Round Five – EnduroGP of Portugal II
The second of two consecutive EnduroGP weekends in Fafe produced a great finish for Josep Garcia, a tight Enduro3 title battle, and the first World Championship crown of the 2026 season.
García won both days of the GP of Portugal II for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, winning EnduroGP and Enduro1 on Saturday and Sunday to further strengthen his championship lead with two rounds remaining.
Behind them, Andrea Verona, Zac Pichon, Steve Holcombe and Hamish MacDonald all had their moments in another hot, dusty and demanding Portuguese weekend, while Australian Kyron Bacon finished strongly on Sunday with an eighth straight and fourth place in Enduro 2.
In Women’s Enduro, Rachel Gutish took the Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship with one round remaining, but Shelby Turner rode on top of the podium both days, giving Triumph its first Women’s EnduroGP win before completing a perfect weekend.
akrapovic supertest
The weekend again began with the Akrapovic Supertest in the center of Fife, using the same night-time test venue as the previous weekend, before the riders moved to a new course for round five.
Garcia set the benchmark once again on Friday night, finishing ahead of Zach Pichon in the EnduroGP Supertest, while the result helped set up another weekend-long battle between the leading championship contenders.
Triumph’s Leo Joyn was also immediately in the junior mix, building on his success from last weekend and carrying that momentum throughout Saturday’s racing day.
endurogp
Garcia held strong on Saturday
Saturday brought a new course around Fife and a new set of special tests, with riders again facing dry, dusty and increasingly difficult conditions throughout the day.
García took the early lead by winning the opening Polisport Extreme test, but Verona quickly responded by taking top positions in the Gamoto Enduro test and Expotrade Cross test and reducing the gap to just over a second at the end of lap one.
Pichon then brought himself into the fight with a strong second Extreme Test, while Holcombe also had the pace to challenge. Heading into the third and final lap, Garcia, Verona, Holcombe and Pichon were separated by just 11 seconds.
García responded when it mattered, controlling the final two tests and winning the final Polysport Extreme test to create enough of a buffer to claim the first day’s EnduroGP victory.
Verona finished second, but only just. Pichon won the final two tests of the day and missed the runner-up spot by only two-tenths of a second. Holcombe finished fourth, while MacDonald finished in the top five.
garcia cleared sunday
Sunday was more intense. As the tests worsened, García picked up the pace and ended the day in 31.58 seconds to complete the EnduroGP double.
MacDonald displayed one of his best rides of the season, moving from fifth after the opening lap to second by the start of the final lap. A win in the final Polisport Extreme test helped him keep Pichon and Holcombe behind him, while the final Expotrade Cross test was canceled due to course conditions.
Pichon completed the podium in third place, just three seconds ahead of Holcombe. Verona recovered from a slow start to finish fifth ahead of Albin Norbin, Brad Freeman and Bacon.
Bacon’s Sunday result was a strong one for MGR Kawasaki, with the Australian finishing eighth and fourth in Enduro2.
enduro1
García’s perfect Enduro1 season continued at Portugal II, with the Spaniard taking class wins on both days and extending his 2026 E1 record to 10 wins in 10 days of racing.
Saturday’s E1 podium was completed by Triumph duo Morgan Licciardo and Jeremy Sydow, with Licciardo holding off Sydow by just over 10 seconds.
The same three came on stage again on Sunday. Garcia was again clearly ahead, while Licciardo beat Sido into second place in the Triumph fight.
Sydow’s weekend continued his strong comeback from injury, giving him another pair of Enduro1 podium finishes and moving him up to fifth in the class standings.
enduro2
Enduro2 on Saturday was very tight, with Verona pipping Pichon by just 0.20 seconds after a day-long battle.
Pichon applied heavy pressure at the end of the day and won the final two tests, but Verona secured another important E2 victory. Macdonald finished third ahead of Max Ahlin and Bacon.
On Sunday, Macdonald turned the tables. The New Zealander’s second perfect result gave him the Enduro2 victory, 10.14 seconds ahead of Pichon.
Verona completed the Sunday podium in third place, while Bacon was fourth in class and eighth outright.
Verona still leads the Enduro2 standings, but Pichon has closed to within 13 points with two rounds remaining.
Enduro3
Holcombe defeated Enduro3 at Portugal II to bring himself back into championship contention.
On Saturday, the Sherco rider led Sherco 1-2 in class with Julian Rousselli, while Norbin completed the podium just six seconds behind Rousselli.
Holcombe backed it up with another E3 win on Sunday, this time ahead of Norbin and Freeman.
The result has narrowed the Enduro3 Championship dramatically. Freeman is still in the lead, but only one point separates him from Norbin, with Holcombe just two points off the lead.
junior
Joyn continued Triumph’s strong junior run with a win on Saturday, his second overall junior win of the season and another Junior1 class win.
The French had to work hard for it, with Romain Dagna returning to the podium in second place and Alberto Algari in third. Kevin Christino and Alex Puey rounded out the top five.
On Sunday, Elgaree responded with a modest junior victory. Joyon pushed him hard in the final laps, winning the last extreme test and closing the gap again in the enduro test, but the cancellation of the final cross test left Elgari 4.83 seconds ahead.
Thibault Giraudon completes the Sunday junior podium.
Joyon is now third in the junior standings, just five points behind second-place Dagna, while Elgari leads the way. In Junior1, Elgari leads Joyon by 12 points.
Youth
Pietro Scardina completed a perfect Fafe double-header as he continued his winning streak at the Putolin Oil Youth Enduro.
The Italian won on Saturday after an early battle with Valentin Mersin, Yago Dominguez and Simone Cagnoni, ultimately beating Mersin by nine seconds. Cagnoni finished third.
Scardina was more comfortable on Sunday, winning by 44 seconds from Mersin, with Cagnoni completing the podium again after getting the better of Dominguez.
women
Shelby Turner made EnduroGP history at Portugal II, first with a dominant win on Saturday, then again with a repeat victory on Sunday.
The Canadian had impressed with some runner-up results on debut last weekend, but on Saturday she was the rider to beat. Turner jumped out to a big lead early and had enough to fend off Gutish’s late charge, winning by 28 seconds.
Gutisch finished second on Saturday, with Portuguese rider Joana Gonçalves third for Sherco on home soil.
On Sunday it was once again a battle of Turner vs. Gutish. Gutish won the opening two Tests, before Turner made the decisive move in the first Cross Test. Gutish closed the gap late, but Turner held on to win again.
Second place was enough for Gutisch to secure the Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship with one round remaining. It is the American’s second women’s enduro world title.
Rosie Rowett completed the Sunday podium, denying Gonçalves a second home podium by just over a second.
EnduroGP Day One Top Ten
 |
||||||
| Situation | rider | Difference | ||||
| 1 | garcia josep (E1) | 54:57.49 | ||||
| 2 | verona andrea (E2) | +8.64 | ||||
| 3 | pichon zachary (E2) | +8.84 | ||||
| 4 | Holcombe Steven (E3) | +30.83 | ||||
| 5 | macdonald hamish (E2) | +49.86 | ||||
| 6 | Rosselli Julian (E3) | +1:19.43 | ||||
| 7 | Norbin Albin (E3) | +1:25.74 | ||||
| 8 | freeman braid (e3) | +1:43.91 | ||||
| 9 | Ahlin Max (E2) | +1:48.15 | ||||
| 10 | leciardo morgan (e1) | +1:50.76 | ||||
EnduroGP Day Two Top Ten
|
||
| Situation | rider | time/interval |
| 1 | Garcia Josep (E1) | 48:20.89 |
| 2 | Macdonald Hamish (E2) | +31.58 |
| 3 | Pichon Zachary (E2) | +41.72 |
| 4 | Holcombe Steven (E3) | +44.97 |
| 5 | Verona Andrea (E2) | +1:11.55 |
| 6 | Norbin Albin (E3) | +1:18.34 |
| 7 | Freeman Brad (E3) | +1:26.29 |
| 8 | Bacon Chiron (E2) | +1:28.88 |
| 9 | Leciardo Morgan (E1) | +1:40.18 |
| 10 | Rosselli Julian (E3) | +1:50.46 |
Class Podium – Day 1
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| enduro1 | josep garcia | morgan laciardo | jeremy sydow |
| enduro2 | andrea verona | zack pichon | hamish macdonald |
| Enduro3 | steve holcombe | Julian Rusali | Albin Norbin |
| junior | Leo Joyn | Romain Dagna | Alberto Algari |
| women | shelby turner | Rachel Gutish | Joanna Goncalves |
Class Podium – Day 2
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| enduro1 | josep garcia | morgan laciardo | jeremy sydow |
| enduro2 | hamish macdonald | zack pichon | andrea verona |
| Enduro3 | steve holcombe | Albin Norbin | brad freeman |
| junior | Alberto Algari | Leo Joyn | Thibault Giraudon |
| women | shelby turner | Rachel Gutish | Rosie Rowett |
Championship standings after round five
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Leader | Second | third |
| endurogp | Josep Garcia – 189 | Andrea Verona – 155 | Zach Pichon – 138 |
| enduro1 | Josep Garcia – 200 | Morgan Licciardo – 157 | Antoine Magnan – 127 |
| enduro2 | Andrea Verona – 186 | Zach Pichon – 172 | Hamish McDonald – 152 |
| Enduro3 | Brad Freeman – 156 | Albin Norbin – 155 | Steve Holcombe – 154 |
| junior | Alberto Algari – 166 | Romain Dagna – 151 | Kevin Christino – 146 |
| women | Rachel Gutish – 141 | Rosie Rowett – 100 | Neve Holmes – 93 |
Enduro GP standings after round five
|
||
| Situation | rider | Total |
| 1 | Garcia J. (ESP/KTM) | 189 |
| 2 | Verona A. (ITA/KTM) | 155 |
| 3 | Pichon Z. (FRA/TM) | 138 |
| 4 | Holcombe S. (GBR/SHE) | 108 |
| 5 | MacDonald H. (NZL/SHE) | 103 |
| 6 | Freeman B. (GBR/BET) | 94 |
| 7 | Norbin A. (self/husband) | 79 |
| 8 | Lacciardo M. (ITA/TRI) | 70 |
| 9 | Ahlin M. (Sway/Hon.) | 63 |
| 10 | Ruselli J. (FRA/SHE) | 61 |
| 11 | Megan A. (BEL/HE) | 55 |
| 12 | Espinas T. (FRA/FAN) | 37 |
| 13 | Sido J. (GER/TRI) | 34 |
| 14 | Watson N. (GBR/BET) | 34 |
| 15 | Bacon’s. (Australia/KAW) | 31 |
| 16 | Cavallo M. (ita/tm) | 22 |
| 17 | Semb A. (self/husband) | 17 |
| 18 | Bernardini S. (ITA/Hon.) | 14 |
| 19 | Elovson A. (self/husband) | 3 |
| 20 | Ketonane R. (Finance/Husband) | 2 |
| 21 | Baylor S. (USA/KAW) | 1 |
