The most historic and most followed race in the enduro world took place in France and the English national team – with METZELER riders Steve Holcombe, Nathan Watson and Jed Etchells – was the winner, followed by Italy in second place and Spain in third.
The 2022 edition of the FIM Six Days Enduro was held in Le Puy-en-Velay, a small characteristic village in the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes which, for many years, has hosted all the GPs of the FIM EnduroGP World Championship.
The Six Day 2022 included a race course divided into three zones for a total of five Special Tests for the first five days of competition followed by the usual cross manche at the end of the event. On Day 1 and 2 the Special Tests were located in the villages of Haute-Loire, Haut-Allier and Gévaudan while the race course of Day 3 and 4, always included the departure from the village of Haute-Loire and then move to Lozère and finish in Langogne. On the fifth day of competition it started from the village of Haute-Loire with a passage to Le Puy-en-Velay and the conclusion of the day of competition in Emblavez. For the highly anticipated final on Saturday 3 September, the organizers have chosen the cross track a few steps from the paddock in Le Puy-en-Velay.
In France, the METZELER riders raced for all six days of competition on hard and dusty terrain made even more slippery and demanding by the rains that fell during some days. In addition to the classic French special tests on a counter slope, the riders faced some wooded parts with some roots and numerous natural obstacles.
The French Six Days began with a protagonist, Josep Garcia (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who, with his speed, brought the Spanish national team to the provisional first place after Day One. Starting with the handbrake on, the English national team finished Day One in third place but from the following day the English team, led by Nathan Wattson and Steve Holcombe, took the lead until the end of the sixth day Motocross manche. The English team including METZELER riders Nathan Watson (Honda Racing RedMoto World Enduro Team), Steve Holcombe (Team Beta Factory Enduro) and Jed Etchells (Fantic D’Arpa Racing) won the 96th edition of the Six Days.
Throughout the duration of the Six Days, the fight for second place in the World Trophy saw the Italian and Spanish national teams fight each other to the last breath. Spain started strong right away but Italy ran a constant race. The Italian team led by Andrea Verona (Gas Gas Factory Racing), Thomas Oldrati (Honda Racing RedMoto World Enduro Team) and two other METZELER supported riders Alex Salvini and Samuele Bernardini arrived at the motocross manche of the sixth day in third position with Spain in second place. At the end of the sixth and final day, the Italian national team managed to overtake the Spanish national team by snatching the second final place in the World Trophy.
Australian rider Daniel Milner (Fantic D’Arpa Racing) failed to shine as in the FIM EnduroGP World Championship, while Mikael Persson (Husqvarna Factory Racing) after five days as protagonist threw away the third overall individual place in the last motocross race. Roni Kytonen (Honda Racing RedMoto World Enduro Team) took her Finnish national team to second place in the Junior Trophy.
Results – Individual Overall
1 GARCIA Josep
2 VERONA Andrea
3 WATSON Nathan
Results – World Trophy
1 UK
2 Italy
3 Spain
Results – Junior Trophy
1 Italy
2 Finland
3 Australia
