Timber wood The second and final day of racing at an action-packed round three of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship saw another close battle for victory with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia topping the EnduroGP podium by one second. Garcia and Verona go head-to-head for EnduroGP victory Dominguez claims his first-ever Putoline Oil Youth Enduro win Exciting and close racing across all classes in Finland The GP of Finland delivered yet another exciting day of racing for round three of the Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship in Vierumäki and the surrounding Salpausselkä UNESCO Global Geopark. With many podium positions separated by a couple of seconds, there was also a career-first win for Team RFME’s Yago Dominguez in the Putoline Oil Youth Enduro class, while NSA Racing’s Kevin Cristino claimed his first victory of the season in the Tsubaki FIM Junior Enduro World Championship.
Garcia takes close EnduroGP victory over Verona
Day two in Finland marked another day of intense racing between the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo of Josep Garcia and Andrea Verona. With Verona taking victory on day one, Garcia was determined not to be outdone on day two. Once again a fast-starting Garcia saw him exit the opening POLISPORT Extreme Test with a six-second lead over Beta Factory Team’s Brad Freeman and Sherco Racing Factory’s Steve Holcombe, with Verona fifth, and eight seconds adrift of his teammate. However, unlike yesterday, the Italian was quicker to fight back.
Winning the following GMOTO Enduro Test he moved up to second behind Garcia, with TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Zach Pichon jumping up to third ahead of Holcombe and Freeman. Throughout lap two, Garcia was able to control his advantage, gaining on the POLISPORT Extreme Test and EXPOTRADE Cross Test, but losing out to Verona on the GMOTO Enduro Test. Beginning the third and final lap, the Spaniard’s advantage sat at seven seconds, but having learned from yesterday’s loss, he knew he wasn’t safe. Arriving at the final test of the day, Garcia had held that seven-second buffer tight, knowing a final attack from Verona was to come on the EXPOTRADE Cross Test.
True to form, the Italian gave it everything. But despite Verona going quickest by an impressive six seconds, Garcia held enough in hand to win by 1.31 seconds. Behind the two KTM riders, Holcombe enjoyed a very strong day to take third overall.
Holcombe had been locked in a fight for third with Pichon and Freeman. But as the day progressed, the Brit was able to keep his rhythm high to pull clear.
With a much-improved ride compared to day one, Freeman could be happy with fourth, with Pichon completing the top five. Double delight for Holcombe in Enduro3
Holcombe capped off a solid weekend in Finland by securing his second Enduro3 class victory on day two. An improved ride by Beta Factory Team’s Brad Freeman moved him up to second on day two, finishing 18 seconds behind Holcombe. NSA Racing’s Albin Norrbin joined them on the podium in third. Despite missing out on the EnduroGP win, Verona still topped the Enduro2 class. Pichon was once again second, with Sherco Racing Factory’s Hamish Macdonald third. Garcia raced to victory in the Enduro1 class, to make it six wins from six starts in 2026.
Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo beat Triumph Factory Racing’s Jeremy Sydow by 12 seconds to finish as runner-up. First Tsubaki Junior Enduro win of 2026 for Cristino
There were plenty of changes in the Tsubaki Junior Enduro class on day two in Finland, with NSA Racing’s Kevin Cristino racing to his first victory of the season. After an up-and-down start to his year, the Italian put it all together today to claim the top step of the podium by 28-seconds over Johansson MPE’s Will Dennett in second. Initially, it was TM MOTO Boano Factory Enduro Team’s Alberto Elgari who led on lap one, ahead of day one winner, Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Romain Dagna, with Cristino in third. However, with only one second separating the trio, the fight for victory was very close.
Triumph Factory Racing’s Leo Joyon held fourth, with Dennett completing the top five. Fastest on the second POLISPORT Extreme Test, Dennett moved up to fourth, while Elgari built a three second buffer over Cristino, now in second. But Cristino went on the attack, winning the following GMOTO Enduro Test and EXPOTRADE Cross Test to head into lap three nine seconds up on Dennett, now in second, with Joyon third, while Elgari and Dagna dropped back to fourth and fifth, respectively. Determined to claim the win, Cristino piled on the pressure, winning the final POLISPORT Extreme Test and GMOTO Enduro Test. Managing his advantage, he exited the final EXPOTRADE Cross Test as the day two winner. A strong ride by Dennett helped him to claim second by six seconds over Elgari in third, with Dagna improving to fourth. Fantic Factory Racing’s Thibault Giraudon completed the top five.
Debut win for Dominguez in Putoline Oil Youth Enduro
After the breakthrough victory for Fantic Factory Racing’s Valentin Mersin on day one, day two saw another new winner emerge in the Putoline Oil Youth Enduro class with Team RFME’s Yago Dominguez taking his debut world championship race victory. The early part of the day saw TM MOTO Costa Ligure’s Pietro Scardina lead, holding a small two-second advantage over Dominguez at the end of lap one. The duo were pushing hard and had distanced themselves by more than 20 seconds from Mersin in third. Heading into the third and final lap, Scardina had stretched his lead to nearly 15 seconds over Dominguez, but on the final GMOTO Enduro Test, all his hard work came undone, when he exited the race. That upset threw the door open for Dominguez to step closer to a debut race win. Entering the final EXPOTRADE Cross Test with a 35-second lead, the young Spaniard kept his cool, completing the day as a first-time race winner.
Behind him, Mersin capped off a breakthrough weekend for the French youngster with second place, while Team KTM Pro Racing Sport’s Simone Cagnoni rounded out the podium in third. Sweden’s Wiggo Lifvendahl (Husqvarna) took fourth, with Gabriele Giordano (TM MOTO) fifth. The Paulo Duarte FIM EnduroGP World Championship continues with round four’s GP of Portugal I, on 12-14 June. Josep Garcia (KTM): “Today my goal was to start really strong, which I did. I did have a big crash in the second Enduro Test, but I’m happy because I came out ok.”
Kevin Cristino (Husqvarna): “After a tough start to the season, we were able to find the speed to win. I’m so happy with this comeback today.
The hard work of the last month is paying off, and now the confidence is there for the rest of the season. Today is the comeback!”
Yago Dominguez (KTM): “It’s been an incredible day to get my first win. I managed to ride well all day and take the win. It feels incredible for me. Thank you to all my family, friends and team for support. For complete GP of Finland results: https://www.endurogp.com/2026-results/
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