Round 5 of the Super Enduro World Championship made history in Belgrade, Serbia on February 21st with a first time visit to Serbia. With only three rounds remaining in the season, championship battles have started to intensify as riders fight for crucial points and overall positions.
Youth
Connor Watson headed into round 5 in 2nd overall in the Youth classification with 150 points. His Serbian round was a tale of redemption and heartbreak. Race 1 saw Connor tumble in the log pyramid, dropping to 10th before recovering to finish in 6th with 10 points. It was a "race to forget" as Connor described it, but he did well to recover from such a challenging start.
Race 2 looked set to deliver the redemption story Connor was hoping for. Starting from the front row, Watson moved into 2nd by the fourth corner and quickly took the lead, building a gap over his competitors. The battle for 1st intensified as Walczak applied pressure from behind, but Watson responded by jumping into corners and taking every opportunity to maintain his advantage. Connor was pushing hard to keep ahead in 1st with some proper good racing.
In a heartbreaking turn of events, Connor lost a bit of control and ended up off the track. He rejoined as quickly as possible with a last power push to cross the finish line in 1st. Unfortunately, due to a 5-second penalty for rejoining incorrectly, Connor was moved to 2nd position with 17 points.
Overall, Connor finished the evening in 4th with 27 points, just missing the podium due to the penalty. Despite the disappointment, Connor is still sitting in 2nd in the overall championship with 150 points heading into the crucial final rounds.
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Junior
Toby Shaw headed into round 5 in 2nd overall in the Junior classification with 179 points, tied with the championship leader. With main rival Milan Schmüser officially out with a broken leg, this was Toby's opportunity to make his mark and potentially take the overall lead.
Race 1 saw Shaw at his best. After a strong start into 2nd around the first corner, Toby was pushing hard behind Gómez with some good racing between them. Shaw pushed his way past on the inside line and headed into the lead. Riding fast with good flow and looking to pull a gap between himself and 2nd, Toby took his second victory of the championship with a full 20 points.
Race 2 tested Shaw's resilience. Sitting on the second row for the start, Toby didn't have a good start and found himself right at the back. He needed to put in work to make his way through the field and did a great job, already up to 6th after the first lap. A crash in the sand pushed him back down to 7th, but with some solid racing Shaw worked his way back up to 4th with 13 points.
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Race 3 delivered Shaw's defining moment of the weekend. Starting from the front row and sitting in 2nd after the first lap, there was a close fight with the top 3. Toby overtook Gómez in the Matrix to take the lead. He needed to win in order to increase his chances of having the red plate heading to the next round in his home country. Shaw started building a gap with an almost 4-second lead, putting himself in a position to take the overall lead for the event. This would be the first overall winner other than Milan. With just over a minute to go, Toby was sitting almost 8 seconds ahead of Gómez. Shaw took the win confidently with a big lead—such great racing with good speed and flow. Toby finished in 1st with a full 20 points.
Shaw finished the evening on the podium in 2nd overall with 53 points, just 1 point behind Gómez. Looking at the overall championship standings, Toby is tied for the championship lead with 232 points. The British rider will race for the red plate on home soil at the penultimate round in Newcastle.
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Prestige
The Prestige class delivered contrasting results for the Plews duo. Marc Fernandez continued his steady comeback from injury with his best result of the season, 9th in Race 2 with 7 points. Demonstrating growing confidence against the world's elite.
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Diogo Vieira's round ended in disappointment after a heavy crash in Race 2. While running in contention, Vieira got his front wheel caught in the sand and was immediately hit by Jonny Walker, suffering a leg impact and ending up with an upside-down bike. The incident forced a DNF, ending what had been a consistent performance.
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Marc finished 11th overall for the round (15 points), while Diogo secured 13th (10 points) despite the DNF. In the championship standings, Vieira sits 9th with 100 points and Fernandez 14th with 51 points.