia and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona all within two seconds of Freeman. 

With little to separate riders on the POLISPORT Extreme Test and EXPOTRADE Cross Test, it was in the GMOTO Enduro Test where riders pushed to gain time. And it would be the penultimate GMOTO Enduro Test where the results would turn once more. A crash by Holcombe knocked him out of the lead, as Freeman set the fastest time by five seconds over his teammate Nathan Watson to put him at the top of the leaderboard, 10 seconds clear of Watson.

With two tests left to run, Freeman used his years of experience to manage his lead, holding on for an eventual 4.92 second win over Verona in second. With Garcia fastest in the final two tests, he moved from sixth to third.

Another impressive ride by Sherco Racing Factory’s Antoine Magain saw him finish two seconds behind Garcia in fourth, but 0.33 seconds ahead of his teammate Holcombe, who took fifth. In total, the top five were split by 12 seconds. Lesiardo ended his day in sixth, while a 30-second time penalty saw Watson lose out on a potential top-three result to finish seventh.

Garcia fastest in Enduro1

The Enduro1 class saw Garcia claim his second victory of the weekend, but only just. Trailing Magain by 0.4 seconds entering the final test, Garcia put in a big effort to win the test and with it, snatched victory from the Belgian. Behind the top two, Lesiardo completed the top three.

In the Enduro2 class, Verona took the win. A day-long battle with Watson saw the Italian bettering his Beta rival on the final two tests to take the top step of the podium. Two seconds behind Watson, Pichon was third.

Adding to the celebrations on day two, Freeman also won the Enduro3 category. Holcombe followed him home for second, with Espinasse rounding out the top three.

Martel secures second Expotrade Women’s Enduro win

For the second day running, the Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship belonged to Ambiance Moto’s Justine Martel (Beta). From having never won a race prior to yesterday, she ends the GP of Italy in Sicily with two wins to her name and holds an early lead in the points chase. 

A strong start to her morning saw Martel take control of the race lead from RIEJU Factory Team’s Rachel Gutish at the end of the opening EXPOTRADE Cross Test. Putting in a run of consistent times across all three special tests, she battled hard with Gutish. But similar to yesterday, Gutish picked up a time penalty with two special tests to go, putting Martel comfortably out front. Maintaining her advantage, Martel took a well-earned victory.

Behind her, France’s Marine Lemoine (KTM) came on strong in the latter half of the day, along with winning the second GMOTO Enduro Test, to finish between Martel and Gutish as the runner-up. For Gutish, hopes of victory were dashed thanks to that 30 second penalty late in the day. Fastest in the final two special tests, she recovered to third overall.

Mauricette Brisebard (Beta) finished just nine seconds behind Gutish in fourth, with Italy’s Sara Traini (Triumph) completing the top five. Traini also won the Expotrade Junior Women’s Enduro class for the second time in Sicily.

Elgari edges out Dagna for Tsubaki Junior Enduro victory

In the Tsubaki Junior Enduro class, day two resulted in TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Alberto Elgari and Team KTM Pro Sport Racing’s Romain Dagna once again finishing first and second. A titanic battle between the two saw Elgari hold off Dagna by just four seconds to take the win, with Triumph Factory Racing’s Leo Joyon in third.

Exiting the second GMOTO Enduro Test, Elgari led Dagna by just 0.43 seconds and was able to extend that to 3.5 seconds as they cleared the second EXPOTRADE Cross Test. A win by Dagna on the penultimate POLISPORT Extreme Test saw that advantage slightly reduced, before Elgari responded strongly to win the penultimate GMOTO Enduro Test by six seconds and stretch his lead back out to almost nine seconds with two tests remaining. Not to be outdone, Dagna went on to win those final two special tests, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Outside of the top three of Elgari, Dagna and Joyon, Fantic Factory Racing’s Thibault Giraudon beat Clement Clauzier (Beta) by just 0.09 seconds to take fourth. 

Putoline Youth Enduro victory for Pasquato

From runner-up on day one, Fantic Factory Racing’s Riccardo Pasquato went one place better on day two to win the Putoline Youth Enduro category in Custonaci. An incredibly close start to the day saw day one winner TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Pietro Scardina lead Team KTM Pro Sport Racing’s Simone Cagnoni by 1.60 seconds at the end of lap one, with Pasquato only three seconds behind in third. 

At the end of lap two, Scardina continued to lead, with Pasquato now up to second as Cagnoni slipped back to fourth, behind Fantic Factory Racing’s Valentin Mersin. But on the penultimate POLISPORT Extreme Test, Pasquato had fought his way into the lead. Topping the final two GMOTO Enduro Tests, the young Italian held on to take a 21-second margin of victory over Cagnoni in second.

Mersin also pushed ahead of Scardina to take third, relegating the TM MOTO rider back to fourth. WP Eric Ague’s Yago Dominguez completed the top five.

The Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship continues with round two at the GP of Spain in Oliana, on 1-3 May.

Brad Freeman (Beta): “Mentally it was tough today to manage things, but I kept pushing. Taking the win and seeing my daughter’s face at the end made it worth it. Coming back to racing with a win is great, I feel like it’s going to be a good year.”

Justine Martel (Beta): “To win both days is a great weekend for me. Over the winter I worked hard to improve, and with a new bike and new team, it’s going in the right direction this season.”

Alberto Elgari (TM MOTO): “It’s been a super solid day for me winning again and going 1-1 in Italy. We put a lot of work in during the winter and it’s incredible to see it pay off.”

Riccardo Pasquato (Fantic): “Today, I rode well without mistakes. I tried to learn from those yesterday and it helped a lot. My speed is good, so I’m really happy with this win.”
 

For complete GP of Italy results: https://www.endurogp.com/2026-results/

2026 Information
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2026 Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship
Round 1: GP of Italy – Custonaci, Sicily – 10-12 April
Round 2: GP of Spain – Oliana – 1-3 May
Round 3: GP of Finland – Vierumäki, Salpausselkä – 22-24 May
Round 4: GP of Portugal – Fafe – 12-14 June
Round 5: GP of Portugal II – Fafe – 19-21 June
Round 6: GP of France – Saint-Agrève – 17-19 July
Round 7: GP of Wales – Rhayader – 7-9 August

2026 Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship
Round 1: GP of Italy – Custonaci, Sicily – 10-12 April
Round 2: GP of Spain – Oliana – 1-3 May
Round 3: GP of Portugal – Fafe – 12-14 June
Round 4: GP of Portugal II – Fafe – 19-21 June
Round 5: GP of Wales – Rhayader – 7-9 August