Double victory for Salvini in Portugal

It was a double victory for Alex Salvini at the second round of the EnduroGP World Championship in Valpaços, Portugal this weekend.

After taking fourth in the Friday evening Supertest, the S2 Motorsport Sembenini Honda-RedMoto rider was determined to bring home a great result. Salvini put in a masterful performance to come out top in all of the 12 special tests (one extreme, one cross and one enduro repeated four times).

This performance saw him take a double victory in the E2 class, finishing third in the hard-fought EnduroGP classification on both days, and strengthen his leadership in the E2 standings.

Fellow Honda rider Christophe Charlier, who finished second on both days, joined Salvini on the E2 podium – despite suffering from a broken big toe on his right foot.

Charlier won four special tests on his CRF450RX Enduro on Saturday and three on Sunday, moving himself into second place in the E2 standings.

Team mate Thomas Oldrati took a good third position in Friday’s Supertest, but faced two tough days on the bike in the E1 class finishing just outside the podium on Saturday and suffered a fall in the first test on Sunday.

There were podiums for the Honda-RedMoto Lunigiana Team as well in Portugal, with Davide Guarneri climbing onto the second step of the E1 podium on both days.

The second round did not start with the best possible omens for the Lunigiana squad, who only arrived on Friday morning due to a series of technical problems, but Guarneri soon cheered the team up with his quick pace and left the weekend second in the overall standings too.

It was an unlucky weekend for Davide Soreca, who is now back to the World Championship after recovering from an injury. On Saturday he fought to a well-earned ninth position in the E2 class, but was forced to withdraw on Sunday after a crash on a rock damaged the bike.

There is no rest for the Honda enduro riders as they head to Santiago de Compostela in Spain for the third round of the World Championship (11-12 May).

Alex Salvini

“Perfect weekend! I came from a tough period, with several crashes, and I didn’t have the right feeling. We worked hard before this race and in these two days I feel good with the bike. The team worked well and I’m happy with this way! I can’t wait to get on the track next week!”

Gino Sembenini

“The first round in Germany was with lights and shadows, but this weekend in Portugal was really exciting! We were competitive and we had the right pace to get the victory. We have complied with the provisions. Now let’s think about next race, with the aim of doing another great performance.”

Christophe Charlier

“Good race with two second places. No mistakes had to be made to win and unfortunately, I made some. The team worked well and I gave my best despite last week I broke my right big toe. I raced without painkillers, but I felt the pain in the transfers.”

Thomas Oldrati

“On Saturday I fought all day long for the third position. On Sunday I started with a fast pace up, but at the beginning I lost about twenty seconds for a crash and I struggled to recover even though the times were good. I’m happy with the result even if this was not my type of race, I would like to find more real enduro tests.”

Matteo Boffelli

“Positive race. Christophe pushed in both the days getting two excellent second positions. Thomas struggled on this type of ground, but he was fast and the gaps were minimal. We are moving to Spain ready to face the third round of the World Championship.”

Davide Guarneri

“Positive weekend. I managed to get a good pace, finishing both the days second in the E1 class and seventh overall. Congratulations to the team! All the staff have done a great job, ready to fight despite the inconveniences!”

Davide Soreca

“On Saturday I kept up the pace even though the level of the opponents was very high. Unfortunately, I crashed on Sunday and the bike probably suffered technical damage. The class is very hard-fought but I can’t wait to race again.”

Gianni Belloni

“It was an important weekend for the team: Guarneri finished twice second in the E1; Soreca is still testing new solutions in order to make the bike suited to his style. We are going away partially happy but pumped to face the new race in Spain.”