Garcia and Verona – Perfect weekend for Red Bull KTM at EnduroGP of Finland

Garcia and Verona lock out the top two

Round three of the 2026 FIM EnduroGP World Championship delivered a dream result for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, with Josep Garcia and Andrea Verona locking out the top two positions in EnduroGP on both days of racing in Vierumäki, Finland.

By the end of the weekend, KTM had not only secured a perfect one-two in the overall class, but also celebrated double class victories, with Garcia continuing his unbeaten run in Enduro1 and Verona strengthening his grip on Enduro2.

Garcia strong from the start

Josep Garcia came out flying on Saturday, setting the pace immediately by topping all three tests on the opening lap and building a nine-second lead after lap one. What followed was a proper fight with teammate Andrea Verona, with the lead changing hands several times through the day.

In the end, Garcia missed the overall win by less than a second, but still finished comfortably clear of the rest of the field, with a huge 47-second gap to third place. He also completely dominated Enduro1, taking the class win by two minutes and two seconds.

On Sunday, Garcia and his KTM 250 EXC-F returned to the top step overall. He took control from the first test and stayed there all day, handling the pressure from Verona to take the EnduroGP win by 1.3 seconds. Just as importantly, he extended his perfect Enduro1 record in 2026 to six wins from six race days.

Verona delivers breakthrough overall win

For Andrea Verona, Finland marked a major step forward. On Saturday, the Italian put together his best overall performance of the season so far, finding strong rhythm on lap two and then going head-to-head with Garcia in an incredibly close fight for victory.

Verona delivered when it counted most, topping the final test to secure his first overall EnduroGP win of the season by less than a second, while also adding another Enduro2 class victory.

He backed that up again on Sunday with another day-long battle at the front. After two laps, Verona had already taken two test wins and stayed right in the fight heading into the final lap. He won two of the last three tests and launched a late charge, but this time came up just 1.3 seconds short of Garcia. Still, second overall and another Enduro2 win made it another excellent day for the Italian.

KTM in control after three rounds

After three rounds, the Finland weekend leaves Red Bull KTM in a very strong position in the championship fight. Garcia now leads the overall EnduroGP standings by 11 points over Verona, while also holding a commanding 29-point lead in Enduro1.

Verona, meanwhile, remains second overall and has now extended his Enduro2 championship advantage to 19 points thanks to his double class win in Finland.

So not only did KTM leave Finland with the perfect weekend result, they also tightened their grip on both the overall and class title fights.

Eyes now on Portugal

The 2026 FIM EnduroGP World Championship continues next month with a double-header in Fafe, Portugal, starting with GP of Portugal I on June 12-14.

If Finland was any sign of what is coming next, Red Bull KTM heads there with serious momentum.

Rider reactions

Josep Garcia:
“We’ve had a really good GP here in Finland with some strong results. Yesterday was a little frustrating because the overall win was so close, but to take P2 in EnduroGP and another win in Enduro1 was still important. Today the goal was to start strong and stay consistent all day, and we managed to do that. I’m really happy to take the overall win and another victory in Enduro1. I also had a pretty big crash in the second Enduro Test after hitting a tree at speed, so I’m relieved to come away okay. Overall, the feeling with the bike was really good all weekend and I’m already looking forward to Portugal.”

Andrea Verona:
“I’m really happy with my weekend here in Finland. Yesterday we took the overall win, which was a great result, and today we were fighting for it again right until the final test. In the end, we missed the victory by just over one second, but I’m still pleased because I felt really good on the bike and my pace was strong throughout the day. Similar to yesterday, I started a little slower and improved lap by lap, getting closer to the front as the race went on. I pushed hard in the final test and gave everything, but it just wasn’t quite enough this time. Still, it’s been another positive weekend for the championship and now the focus turns to Portugal in a few weeks.”