Beta Factory Racing’s Steve Holcombe battled through the pain barrier to score valuable points at the fourth round of this year’s FIM EnduroGP World Championship, the GP of Sweden. Hampered by an ankle injury sustained five days earlier at the GP of Estonia, the Brit placed eighth and ninth in Enduro2 on his Beta RR Racing 4T 350.
• Injury woes continue for Steve in Sweden
• Steve battled through the pain barrier for 9-8 Enduro2 class results
• The championship now enters an 11-week break
The frustration of an injury-hit 2021 EnduroGP campaign continued for Steve at the fourth round of the series in Sweden. Having overcome a broken rib sustained at round one, he then injured his ankle at round three in Estonia, but with the GP of Sweden coming hot on its heels, it offered little, if any, time to recover. Adding insult to injury, the racing in Sweden began one day earlier than normal with the super test on Thursday and racing taking place on Friday and Saturday.
Knowing that any points scored could prove valuable, Steve bravely pushed on. Riding in discomfort and forced to guard his injured ankle, he was unable to attack each test. Despite his best efforts, Steve ended the GP of Sweden with a 9-8 scorecard in Enduro2. Thankfully, Steve can now benefit from an 11-week break to rest, recover, and regroup, before the EnduroGP series concludes in Germany and France in early October.
Steve Holcombe: “I’m just happy to get across the finish line this weekend. Sustaining an ankle injury last weekend in Estonia, I knew it would be hard work here in Sweden. I was afraid to put weight on my foot and was just preserving myself. I tried my best, to do better, but the confidence wasn’t there to ride like I can. In all honesty 2021 has not gone to plan with one injury after the other. I guess that’s how racing goes though sometimes. I have had five incredible years winning world titles, all relatively injury free, it’s sort of all come at once this year. While the schedule so far meant it was impossible to recover between rounds, I have until October to recover and prepare for the final two rounds. The goal is to get back to full fitness and prove what could have been this year.”