On Sunday, 3rd of April, the second and last day of ELEVEIT Round 2 was held, a day2 characterised by particular weather conditions, in fact, the snow that fell down in the early hours of the morning greatly complicated the event. The second day of Hungary’s Borilli Enduro European Championship 2022 took place over 3 laps; the track was shortened due to the snow that fell in the early hours of the morning and always for the same reason the last Eleveit Enduro Test was cancelled. Not only the kilometres of transfer were shortened but also the travel times of the two scheduled Time Checks. The special stages did not see any changes except for the progressive increase in the channels on the track.
A beautiful but difficult race day that saw Dietger Damiaens triumph, after placing himself on the lowest step of the podium on day 1 he led the overall chart. David Abgrall got on the absolute podium for the first time, with consistent performances he managed to give his opponent a lot of thread to wring, but he was not fast enough to win. Nicola Recchia after a not exactly positive day 1 found the right feeling and won the third overall position. A battle for the ranking that left everyone breathless and that in the end proved the Belgian driver right.
Dietger Damiaens: “It was a positive day, I’m used to trials and mud, in fact, these situations are common in Belgium. I managed to take home consistent times in every single special and I avoided mistakes and this regularity rewarded me with the absolute victory”
David Abgrall: “I fought all day with Damiaens, I wasn’t very fast in the enduro test but in the cross test I managed to be consistent. It was a positive day anyway”
Nicola Recchia: “Today was a beautiful race, from the beginning I did good times in every single special test, I’m really happy with my way of driving. Saturday wasn’t very positive and being able to take a payback gives me a lot of satisfaction”
A difficult day that has seen several changes of leadership within the various classes. The Youth Class was very hard-fought and there were surprises but in the end Daniele Delbono managed to get the better of his rivals; The victory came in the hands of the young Italian after an intense day in which he gave his best and demonstrating what has just said is the minute of detachment given to compatriot Manuel Verzeroli, who climbed the podium until second position. Luca Colorio sat on the third step for only 11 seconds of detachment from the second.
Junior 1 saw a new leader of the day, Killian Lunier; the young Frenchman managed to realise a beautiful victory thanks to a clean and precise guide in the special stages. Carlo Minot started with the wrong gear, a technical problem prevented him from starting the bike in the expected time and this gave him 10 seconds of penalty; all this did not prevent the young Italian from finishing second class ahead of his compatriot Simone Cristini.
Gabriel Chetnicki reached the top of the Junior 2 standings, a totally unexpected result for the Polish rider. His day is extraordinarily positive, which he completed with excellent times in all the special stages. Zdenek Pitel concluded his second effort just behind the Polish driver. At the end of the podium Mike Bokslag with a gap of 15 seconds.
Maurizio Micheluz did not end his day on the top podium step for the first time in this championship. Federico Aresi behaved very well, every special stage was conducted perfectly by the young Italian who took advantage of a mistake of his compatriot and concluded first within the E1. Maurizio Micheluz finished second today while Dawid Babicz was the third best class driver.
Nicola Recchia, after the third absolute position, won the class victory in the E2. The bitter taste in the mouth for the third position of day 1 disappeared thanks to these two beautiful results. Erik Willems, due to some mechanical problems, failed to take home the fourth consecutive victory, but still retains the title of general championship leader; for him came a bitter second position. At the end of the podium is the English rider Thomas Ellwood.
The most fought class on this second day of ELEVEIT Round 2 was undoubtedly E3; this is precisely the class belonging to today’s two best drivers. Dietger Damiaens after the triumph in the absolute also takes home the class victory; similar situation the one of David Abgrall, after the second position recorded in the overall standings also conquered the second class position. Daniel Mundell could not repeat the excellent result on day 1 and finished third today.
Alessandro Rizza is unstoppable, even today the victory of the Senior is his. 4 wins out of 4 for the expert Italian driver. A tough and difficult day, the weather conditions made both the special tests and the transfer complicated, but Alessandro managed to conclude his race very well. Martin Gottvald repeated the result recorded yesterday, confirming himself as the second best Senior driver. German Arne Domeyer, like yesterday, ranked third.
In the women’s class there seems to be only one woman able to impose herself on the others and her name is Nieve Holmes. The strong English rider for the fourth time in a row won the title of best woman in the championship. Zuzana Novackova got on the podium again today and took home the second position. Marine Lemoine concluded in third place as yesterday.
Senior Class
The ranking reserved for the teams saw Lake Iseo as its winner with drivers Daniele Delbono, Simone Cristini, Lorenzo Bernini and Erik Willmes. Diligenti Racing today concluded in second place, its drivers, Daniel Mundell, Maurizio Micheluz, Giuliano Mancuso and Nicolò Paolucci, tried everything but their times allowed them to arrive only on the second step of the podium. Gaerne also closed today in third place thanks to the performances of Carlo Minot, Luca Colorio, Riccardo Fabris and Elio Rigo.
The Airoh Cross Test Trophy of the second round of the championship was won by Erik Willems; despite the technical problems encountered on the second day of the race, the Belgian still managed to record the best industry time of the two days and to confirm the excellent performance recorded in the previous round. Will it be able to repeat itself?
The Eleveit Enduro Test Trophy was the most complex test of these two days of competition. His trials and his slippery terrain made his journey insidious, but Dietger Damiaens’ talent and technical skills allowed him to win the overall victory of these two days.
As happened during the first round, the symbolic plaque of peace and friendship between peoples strongly desired by Mr Berlato, a member of the European Parliament, was delivered to the organising motoclub.
Erik Willems leader of the overall in the championship
A tough day this day 2 of ELEVEIT 2#; the adverse weather conditions have made a race in itself even more complex. The numerous trials and the extremely slimy terrain combined with the little time available to carry out the route have put a strain on the 99 starting riders. It wasn’t easy to get to the end of this difficult day but after all enduro by its nature is never.
Round 2 of the Borilli Enduro European Championship comes to an end. A complex round that has been able to give great satisfaction and emotions to all its participants. The next stage will take place in Finland and will see 24MX as its Main Sponsor. Finland will be the turning point of the Borilli Enduro European Championship 2022, in fact we have quickly reached the middle of the championship and now we just have to wait for July 23-24 to relive the emotions of the continental enduro championship.
Photos: Vision Media
