Enduro GP Fafe 2026 Preview: García v Verona at the Portugal Double-Header
Three rounds in, two Red Bull KTM teammates are separated by eleven points and a whole lot of pride. Now the EnduroGP circus rocks up at Fafe for a back-to-back Portuguese double-header, and the title fight is about to get properly nasty.
Enduro takes a breather and then comes back swinging. After the season opener in Sicily, a home banker for the Spaniard in Oliana, and a proper ding-dong in the Finnish forests, the 2026 Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship goes quiet for a few weeks before exploding back into life at Fafe in northern Portugal on Friday 12 June.
And it’s not one weekend. It’s two. Round 4 runs 12 to 14 June, then everyone stays put and does it all again at Round 5, the GP of Portugal II, from 19 to 21 June. Two GPs, same venue, back to back. By the time the dust settles on the second one, we’ll know a lot more about who actually wants this title.
The KTM civil war
Here’s the story so far. Josep García leads the EnduroGP standings. His Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Andrea Verona sits second, eleven points back. Everyone else is already playing catch-up.
García has been ruthless. He’s won the Enduro1 class six times from six starts and carries a 29-point cushion in that division. The bloke from Súria simply does not have an off day. But Finland showed the first crack in the armour: Verona finally got the better of him on day one at Vierumäki, reeling in a ten-second deficit over the final lap and nicking the overall win by less than a second. García hit straight back on day two by an even tighter 1.31 seconds, but the message was sent. Verona has the pace, and he’s not going away.
Two teammates, the same garage, the same bikes, and only one gold plate to fight over. That’s the kind of tension you can’t manufacture. Expect it to boil over at some point across these two Fafe weekends, because the points are too close and the venue is too hard for anyone to play it safe.
Why Fafe matters
If the name rings a bell, that’s because Fafe is rally royalty. The WRC crowd know it for that legendary jump where cars get properly airborne with half of Portugal stood on the hillside watching. For enduro, it means rocky, technical, unforgiving terrain that rewards riders who can read a line and punishes anyone who gets greedy.
It’s also a venue with recent history in the championship. Fafe opened the 2024 season, and a certain Steve Holcombe won there. File that away, because it matters for the British angle.
The British interest
Two of the most decorated riders in the sport are flying the flag, and both spent 2025 watching from the sidelines with knee injuries. Their comebacks are one of the best subplots of the whole season.
Steve Holcombe, nine world titles to his name, has come back a different animal. He’s swapped to Sherco blue for 2026 and gone back to the 300 two-stroke that won him so much in the past. He sits fourth in the EnduroGP standings and has already been on the overall podium, including a third place in Finland. He’s won at Fafe before. He’ll fancy it.
Then there’s Brad Freeman. Ten world titles, back on his trusted Beta 300 two-stroke, and fired up to add to the tally after a year off. He’s fifth overall and locked in a tight Enduro3 scrap with Holcombe, sitting just a handful of points clear. Two British legends, two different teams, going head to head in their own private class war while also gunning for the outright result. Beta’s Nathan Watson is in the mix too, plus a clutch of younger Brits coming through the Junior ranks.
The supporting cast
It’s not just a two-horse race for the scraps behind the KTMs. France’s Zach Pichon (TM Moto) is third overall and has shown he can break up the KTM lockout when the conditions suit. Sherco’s Antoine Magain, Fantic’s Theo Espinasse, Triumph’s Morgan Lesiardo and New Zealand’s Hamish MacDonald are all capable of a big result on the right day. With over 30 riders in the premier class and a field drawn from right across Europe and beyond, the depth this season is genuinely the best it’s been in years.
Away from the headline EnduroGP battle, keep an eye on the Enduro1, Enduro2 and Enduro3 class fights, the Tsubaki Junior Enduro World Championship, and the Youth and Women’s categories, all running across the weekend.
What to watch for
Three things. First, whether Verona can turn that Finland breakthrough into the kind of consistent results that actually dent García’s lead, or whether the Spaniard simply slams the door shut again. Second, whether Holcombe or Freeman can drag a comeback story onto the top step, ideally at a track Holcombe already knows how to win at. Third, and this is the big one, what two weekends of brutal Fafe terrain does to everyone’s bodies and bikes. Fatigue and attrition decide enduro double-headers. The rider who’s still fresh and fault-free on the Sunday of Round 5 might walk away with a season-defining haul of points.
Racing gets underway with the Akrapovič Super Test on Friday evening, with the main action across Saturday and Sunday. We’ll be covering it.
Round 4 and 5 at a glance
- Round 4: GP of Portugal, Fafe, 12 to 14 June
- Round 5: GP of Portugal II, Fafe, 19 to 21 June
- Standings leader: Josep García (Red Bull KTM)
- Chasing, 11 points back: Andrea Verona (Red Bull KTM)
- Best British hope: Steve Holcombe (Sherco), past Fafe winner, fourth overall
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