Results from the Friday Super Test at the 2022 EnduroGP World Championship round four in Coimbra, Portugal – Andrea Verona and Zach Pichon nail the super-fast times on the night.

EnduroGP of Portugal II, Friday Super Test in a nutshell:

• Hot, dry and dusty conditions prevail in Portugal at this time of year and it was pretty damn hot still as the second Portuguese stop of the EnduroGP World Championship kicked-off this evening in Coimbra.
• Riders go in reverse order on the Super Test and that meant national riders, Open class, Women, Youth, Juniors and finally the senior EnduroGP classes as the finale to the show just after 9pm.
• The cream usually rises to the top and it was a long time coming. Just one rider in the EnduroGP classes, Andrea Verona, went faster than the early benchmark of 2:03.84 laid down by quickest Junior rider Zach Pichon.
• Verona’s 2:02.68 was a typically full gas attack on the course from the factory GASGASG rider who seemed to be laying down a marker tonight.
• EGP Championship points leader Wil Ruprecht didn’t have the best opening night, cased it in the log section and tipped off the pink TM.
• The top Juniors were fast tonight with Enrico Rinaldi topping the times until Jed Etchells and finally Pichon took their turns. Etchells narrowly pipped Rinaldi but Pichon was in another league, sailing his 250 two-stroke Sherco round two seconds faster and with the second best time overall.
• Brad Freeman was back on top of the E3 ranks, third fastest in the seniors behind Nathan Watson and one of six riders within half a second of each other. Stand by your beds, this weekend could be competitive.
• World Youth Championship points leader Harry Edmondson was again the rider laying the fastest time in the 125 blue smokers. Harry ripped over the line 0.44 faster than Thibault Giraudon with Sami Puhakainen three seconds back.  
• Jane Daniels nailed the Women’s class top time, a whopping neat seven seconds to the better of Mireia Badia and home favourite Rita Viera, P2 and P3 respectively and just 0.07 apart. Vieira was later docked 10 seconds penalty (possibly for riding around a log and not over it), promoting French woman Elodie Chaplot to third on the night.
• Second in the Open class on the second day in Italy one week ago, Alejandro Ceballos went one better than championship leader Harry Houghton tonight with the scratch best time of 2:08.29.

As ever, the main racing begins tomorrow morning with the first riders away at 9am.

GP of Portugal II, Friday Super Test results:

Photo Credit: Future7Media | Andrea Belluschi