Open 4S World Cup winner Norbert Zsigovits will return home from the Swedish round of the Enduro GP World Championship as the first Hungarian rider to stand on the top step of the podium in a World Cup race. The Enduro Team Hungary rider is looking forward to the last two rounds in 2nd place in the overall classification.
Norbert Zsigovits of Enduro Team Hungary achieved an outstanding success in the history of Hungarian motorsport. During the first day of competition at the Swedish round of the EnduroGP World Championship, the Hungarian athlete took 1st place in the classification of Open 4S World Cup using his KTM EXC bike.
This was only the third race weekend of Norbert Zsigovits’ career in this field. Following his back to back 3rd places on his debut in Italy and his 2nd place finishes in Estonia last weekend, this time in Sweden it was the Hungarian national anthem that was played in honour of the winner. The organisation of the event was unusual again: as in Italy, the Open 4S World Cup competitors did not take part in the Supertest, and the two days of the competition fell on Friday and Saturday. The order of the day was determined by the results of three tests, with two laps on each track on each day.
The extreme test took place on a ski slope, because of the clay soil the Hungarian rider felt the surface would be favourable for him and did not find it particularly difficult. The cross test was a tough ordeal, as he had to ride in a quarry on a demanding trail over a 12-minute stage. The enduro test track was again a sandy, wooded and pine-clad course, which could be completed in 9 minutes.
After Friday’s victory, Norbert Zsigovits was in contention for another podium finish on Saturday, with a chance to take another first place before the final cross test where he fell off his bike on a rocky part of the stage and suffered minor bruising and burns. He continued the race and this time he finished in 5th place due to a significant loss of time.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, it was a bucket list thing to have the anthem played for me. The race went very well, I was able to stay focused and go without any mistakes. There was a small technical problem, the chain fell off, but luckily, I was able to fix it quickly. The other tests went fantastically well, I won all of them except one, so I’m very happy, thanks to everyone who supported and trust us! It took me a few races to get used to the environment and get a feel for how to put a day together. It’s now working and I’m able to navigate through the tests much better. We’re still a long way from the top of the overall field, but we’re getting better and better, maybe we can get there one day,” said Zsigovits after the win.
Enduro Team Hungary compete in the EnduroGP World Championship in 2021 with the support of Motorsport Talent Management (MOTAM). MOTAM assists the riders with sponsorship, sports management, physical and mental preparation, communication and legal support. Tamás Őry, Executive Director of MOTAM congratulated Norbert Zsigovits and his outstanding success
“We got to know Norbi Zsigovits at the SuperEnduro GP event in Budapest, when thousands of fans celebrated him after his European Championship race win. This year he has already proved in the World Cup that it is worth supporting Hungarian talent in motorsport, and we at MOTAM are very happy to have played a part in this success, which is an outstanding achievement in the history of Hungarian motorsport. We thank Ádám Hadobás and the Enduro Team Hungary for their work and we are confident that together with Márk Szőke we will be able to bring another good result for the fans during the last two rounds!”