Rachel Gutish crowned Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Champion as Josep Garcia wins EnduroGP in Fafe
The final day of racing for round five of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship saw the first world champion of 2026 crowned with RIEJU Factory Team’s Rachel Gutish clinching the Expotrade...
The final day of racing for round five of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship saw the first world champion of 2026 crowned with RIEJU Factory Team’s Rachel Gutish clinching the Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship.
In EnduroGP, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia raced to victory.
- Gutish crowned Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Champion
- Garcia ends round five with double EnduroGP win
- Hot, dry and dusty conditions push riders to their maximum
Clean sweep of EnduroGP victories for Garcia at round five
Strengthening his grip on this year’s EnduroGP title, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia raced to his second victory of the weekend in Fafe for round five. Building pace as the conditions on the special tests deteriorated, Garcia ended the day with a 31-second margin of victory.
Behind him the fight for the remainder of the podium was closely fought out between the Sherco Racing Factory duo of Hamish Macdonald and Steve Holcombe, and TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Zach Pichon.
Putting in one of his best rides of the season, Macdonald fought his way from fifth on lap one, to move into second as he began the third and final lap. A win on the final POLISPORT Extreme Test helped to keep his rivals at bay, and with the final EXPOTRADE Cross Test cancelled due to poor conditions, Macdonald could be happy with second overall. In the battle for third, Pichon held off Holcombe by just three seconds to secure his place on the podium.
Behind the top four, only 17 seconds separated Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Verona in fifth and MGR Kawasaki’s Kyron Bacon in eighth, with NSA Racing’s Albin Norrbin and Beta Factory Team’s Brad Freeman in sixth and seventh, respectively.
Macdonald rules the roost in Enduro2
The Enduro2 class saw Macdonald claim his second victory of the season. The New Zealander topped the standings, beating runner-up Pichon by 10 seconds, with Verona in third.
Edging ever closer to winning the Enduro1 title, and completing a perfect season, Garcia topped the category for the tenth time in 2026. Again, it was the battle of Triumph, with Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo beating Triumph Factory Racing’s Jeremy Sydow for second.
In the Enduro3 class, Holcombe took his second victory of the weekend to tighten up the title chase. NSA Racing’s Albin Norrbin was second, with Beta Factory Team’s Brad Freeman in third. Freeman now leads the championship by just one point over Norrbin and two points over Holcombe in third with two rounds remaining.
Turner wins, Gutish crowned Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Champion
The final day of racing in Fafe saw the first world champion of 2026 crowned, with RJIEU Factory Team’s Rachel Gutish winning the Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship. Gutish, placed second today behind Enduro Engineering’s Shelby Turner to secure the title ahead of their fifth and final round in Wales.
Like yesterday, it was a battle of Canada versus the United States, with Turner and Gutish racing ahead for victory. Together, the duo were pushing the pace exceptionally hard, distancing themselves from the rest of their classmates.
Initially, Gutish led by winning the opening two special tests, but it was on the first EXPOTRADE Cross Test where Turner pulled 22 seconds on Gutish to claim a 12-second lead in the race as they began their second and final lap.
Fastest in the POLISPORT Extreme Test and GMOTO Enduro Test, Gutish closed the gap to 2.53 seconds as they entered the final EXPOTRADE Cross Test. With the pressure on, Turner topped the time sheets to keep the RIEJU rider at bay and claim victory.
Despite being forced to settle for the runner-up result, Gutish did more than enough to secure the world title with a round to spare. In doing so, she is now a two-time Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Champion.
RIEJU Factory Team’s Rosie Rowett took third on day two, denying WP Eric Auge’s Joana Goncalves a second podium result on home soil by 1.34 seconds. Electraction TM MOTO’s Elizabeth Tett completed the top five, while winning the Expotrade Junior Women’s Enduro category.
Elgari returns to top of Tsubaki Junior Enduro podium
TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Alberto Elgari took a closely-fought Tsubaki Junior Enduro class win on day two in Fafe. The Italian was pushed hard by day one winner, Triumph Factory Racing’s Leo Joyon, who is currently at his best during this second half of the season.
A strong opening lap saw Elgari lead Joyon by eight seconds, with Fantic Factory Racing’s Thibault Giraudon in third. Ending lap two, he had extended it slightly to 10 seconds, but with conditions becoming increasingly difficult, it was still all to play for. Giraudon held third, a further 10 seconds back.
Joyon won the final POLISPORT Extreme Test to close the gap to five seconds, and then took one more second out of his lead on the GMOTO Enduro Test. However, with the final EXPOTRADE Cross Test cancelled due to poor conditions, Elgari could breathe a sigh of relief for the win. With Joyon second, Giraudon completed the top three.
NSA Racing’s Kevin Cristino finished three seconds behind Giraudon in fourth, with Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Romain Dagna closing out the top five.
Perfect Putoline Oil Youth Enduro score for Scardina in Fafe
The Putoline Oil Youth Enduro class saw TM MOTO Costa Ligure’s Pietro Scardina win on day two to secure a clean sweep of class victories across both weekends in Fafe. Today, the Italian won by a sizable 44 seconds over Fantic Factory Racing’s Valentin Mersin.
Behind Scardina, the fight for the remainder of the podium was close between Mersin and Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Simone Cagnoni. In the end, Mersin claimed second by seven seconds. WP Eric Auge’s Yago Dominguez was fourth, with Mille Soderblom (KTM) taking fifth.
The Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship continues with round six at the Polisport GP of France in Saint-Agrève, 17-19 July.
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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
