Beta Racks Up 3 More World Enduro Titles

Earlier this year, Beta proudly announced their Factory Enduro Team rider line-up for the 2020 season would include Steve Holcombe, Brad Freeman and Benjamin Herrera. Not a bad rider roster when you consider that Brits, Holcombe and Freeman, had already won a total of nine world titles for Beta over the past three years and, in the process, helped Beta lock up the Enduro World Championship’s EnduroGP (Outright) title for the past three years on the trot.

Well, Holcombe and Freeman have now extended that title-winning streak for Beta, with the duo racking up another three titles at the recently concluded 2020 Enduro World Championship. Brad Freeman claimed the E3 class win, while Steve Holcombe clinched both the E2 and EnduroGP titles.

Both riders wrapped up their respective E2 and E3 titles with wins on Saturday, but the coveted EnduroGP battle went down to the wire at the series finale in Portugal. In Saturday’s final special test, Freeman posted a lightning time that saw him pip his teammate for Outright honours and set up a Sunday showdown between the pair with just 4 point separating them in the EnduroGP standings.

Adding to Sunday’s drama was torrential rain early in the day, which made the three special tests almost unrideable. Brad Freeman started immediately with the right mindset, posting the best times in many specials and leading the entire race day. That is, until he ran out of fuel during the very last special and effectively handed the EnduroGP title win to Steve Holcombe.

And what an achievement for Holcombe, who became the first rider to win both the E3 and the EnduroGP classes aboard a two-stroke, and then go on to win both the E2 and the EnduroGP classes on a four-stroke. It’s a real feather in Beta’s cap too, and underlines just how good the Italian brand’s entire range of enduro models are.

“The past season was difficult,” conceded Holcombe. “But I’ve worked hard to get back on track and be competitive. These two victories are the results of sacrificies, hard training, and a special team.”

“I have no words to express my disappointment,” explained a candid Freeman in the wake of the series finale. “Unfortunately, racing means sometimes you win at the last special, as I did on Day 1, and sometimes you lose a title, just as happened with the last special on Day 2.”