Garcia and Verona share EnduroGP of Portugal wins

2025 FIM EnduroGP World Championship
Round Five – Portugal, Vila de Rei

Images by Future7Media

Round five of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship in Vila de Rei, Portugal, kicked off with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia claiming the day one victory.

Josep Garcia

Extremely dry and dusty conditions were the order of the day, and as the special tests became rougher with each passing rider, it was a demanding challenge for all on the Portuguese terrain.

In the individual classes, a fourth-place finish in the overall saw Hamish Macdonald also win the Enduro3 class. Macdonald took the win by 57 seconds over his teammate Antoine Magain in second. TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Leo Le Quere completed the top three.

In the Enduro1 class, it was Garcia who recorded his ninth win of the season. Lesiardo placed as runner-up to Garcia. Sherco Racing Factory’s Jeremy Sydow claimed his first podium result of the season in third.

The battle for Enduro2 top honours saw Verona claim victory over Pichon. Sherco Racing Factory’s Theo Espinasse edged out Norrbin by just two seconds to finish third.

Andrea Verona

That was followed up on day two – Sunday –  when GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona claimed the top step of the podium.

Day two also saw Garcia keep his Enduro1 winning streak alive, with another victory. Persson held off Lesiardo by two seconds to secure the runner-up result.

Making it two wins in Portugal, Verona topped the Enduro2, Pichon had to settle for the runner-up result, while seeing his points lead reduced to four. Sherco Racing Factory’s Theo Espinasse completed the podium in third.

Capping off a strong weekend in Portugal, Hamish Macdonald won the Enduro3 category. His teammate, Antoine Magain, finished second, with Julien Roussaly taking third to ensure a Sherco 1-2-3.

Day One – Saturday

At the head of the EnduroGP, all eyes were on the trio of Josep Garcia, Zach Pichon and Andrea Verona to see who would come out on top on day one in Vila de Rei.

Josep Garcia

With the ACERBIS Cross Test opening the day’s proceedings, it was Verona who attacked Garcia’s early lead following the KTM rider’s AKRAPOVIC Super Test win. Verona took the test win by 1.44 seconds over Garcia to reduce the Spaniard’s advantage.

But Garcia immediately responded, winning both the POLISPORT Extreme Test and GMOTO Enduro Test on lap one of three to build a lead of 11 seconds as they began lap two.

Andrea Verona

On the second ACERBIS Cross Test, Pichon set the quickest time to bring himself back into the fight for victory. However, Garcia continued to have the measure of his rivals on the POLISPORT Extreme Test and, crucially, the GMOTO Enduro Test, keeping them both at arms length.

Starting the third and final lap with a 16-second lead, Garcia won both the ACERBIS Cross Test and final GMOTO Enduro Test to ensure his place on the top step of the podium.

The battle for second played out closely between Verona and Pichon. A win on the final POLISPORT Extreme Test was enough for Verona to hold off Pichon by eight seconds to secure the runner-up result, with the Frenchman taking third.

Hamish Macdonald

After a slow start to his morning, Sherco Racing Factory’s Hamish Macdonald began to race his way back up the leaderboard from ninth.

The New Zealander started lap two in a fight for fourth with Fantic Factory Racing Team’s Albin Norrbin and Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo. Maintaining a consistent pace, he overhauled both riders to end his day fourth. Helped by numerous top-four special test times, Lesiardo completed the top five.

Mikael Persson
Women’s Enduro

The opening day of racing in the FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship marked the first win of the season for Rachel Gutish.  The American was on top form, charging ahead to a one-minute-and-seven-second margin of victory over her teammate Rosie Rowett in second.

Behind the top-two, Team KBS Sherco’s Nieve Holmes held off Norway’s Marie Holt by two seconds to claim third. With Holt fourth, France’s Justine Martel (Beta) finished fifth.

Women’s Enduro Day One Podium

However, one of the day’s biggest stories in the Women’s Enduro class was the retirement of championship leader Francesca Nocera (Honda). The Italian saw her day cut short due to a mechanical issue after the second ACERBIS Cross Test while holding second. The result now sees Gutish move into the championship lead.

In the FIM Junior Women’s Enduro World Cup, France’s Lorna Lafont (Sherco) raced to the top step of the podium for the second time this season. Electraction TM MOTO’s Elizabeth Tett took second, with Delun Davies (TM MOTO) third.

Junior Enduro

The Junior Enduro class produced some of the closest racing seen on day one in Portugal. At the midway point in the day, five riders were covered by 16 seconds in the fight for victory.

Ending lap one, it was Fantic Factory Racing Team’s Axel Semb who led the way by two seconds over Fantic Factory Racing Enduro Team Specia’s Kevin Cristino, with Ox Moto Beta’s Leo Joyon in third.

Entering the final lap, Cristino was now in charge of the race lead, with France’s Thibault Giraudon (Sherco) moving up to second, ahead of Joyon and Clement Clauzier (Beta) as Semb slipped back to fifth.

Joyon won the final ACERBIS Cross Test to move into second and close the gap to Cristino to just two seconds. Winning the final POLISPORT Extreme Test, Joyon reduced Cristino’s lead to only 0.39 seconds, ensuring it was all to play for on the crucial GMOTO Enduro Test.

With Giraudon winning the test by four seconds, the leaderboard changed one final time. Cristino held on to win the day, but only by 1.86 seconds over Giraudon in second position. Joyon slipped back to third, with Clauzier taking fourth and Semb fifth.

Day One EnduroGP Podium
EnduroGP of Portugal – Day One Top 20

Day Two – Sunday

The second day of racing at Vila de Rei saw all the main title contenders battle it out for victory. With some close racing on rough and rutted dusty tracks, remaining mistake-free was key for success.

Andrea Verona

In EnduroGP, the battle for top honours was once again fierce between the main title contenders. Championship leader, Garcia was eager to add a second win in EnduroGP to his weekend’s tally, but faced a highly-motivated duo of Pichon and Verona.

Runner-up on day one, Pichon was fastest out of the blocks on day two, topping the opening ACERBIS Cross Test by 1.82 seconds over Garcia, with Verona just a further 0.33 seconds behind in third. On the following POLISPORT Extreme Test, all three riders were separated by less than one second, with Garcia this time proving quickest.

Closing out lap one with the GMOTO Enduro Test, Pichon responded, setting the fastest time by just 0.28 seconds after the nine-minute-plus special test. Entering lap two, there was little to split Pichon, Garcia and Verona. Pichon led, but only by 1.21 seconds over Garcia in second, with Verona less than four seconds back in third.

Josep Garcia

A mistake by Pichon on the second ACERBIS Cross Test dropped him back to third as Verona topped the time sheets to move within one second of new leader Garcia. A win by Garcia on the POLISPORT Extreme Test kept the hard-charging Italian at bay, but Verona was undeterred and hungry to win.

A decisive run through what proved to be the final GMOTO Enduro Test of a shortened day two ultimately gave Verona a much-deserved win.

Jamie McCanney

Topping the time sheets by over six seconds, while capitalising on mistakes by Garcia and Pichon, the EnduroGP win was his. With Garcia claiming second and Pichon third, the championship standings now see Garcia lead Verona by 29-points heading into the penultimate round in Italy.

Andrea Verona (GASGAS)

“It’s been a really strong weekend for me in Portugal. My feeling on the bike was very good and I could fight at the front a lot. The dry and dusty conditions seemed to work well for me and I was able to keep a good rhythm on both days. To get the victory in EnduroGP is mega, and it moves me back up to second in the championship. With two wins in Enduro2 I have been able to close the gap in the title fight a lot ahead of my home round in Italy, which of course, I’m looking forward to!”

Andrea Verona
Josep Garcia (KTM)

“It’s been a great weekend! The racing has been super close both days with Andrea [Verona] and Zach [Pichon], so even a small mistake could make a big difference to the result. I’ve enjoyed the fight, though! Today, I lost too much time in the second enduro test, which made it hard to get the lead back. I’m really happy with my riding though, and to come away with the win on Saturday and in Enduro1 both days is amazing for myself and the team. I’m looking forward to the Italian GP!”

Josep Garcia
Zach Pichon (TM MOTO)

“The day started well and I was leading on lap one. But then I began to make some mistakes. I tried to do my best, but it was not enough. It’s not my best GP, but I have taken some good points.”

Zachary Pichon

Behind the leading trio, day two was another strong ride for Hamish Macdonald. Second quickest on the final GMOTO Enduro Test, Macdonald secured fourth overall.

Triumph Factory Racing Enduro Team’s Mikael Persson improved strongly on his day one result of 12th to finish fifth on day two. Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo finished just two seconds behind in sixth.

Women’s Enduro

HRC Honda’s Francesca Nocera returned to the top step of the podium on day two in Vila de Rei, racing ahead to win by one-minute-and-12-seconds, she could be pleased with her performance.

Francesca Nocera

Behind her, it was the RIEJU Factory Team’s Rachel Gutish and Vilde Holt (KTM) fighting it out for the remainder of the podium. Holt was enjoying her best performance of the season so far.

With a win on the opening POLISPORT Extreme Test, she pushed Gutish all the way. In the end, only six seconds separated the duo, with Gutish taking second and Holt third. RIEJU Factory Team’s Rosie Rowett finished fourth, with Marine Lemoine (KTM) fifth.

Francesca Nocera (Honda)

“After yesterday’s disappointment, I woke up today and told myself I was going to win. I managed to do that by more than one minute, which is great. I was able to push hard all day and I was happy with my pace. I’m looking forward to going to the last round now in a good place.”

The FIM Women’s Enduro World Cup saw Electraction TM MOTO’s Elizabeth Tett take the win by 10 seconds over day one winner, Lorna Lafont (Sherco). Delun Davies (TM MOTO) completed the top three.

Junior Enduro

In the Junior Enduro category, Fantic Factory Racing Enduro Team Specia’s Kevin Cristino rode clear to claim his second victory of the weekend and fourth consecutive win. Thanks to his incredible run of form, the Italian has moved into the championship lead.

Kevin Cristino

Despite a strong start from OX MOTO Beta’s Leo Joyon this morning, Cristino worked his way into the lead at the end of lap one. With the Italian’s pace high, Cristino was untouchable on the final lap and won by 21 seconds.

Kevin Cristino (Fantic)

“I’m really happy with my weekend. We started out with a small issue, but fixed it very quickly. Yesterday, I was able to win and take a lot of points back in the championship. Today was the same, I managed to lead for all of the day. We did a great job this weekend and now we are leading the championship, which is super important.”

Locked in a fight for the runner-up with Thibault Giraudon (Sherco), Joyon was able to win the final GMOTO Enduro Test to secure second, with Giraudon less than two seconds behind in third.

Youth Enduro

The Youth Enduro class saw TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Alberto Elgari claim three of the day’s six special tests to win by 10 seconds. Elgari led home day one winner Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Romain Dagna in second.

Alberto Elgari

Although fastest in both of the POLISPORT Extreme Tests, Fantic Factory Racing Enduro Team Specia’s Pietro Scardina didn’t have the measure of his two classmates in the GMOTO Enduro Test to fully challenge for the win. Ending his day 14 seconds behind Dagna, he completed the podium in third. Scardina’s teammate Riccardo Pasquato finished four seconds behind in fourth, with Chile’s Jose Ramdohr (Fantic) rounding out the top five.

Finally, day two of the GP of Portugal was shortened in length due to the event organisers adhering to local authority safety protocols regarding an isolated forest fire in the region. Immediately extinguished, promoters Prime Stadium Eventos thank everyone involved for their understanding.

The Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship now looks forward to the sixth and penultimate round of the season at the POLISPORT GP of Italy in Darfo Boario Terme, on 26-28 September.

Day Two EnduroGP Podium
EnduroGP of Portugal – Day Two Top 20

EnduroGP Standings

E1 Standings

E2 Standings

E3 Standings

FIM Junior Enduro Standings

FIM Women’s Enduro Standings

2025 Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship

Round 1: GP of Portugal – Fafe – 4-6 April
Round 2: GP of Spain – Oliana – 2-4 May
Round 3: GP of Sweden – Skövde – 23-25 May
Round 4: GP of Wales – Rhayader – 1-3 August
Round 5: GP of Portugal – Vila de Rei – 12-14 September
Round 6: GP of Italy – Darfo Boario Terme – 26-28 September
Round 7: GP of Germany – Zschopau – 17-19 October