JOSEP GARCIA STRENGTHENS ENDUROGP LEAD WITH VICTORY IN WALES

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia capped off the penultimate round of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship in Wales with victory in both the EnduroGP and Enduro1 categories on day two. The Spaniard, locked in a battle for the top step of the podium both days, was able to increase his lead in the EnduroGP class to 17 points with one round remaining.

Two weeks after his winning ride at the GP of Slovakia, Garcia was back on track for the penultimate round of the EnduroGP season in Wales. With the leader’s gold plate on his KTM 250 EXC-F, Josep was focused on strengthening his advantage over his nearest rivals.

Placing second in the Friday evening super test, Garcia began Saturday in confident spirits. However, the Spaniard struggled to find his rhythm on the special tests during the opening two laps. On the third and final lap, things began to click for the KTM rider and the fight for victory was back on.

Fastest in the penultimate cross test and final enduro test, he closed the gap to the leading two riders. Giving it his all on the final two tests, he placed just five seconds behind the winner in third in EnduroGP, while finishing as runner-up in Enduro1.

Knowing how to best judge the tough Welsh terrain, Garcia came out swinging on day two. Quickly putting himself into the overall lead on lap one, he set about capturing that EnduroGP win. Fighting all day with rivals Brad Freeman and Steve Holcombe, Garcia trailed Freeman for the lead by one second as they began the tenth and final special test of the day.

Blitzing the cross test to set the fastest time, Josep went on to take the EnduroGP victory by an incredible 15 hundredths of a second. The result also saw him top the podium in Enduro1 for the seventh time this season.

Now, with just the seventh and final round of the championship remaining, Garcia will arrive at the GP of France, on September 13-15, with a 17-point advantage in EnduroGP, while also leading Enduro1 by six points.

Josep Garcia: “It’s been a super competitive weekend in Wales, but I’m pleased to have come away with the EnduroGP victory on day two. Saturday started out a bit tricky. I didn’t find my rhythm on the first two laps and was just off the pace of the top two. I felt good on the last lap, but ran out of time to finish better than third. I knew day two could be better and began fast. The battle was super tight, and it all boiled down to the final test. I’m so happy I won and can now look forward to the final round in France next month.”

Taking in a wild card ride at the GP of Wales, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers' Gus Riordan produced one of the standout performances of the weekend. Despite round six marking the young Australian’s first EnduroGP outing, he didn’t let the occasion faze him.

Blisteringly fast in Friday’s Super Test, the KTM youngster let everyone know he’d arrived by setting the outright fastest time. Competing in the highly-competitive Enduro Junior category, Gus went on to win day one. Aiming to back that up on Sunday, he almost made it two-for-two, finishing less than half of a second from victory as runner-up.

Results: FIM EnduroGP World Championship, Round 6

EnduroGP - Day 1
1. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 56:54.44
2. Brad Freeman (GBR), Beta, 56:58.65
3. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 57:00.04
4. Andrea Verona (ITA), GASGAS, 57:16.70

Enduro1 - Day 1
1. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 56:54.44
2. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 57:00.04
3. Zach Pichon (FRA), Sherco, 58:19.76

EnduroGP - Day 2
1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 55:02.28
2. Brad Freeman (GBR), Beta, 55:02.43
3. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 55:07.72
4. Andrea Verona (ITA), GASGAS, 55:45.23

Enduro1 - Day 2
1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 55:02.28
2. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 55:07.72
3. Zach Pichon (FRA), Sherco, 56:07.63

Championship Standings (After round 6 of 7)

EnduroGP
1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 212pts
2. Andrea Verona (ITA), GASGAS, 195pts
3. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 189pts

Enduro1
1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM, 225pts
2. Steve Holcombe (GBR), Honda, 219pts
3. Zach Pichon (FRA), Sherco, 168pts

VIDEO RELEASE: JOSEP GARCIA WORLD CHAMPION – THE DOCUMENTARY

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Watch how Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia achieved a lifelong dream in 2024, claiming the FIM EnduroGP World Championship crown for the first time after an impressive seven wins and six more podium finishes. Also adding the 2024 Enduro1 world title to his collection, the Spaniard breaks down the seven rounds of intense competition on the world stage which made up his spectacular season. Featuring Josep’s family, friends, and team, Josep Garcia World Champion – The Documentary goes behind the scenes throughout each race of the 2024 EnduroGP series to showcase his journey to victory. With both championship fights going down to the wire at the final round in France, a commanding victory aboard his KTM 250 EXC-F on Saturday in Brioude saw Garcia clinch the EnduroGP title with one day to spare. A solid runner-up finish in Enduro1 on day two awarded Josep his second title of the weekend to top off his incredible season. Find out more about the championship-winning KTM 250 EXC-F HERE. Relive an unforgettable season of EnduroGP dominance – watch Josep Garcia’s road to victory NOW.

5th in the championship as Binder says high-speed ‘adios’ to 2024 MotoGP™ in Barcelona

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing obtained two points-scoring performances to close the MotoGP season in fine style at the twentieth and last round of the year at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Brad Binder raced the KTM RC16 to a brilliant 6th place from P18 on the grid and finished top five for 2024. Jack Miller scored 13th as KTM is confirmed as the second-best Constructor. Meanwhile the KTM GP Academy sealed the campaign with a best result of 4th by Jose Rueda Antonio in Moto3™ and with Celestino Vietti 7th in the Moto2™ championship for Red Bull KTM Ajo. Binder rounds-out the year with 5th in the championship and a total of five top-five finishes Miller ends a two-season term with the crew with a hard push to 13th and is 14th in the standings Jose Antonio Rueda scores 4th the KTM RC4 in Moto3™ to claim 7th in the championship as Alvaro Carpe makes his debut and Celestino Vietti is also 7th overall in the Moto2™ standings Sunshine blanketed the 14-corner layout outside the Catalan capital and the Grand Prix arranged in solidarity for the flood victims of the Valencia region; home of the last round that was cancelled just over two weeks ago. Binder and Miller both had their work cut out with grid slots of 18th and 19th but Brad had already made a nine position gain to grasp the last Sprint point on Saturday and edge to within two points of 5th in the championship standings. The Grand Prix ran for 24-laps on Sunday afternoon and both Binder and Miller could rely on the usual starting prowess of the KTM RC16 package. Grip and traction were issues that had to be managed across the notoriously slick Catalan asphalt. Binder ended the first lap already inside the top ten. Miller gained ground to 15th. Brad fought hard and grabbed more positions as he extended his race pace while others suffered with grip. He reached 6th and was just 7 seconds away from the winner. Jack also combed the limits and banked 3 points for 13th. Red Bull KTM drew a line under their eighth year in the premier class with a podium trophy and a top five finish in the championship as well as standing P2 in the Constructor’s contest. 2025 testing begins on Tuesday with Pedro Acosta stepping into the crew alongside Binder. Brad Binder, 6th : “I was happy with today’s race. I knew it was really important to get the tire until the end so I tried not to get too carried away at the beginning. I was quite pleased; I would have liked to have been a bit further forward but coming from 18th it is hard to ask for much more. Thank you to my team. It’s been challenging this year but we always tried to make the best of every situation and to finish 5th in the championship is cool.” Jack Miller, 13th: “I had a good start, settled in there and the tires stayed good but I just couldn’t push much and got stuck behind some guys. We signed-off by finishing the race and putting some points on the board. I think both KTM and I wanted more but I gave my all from the first laps of testing until the last laps today. Onto the next chapter.” Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager : “A strong way to finish the season: 6th place in the race and 5th in the championship. Our initial target was different but we have to be happy. Jack had good race pace today but starting from the back of the grid meant it was hard to recover and gain more. I would like to thank the riders, the technicians and all the team staff for the season. It was a challenge, but we made some progress and we’re looking to Tuesday to start the next one.” Results MotoGP Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona 1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 40:24.740 2. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +1.474 3. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +3.810 6. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +7.081 10. Pedro Acosta (ESP) GASGAS +10.618 13. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +14.560 19. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS +29.145 Final World Championship standings MotoGP 1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati, 508 points 2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 498 3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 392 5. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 217 6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) GASGAS, 215 14. Jack Miller (AUS) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 87 20. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS, 27 KTM GP Academy Jose Antonio Rueda and Xabi Zurutuza were joined on the KTM RC4 in Barcelona by 2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion Alvaro Carpe as the young Spaniard made his Grand Prix debut. Rueda was trying to lock away a top-seven championship finish (in a second Moto3 season that has included his maiden Grand Prix victory) and bustled his way into the group during the first stages of the 18-lap race. Two seconds split the first ten runners and Jose Antonio was firmly in the mix. After the bumping and barging, Rueda passed the line in 5th and was elevated to 4th after post-race penalties. The points ensured P7 for the season. Zurutuza finished 22nd and closed a debut year with 23rd place for the season and a best result of 8th. Carpe, who will join the team next to Rueda for 2025, was 19th. In Moto2 Celestino Vietti has qualified only a few tenths from Pole Position and lined up on the third row in 8th. Deniz Öncü could not escape out of Q1 and started 20th for the 21 laps and with hopes of bringing a bright but eventful first season of progress in the intermediate class to the flag. Vietti probed for possibilities with the leaders on the first lap but was hit by another rider while braking for Turn 1 at the start of lap two and was sent out of the race. Öncü was lucky to stay onboard in the same incident but then ran wide of track limits and was penalized with a Long Lap. The Turk kept going and took the flag in 22nd, later raised to 21st upon an infringement from another rider. Vietti and Öncü confirmed 7th and 20th positions in the championship. Results Moto3 Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona 1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 32:27.723 2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS +0.147 3. Angel Piqueras (ESP) Honda +1.210 4. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.352 8. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS +2.025 10. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +2.713 13. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +10.823 19. Alvaro Carpe (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +13.437 22. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +16.645 Final World Championship standings Moto3 1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 421 points 2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS, 256 3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna, 242 7. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 157 14. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna, 91 15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS, 66 17. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO, 45 23. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 13 Results Moto2 Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona 1. Aron Canet (ESP) 36:29.282 2. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) +0.091 3. Diogo Moreira (BRA) +1.124 7. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO +5.647 12. Senna Agius (AUS) Husqvarna +14.733 15. Darryn Binder (RSA) Husqvarna +16.476 21. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo +29.727 DNF. Celestino Vietti (ITA) Red Bull KTM Ajo DNF. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO Final World Championship standings Moto2 1. Ai Ogura (JPN), 274 points 2. Aron Canet (ESP), 234 3. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP), 195 7. Celestino Vietti (ITA) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 165 8. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO, 155 17. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO, 69 18. Senna Agius (AUS) Husqvarna, 67 19. Darryn Binder (RSA) Husqvarna, 55 20. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 49