Having lost his prized EnduroGP title last year to his team-mate and fellow British rider Bradley Freeman, Steve Holcombe (Beta) rolled out at the GP of France at Requista – the opening round of the 2020 championship – in mid-September with a point to prove.
• All the 2020 FIM World champions
Holcombe’s challenge started with two wins from Freeman in France. It was desperately close on both days with Holcombe only 0.27 ahead on day one and just over three seconds clear on day two, but he headed to round two one week later at Spoleto in Italy with maximum points. Freeman struck back with a forty-five-second winning margin on the opening day of the GP of Italy, on the second day made tougher by heavy rain it was Holcombe once more in control to maintain his series lead heading into the final two rounds held one week apart in November at Marco de Canaveses in Portugal. Holcombe won on the first day at round three, despite having slipped to third on day two as Josep Garcia (Red Bull KTM) and Freeman punished him for crashing. At the final round Holcombe looked to be in total control on the opening day, but two crashes on the penultimate test handed victory to Freeman and the pair headed into the final day of competition separated by just four points. Freeman set a scorching pace all day and looked to have the win – and the title – in the bag until the fateful final test when his tank ran dry, allowing Holcombe to regain the crown and complete his hat-trick of EnduroGP championships.
PALMARES
FIM E3 Enduro World Champion: 2016, 2018, 2019
FIM EnduroGP World Champion: 2017, 2018, 2020
FIM E2 Enduro World Champion: 2020