ENDUROGP of Italy ( Round 6) – DAY 2: Video Highlights, report & results!

The final day of racing at the POLISPORT GP of Italy saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia secure the FIM Enduro1 World Championship.

GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona claimed the EnduroGP win, with Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo and Sherco Racing Factory’s Jeremy Sydow debuting on the podium in second and third, respectively.

• POLISPORT GP of Italy concludes with dramatic day two
• Josep Garcia wins Enduro1 World Championship
• Andrea Verona takes important EnduroGP victory

Garcia claims sixth world title on day two in Italy

Day two of racing at the sixth and penultimate round of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship marked the crowning of the 2025 season’s first world champion. With a virtual grasp on the Enduro1 class following Saturday’s win, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia secured the world championship today. The result now sees him become a six-time FIM Enduro World Champion. However, it wasn’t plain sailing for the Spaniard. Suffering from the effects of a crash from day one, Garcia had to dig deep to place 15th overall in EnduroGP and fourth in Enduro1 to get the job done.

Verona wins dramatic day of EnduroGP racing 

Arguably the most dramatic day of racing seen so far in the 2025 season, day two in Darfo Boario Terme was one for the ages. A sunny morning greeted riders, and with conditions proving much drier than yesterday, the early stages of the race seemed business as usual for the frontrunners. TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Zach Pichon won the opening GMOTO Enduro Test, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia and GASGAS Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona close behind in second and third, respectively.

But soon afterwards it was clear all was not well. Hurting from his end-of-day crash yesterday, Garcia was unable to keep pace and steadily dropped down the leaderboard, ending lap one in fifth. Pichon completed lap one with a nine-second lead over Verona, while Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo slotted into third in his home race.

At the end of the second ACERBIS Cross Test, the leaderboard looked very different again. Lesiardo took over the race lead by five seconds from Verona in second, with Pichon down in third. Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team’s Samuele Bernardini, Sherco Racing Factory’s Jeremy Sydow and Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Max Ahlin were all within 10 seconds of Pichon, while Garcia had dropped to 17th.

With Verona back in the lead and extending his advantage out to 25 seconds, the third ACERBIS Cross Test resulted in another shakeup. Trouble hit Pichon, dropping him from third down to sixth overall. Lesiardo held a comfortable second, with Ahlin, Sydow and Bernardini all fighting for the final step of the podium.

Beginning the final lap, Verona now controlled the EnduroGP class with a 45-second lead, and with close rivals Pichon and Garcia in trouble, was focused on capitalising with victory. Behind him, Lesiardo saw his advantage over Ahlin reduced to just two seconds, with Sydow a further 0.34 seconds back in fourth. With all three riders aiming for their debut EnduroGP podium, the race was on.

Digging deep, Lesiardo was not about to let a career-best runner-up result slip away from him on home soil. Putting in a very determined final lap, he held on to take second place behind Verona, while claiming a debut EnduroGP podium result for both him and Triumph.

With Lesiardo locked in second, the final step of the podium was a battle between Ahlin and Sydow. The final POLISPORT Extreme Test would decide all. In the end, it was Sydow who won the test to take third. Despite Ahlin setting the second-fastest time, it would not be enough. With his hopes of a debut EnduroGP podium slipping away, the 2024 Junior Enduro World Champion could still be content with a career-best fourth. Belgium’s Antoine Magain edged out Bernardini for fifth, capping off a 3-5 result for Sherco Racing Factory.

As we approach the final round of the season in Germany next month, today’s results see Verona dramatically reduce Garcia’s 34-point lead to just 15 points with two days of racing remaining.

Debut win for Lesiardo in Enduro1

Day two in Italy was one to remember for Morgan Lesiardo, with the Triumph Italia Racing rider claiming his debut victory in Enduro1. Sydow followed him home for second, with Bernardini completing the top three. Fourth on the day was enough for Garcia to secure the Enduro1 title with a round to spare.

Verona was all smiles at the end of day two, adding the Enduro2 class to his win tally. The Italian claimed an important home victory over Ahlin, with Pichon third. The battle for the Enduro2 title now sees Pichon’s lead over Verona reduced to just two points ahead of the POLISPORT GP of Germany finale.

The Enduro3 class saw Antoine Magain claim his second victory of the weekend in Italy. His teammate, Hamish Macdonald, took second, and with Julien Roussaly third, it marked a 1-2-3 for Sherco Racing Factory.

Cristino does Junior Enduro double win at home GP

The fight for the Junior Enduro class win developed into a battle between championship rivals, Fantic Factory Racing Enduro Team Specia’s Kevin Cristino and Fantic Factory Racing Team’s Axel Semb. The duo swapped and changed positions throughout the day, with Cristino finally breaking clear to take the win on home soil by two seconds.

With Semb unable to get the better of Cristino, he had to settle for the runner-up result. TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Manuel Verzeroli enjoyed a great day, finishing third. Thibault Giraudon (Sherco) and Luca Colorio (Triumph) rounded out the top five.

Dagna races to Youth Enduro win

The Youth Enduro class saw Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Romain Dagna return to the top step of the podium. A technical infringement on day one saw the championship leader ruled out, but today he made amends, racing to a commanding 38-second margin of victory. Fantic Factory Racing Enduro Team Specia’s Pietro Scardina took second, with TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Alberto Elgari completing the top three.

The 2025 Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship concludes with the seventh and final round of the season in Zschopau, Germany, on 17-19 October.

Andrea Verona (GASGAS): “I’m happy with my performance today. Conditions were drier and I was able to give my best. With this win I managed to gain a lot of points in the championship and put myself in a good position heading into the final round.”

Morgan Lesiardo (Triumph): “I’m tired but really happy with today. My first podium in EnduroGP and first win in Enduro1. For my home GP, this result means something extra too. It was a hard weekend with the rain and then sun. This is also the first victory for Triumph in the world championship. It’s hard to describe the feeling, there’s a lot of emotion.”

Jeremy Sydow (Sherco): “I’m speechless and can’t really believe this result at the moment. It was a big fight all day, coming down to the final special test. But I made it happen there, taking the fastest time and getting third overall in EnduroGP. Thank you to all the Sherco Racing Factory team for standing behind me when I was injured, I’m happy to repay them with this result. I’m looking forward to my home round next in Germany.”

Kevin Cristino (Fantic): “Today started out good, but after the second special test, I had an issue that meant I had to ride the rest of the day in only third gear. I managed well, despite some more problems, and fought my best to win. I’m super happy to have won and stayed strong to do it.”

Josep Garcia (KTM): “There’s a lot of emotion today. To get the Enduro1 title and become world champion one more time is very special. We worked hard all year to get this, and it means a lot to me and to KTM. Today was also one of the hardest I ever did. I crashed yesterday and injured my elbow and hip, and needed stitches. Then this morning I had another crash. I was in a lot of pain, but somehow kept going and got it done. Now I need to rest up and get ready for Germany.”