Holcombe crowned 2020 EnduroGP World Champion after Freeman runs out of fuel in final test

ohh what a bummer for Freeman he rode great

Wow.

Can they only fuel at designated areas I assume?

I haven’t heard the story yet on how that happened, it makes no sense on a factory team.?

They said his engine was sputtering in test 8 and stopped due to fuel in test 9. Maybe they don't want to say the engine blew. Highly unlikely that the team would let him run out of fuel...

racerxx276 wrote:

They said his engine was sputtering in test 8 and stopped due to fuel in test 9. Maybe they don't want to say the engine blew. Highly unlikely that the team would let him run out of fuel...

Yeah, seemed odd to me too. If it was sputtering in 8 how was there enough fuel to even get to test 9?

You race to the Checkered flag......anything else is just an Excuse.
Its Tough but that's why we Race.

WFO wrote:

You race to the Checkered flag......anything else is just an Excuse.
Its Tough but that's why we Race.

Huh?

racerxx276 wrote:

They said his engine was sputtering in test 8 and stopped due to fuel in test 9. Maybe they don't want to say the engine blew. Highly unlikely that the team would let him run out of fuel...

LungButter wrote:

Yeah, seemed odd to me too. If it was sputtering in 8 how was there enough fuel to even get to test 9?

The photo above shows Freeman riding the bike into the pits. We need more info, the video's might explain more?

racerxx276 wrote:

They said his engine was sputtering in test 8 and stopped due to fuel in test 9. Maybe they don't want to say the engine blew. Highly unlikely that the team would let him run out of fuel...

LungButter wrote:

Yeah, seemed odd to me too. If it was sputtering in 8 how was there enough fuel to even get to test 9?

Johnny Depp wrote:

The photo above shows Freeman riding the bike into the pits. We need more info, the video's might explain more?

He lost around one minute on test 9 by results and finished 3rd overall in whole event.
Does this mean he just has had to switch reserve fuel tank or what?
On test 8 he did run same time with Holcombe.
When my bike runs out of fuel it goes around 50m forward not to end of test and then back to pits.
Sounds more like bike problem that their PR team didnt want to highlight.

You'll find that a lot of riders / teams, will not have a reserve setting on their fuel tap. Or, run it on the reserve setting at all times, to stop that transition danger. I've had a few scary moments over the decades with the main tap gasping for air, at a very inopportune time, that's for sure.

If he ran out of fuel in a test, you can bet your arse he could easily lose a minute in said test. Heck, in a Special, if it's a nasty one, I could see how a 'cough/ gasp out', could land you in a position to lose heaps of time, even if you discovered that the problem was just the fuel tap setting. And then , if the lever is cut off, to avoid the chance of something turning the tap off, you might be fumbling for a tool to set it to reserve.

But, if he did indeed run out of fuel, in whatever way, it's a mighty 'ef' up, that's for sure!

I'm not fully up on EWC rules, but perhaps a minder can give them fuel outside of a Special Test (and Not within it), or a 'friendly' spectator gave him a top up? It's long been a 'thing', though they don't seem to call them 'Ghost Riders' anymore.

Bummer for the bloke, but, Beta will be happy, either way. Well, other than what may be / seems to be, a bit of a public stuff up.

Maybe water in the fuel / carb (re the spluttering / whatever it was some have mentioned) - it was a wet event, so that might have been the problem?

And, of course, in the Day 2 video, we have that young lady stating "it was the F**king Fuel!" How can anyone argue with that scientific / engineering evaluation of the problem?

It's looking like only the rider's can fuel a bike, and the pits were a long way from the course. Most likely someone didn't top it off to save weight, and it was a miscalculation that couldn't be corrected legally? It seems they knew going into test 9 there was an issue, Brad likely knew he was f**ked.
https://www.endurogp.org/en/holcombe-endurogp-champion-dramatic-finale

The drone shots in day 1 are awesome, what a bad ass race course. It's also great to see KTM back in the game, Josep Garcia taking KTM's 1st day win since 2017. He was always a top EnduroGP rider and seemed to thrive on the mud days which turned more like Hard Enduro. Manni the WESS Champ also entered but was not a factor, not sure what happened there?

They refueled him before last stage, on stage and after that on way to pits. Should have been disqualified from event but I guess you do this if you have chance to become world champion. Rules are clear.

Brad released a video with a partial explanation.

* Test 8 issue was a wet air filter
* Test 9 he runs out of fuel and takes over a minute to realize it was not a mechanical
* After too late, he leans the bike to the left and continues on



https://enduro21.com/en/features/latest/10-things-the-moments-that-defined-the-2020-endurogp-season

Holcombe's bike:

https://enduro21.com/en/bikes/latest/pro-bike-steve-holcombe-s-beta-racing-rr-350


One fact you couldn’t deny before 2020 was the unproven Beta 4T engines. It’s not that the Italian manufacturer hadn’t properly tested the engines or even that the bikes are particularly new, but in World Championship racing Beta certainly hasn’t been here before and Holcombe took a minor step of faith. In the end the 4T proved 100% reliable all season and come the final race and final test, proved the least thirsty option also.

What’s going on inside this hand-built 349.1cc, DOHC, titanium valved four-stroke engine? Things are basically standard but “tweaked” is the short answer.

https://enduro21.com/en/racing/latest/japan-enduro/beta-claims-first-ever-jec-title-with-kugimura-at-murata-sugo-2-days-enduro



“The quality of my bike was good and this time I came here to the last round with a lot of confidence – I was able to start off with a relaxed mind.” Says Tadashi. “The special test was difficult, but I was able to ride with about 80 percent and still get good times. That’s how well the bike works!” The 2020 Championship means Kugimura has won his fourth JEC title for himself. This also became the first JEC title for Beta.

Need Matty Phillips to come back and race Enduro again