Mikael Persson Retakes Enduro3 Championship Lead In Hungary

The penultimate round of the FIM Enduro3 World Championship proved a pivotal one for Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Mikael Persson with the Swede retaking control of the points lead on his TE 300. Delivering a super consistent weekend of racing at the GP of Hungary, Persson finished second both days in Zalaegerszeg.

After slipping to second in this year’s championship fight at round four, Persson has crucially gained momentum at the right time, putting himself back in the driving seat with just one round to go. Entering this weekend’s GP of Hungary 11 points behind rival Brad Freeman, Persson ended it three points in front thanks to a pair of hard-fought runner-up finishes.

With conditions in stark contrast to last weekend’s muddy GP of Slovakia, Persson took a little bit of time to get going on Saturday morning. A crash on the first enduro test hampered his rhythm. But once settled in he fought his way back to second in class, finishing just six seconds shy of victory.

Again up the sharp end of the results on Sunday, Mikael got off to a flying start by winning the opening two special tests. But with times proving super tight, the fight for victory was close. A couple of mistake in the latter half of the day hurt his chances of winning and he had to settle for second place.

The FIM EnduroGP World Championship concludes with the seventh and final round in Germany on October 14-16 where Persson will be looking to clinch the Enduro3 title. Before then, Mikael will compete in the FIM International Six Days Enduro in France on August 29 - September 3, where he aims to better his individual overall result of third from 2021 with Team Sweden.

Mikael Persson: “It’s been a solid weekend with good results in Enduro3 for the championship fight. I had a few mistakes throughout each day, but overall I felt strong and consistent. Conditions were tricky in the dust and completely different from last weekend in Slovakia. I had a crash in the first enduro test on Saturday which took a little bit of time to get going from, so that might have cost me a chance of winning there. There’s a bit of a gap now until the final round in Germany in October, so I’ll try to manage that as best I can and give it my best shot there to be world champion.”

Results: Round 6, GP of Hungary

Day 1 - Enduro3
1. Jaume Betriu (KTM) 1:02:40.79;
2. Mikael Persson (Husqvarna) 1:02:47.14;
3. Matteo Pavoni (TM) 1:02:48.16;
4. Marc Sans (Husqvarna) 1:02:50.28;
5. Daniel McCanney (Sherco) 1:02:54.59…

Day 2 - Enduro3
1. Marc Sans (Husqvarna) 1:01:15.80;
2. Mikael Persson (Husqvarna) 1:02:28.83;
3. Leo Le Quere (Sherco) 1:01:17.34;
4. Jaume Betriu (KTM) 1:01:35.78;
5. Brad Freeman (Beta) 1:02:05.87…

Enduro3 Championship Standings (After round 6)
1. Mikael Persson (Husqvarna) 192pts;
2. Brad Freeman (Beta) 189pts;
3. Matteo Pavoni (TM) 167pts;
4. Marc Sans (Husqvarna) 141pts;
5. Daniel McCanney (Sherco) 125pts…