For almost two years now, Bastien & Alain BLANCHARD (ABC Communication) have been working to make changes to the FIM Maxxis EnduroGP World Championship in the hope of making it more accessible for privateer riders and substantially increasing the number of participants.
Their latest project was validated in early autumn by the FIM Enduro Commission under the leadership of its new director Mr John COLLINS and was accepted by the FIM General Assembly just few days ago. The Enduro Open World Cup is now a reality!
A completely separate series (in addition to the EnduroGP classes - E1, E2, E3, Junior and Youth 125cc), this Enduro Open World Cup will allow privateer or local ‘wildcard’ riders to turn up and ride alongside the stars of the discipline!
On the programme are three new open categories:
•2-stroke (all capacities)
•4-stroke (all capacities)
•Seniors (over 37 years old - any capacity).
In addition, a Team Trophy will be awarded to the best team who have put forward a minimum of 3 riders in this Enduro Open series!
This Enduro Open World Cup will be:
•open to everyone from the age of 16
•held at all 7 Grand Prix of the 2019 World Championship season.
However:
•Only the 8 best day results of each rider will be counted. It will therefore be possible to win one these three FIM World Cups without having participated in every round!
This new category will also be closely managed by the Race Direction to take into account the technical abilities of the participants. Accordingly, the Open class will complete over one lap fewer than the EnduroGP riders and some route deviations will be put in place for the more technical and difficult parts of the liaison as well as on some special tests.
Bastien BLANCHARD, CEO of ABC Communication, welcomed these decisions: "It was imperative to find a way to get more riders back into the FIM Maxxis EnduroGP World Championship. These three new FIM World Cups should allow many passionate privateer riders, who may not be able to finance a season of 7 or 8 GPs, to ride on the international stage. Enduro has always been about the riders and their dedication, and that is why the FIM was pleased to validate our new project, approving the addition of three new World Cups!"
John COLLINS, CEN Director: The FIM is pleased to announce the introduction of the Enduro Open World Cup and its associated categories into the FIM Enduro World Championship. The aim is to encourage riders who for many reasons are not able to contest the series at the highest level, but would still like to experience a traditional Enduro World Championship Event, riding with the Champions, particularly when Events are in their own or countries within reasonable travel distance.
The long-awaited opening of the FIM Enduro Open World Cup will take place at the German GP on March 23rd and 24th in Dahlen.
Don’t miss this new series, which will of course benefit from the excellent organisation of EnduroGP races as well as the Championship’s extensive media coverage!
FIM Communications and ABC Communication