Brad Freeman Claims 8th World Enduro Title

Just stop for a moment to consider what Beta’s Brad Freeman has overcome to clinch the World Enduro3 Championship last weekend in Germany. On top of the fact he came into the 2022 season after being laid low with a busted collarbone and a nasty bout of Covid-19, the 26-year-old Brit had to endure multiple broken bones and two mid-season surgeries for a badly busted thumb. Then, despite riding the Slovakian and Hungarian rounds in survival mode, he somehow still managed to go 1-1 at the season finale in Germany to snatch the E3-class red plate from Husky’s Mikael Persson.

Incredibly, it was Freeman’s third E3-class title the trot, and eighth world championship win! But from what the Beta rider said in the wake of his final-round charge to the title win, this one meant more than all the others: “What a race, what a season, what a feeling! 2022 Enduro 3 World Champion! I worked so hard for this one, battling through pain and injuries, but we didn’t quit even in the darkest times and now standing here with this gold medal is probably the proudest moment of my whole career. Including two surgeries (with a third coming soon) and multiple broken bones, it’s been one hell of an experience. But it’s made me so much stronger mentally and you wanna be bet I’ll be ready to go again in March next year. I wanna shout out Mikael Persson too – bro, that was one hell of a fight! Thanks for taking it down to the wire with me. It was so fun. Thanks to all those past and present that were a part of this,” Freeman went on to say.

The German GP also proved to be a positive way to cap off a difficult, injured-marred season for Freeman’s teammate, Steve Holcombe. Despite the after-effects of a shoulder injury, Holcombe went 2-3 in the E2 class and 3-6 in EnduroGP, climbing his way back up to fourth place in the E2-class standings in spite of missing a few rounds.

“It was a bit of a complicated year for me, with the first injury coming right at the first race in Spain,” explained Holcombe. “The season was on the up, and I was coming into Germany in good shape, but unfortunately I injured my shoulder just a week before the GP, so I just gritted my teeth and tried my best to finish the year in the best possible way.”