The tweaks that created 2026 EnduroGP championship mastery 

KTM’s long and decorated history in Enduro was given a fresh, bright page in the record books in 2026. For the uninitiated, EnduroGP is a potent blend of offroad riding. It mixes fast, motocross sections with technical rocky and watery obstacles, varying terrain, hill climb elements, Trial-esque precision and stages of physical endurance; all measured to fractions of a second. The athlete - together with the responsiveness and ‘completeness’ of the bike - must be ready for everything.    

Red Bull KTM have some outstanding Enduro riders on their roster. This year, Spanish star Josep Garcia logged his third consecutive EnduroGP title (the ninth of his career and his fourth in a row in Enduro1) with the KTM 250 EXC-F and Andrea Verona now has nine Enduro crowns – his latest in Enduro2 with the KTM 450 EXC-F - but the championships were by no means a breeze.

Garcia banked the gold plate by the slender margin of one second at the French GP (the penultimate round) while Verona had to go all the way to the final minutes of the last race of a season that visited Italy, Spain, Finland, Portugal, France and then Wales to make his mark. “There was just a one-point difference, and whoever won on the last day would win the championship,” the Italian recalled. “I knew everything was on the line for Sunday and I tried to convince myself for a good result. I was calm and confident but it’s never easy when the conditions are demanding. I tried to be as fast as possible without major mistake.”

It was the first time in exactly two decades that Red Bull KTM lifted both E1 and E2 titles in the same year.

Team Manager Fabio Farioli has been heading the Enduro world championship effort for more than two decades. The Italian has a long family history in the sport and has collaborated with some of the biggest names to have passed through KTM’s Enduro story. He has also been charged with making the latest generation of KTM EXC-F machinery race ready. The production base has already won acclaim for its performance potential and detailed design-thinking for competition. The KTM 250 EXC-F and KTM 450 EXC-F are just two of eight models in the Enduro collection (not including HARDENDURO or 6DAYS editions) that features four 2-stroke motorcycles with the advanced TPI fuel injection engineering. 

“We had a really good base and then we optimise some aspects,” Farioli said of pre-season testing duties. The rigors and demands of top-level competition mean Farioli and his crew need to swap only a couple of components for extra durability and weight saving but the majority of the work involves customising the KTM 250 EXC-F and KTM 450 EXC-Fs exactly to Garcia and Verona’s styles and preferences.

“The main topic is the suspension but then the engine also with some internal parts from Austria,” he reveals. The KTM 250 EXC-F is pulled harder through the rev range and therefore requires more race-development emphasis. “The 250 is much more ‘factory’, I would say, because there are many more engine parts that are different to stock but the 450 is already a very good base and we don’t make many changes. We work a lot on the mapping and the injection system, and this is quite different and adjusted to what Andrea requests after the tests. We get to a point where we have a range we can play in.” 

“We make some small updates to the frame…but the suspension takes a lot of effort for us and each rider has their own needs,” he adds. “We tried different solutions: front and rear height, and for the bike balance for Andrea and we had 2-3 configurations. Sometimes one would work better for him than others but, again, it depended on the track.”

Garcia’s 2026 pre-season was disrupted by a dislocated shoulder, that the Spaniard and the team kept quiet. It meant he needed a modest and composed approach to the season. “I was lucky to make my goal…but I got used to making comebacks from injury!” he smiled after eventually constructing a campaign with 100% podium presence.

“Josep analyses everything very well and his speed is insane,” Farioli assesses. “When he was set on a direction then the focus was just on the speed, himself and the riding.” 

“It makes him unique because he doesn’t need to try more things during the season. He is really hungry. When he puts the goggles on, he is a real b*****d, in the nicest way!”

Crafting the race versions of the EXC-Fs is largely an off-season task. “Also, it’s not a tuning process that puts the bike upside down,” Farioli stresses.

“Usually, we don’t change a lot between races,” Verona states. “During the winter or the pre-season we try to figure out the best compromise to have a good bike everywhere and then, as a rider, I have to adapt to the different conditions.”

The Italian went into 2026 still lacking full conviction with his set-up and that meant some extra tests. “Test days can be quite intense because I ride a lot to understand what I am feeling and to get the right direction,” he says. “I have to explain those feelings when I am riding in the best way so that the mechanics and the technicians can transform them into numbers, different pieces and different parts of the bike. It’s about making feelings into something real. It is not always easy. Also, the technicians need to have experience to know what to do in the best possible way.”

After more suspension adjustments with the help of WP, Andrea was able to get the job done during that nervy conclusion in Wales. “On the mental side he was one step up,” Farioli remembers. “It was a championship [win] that will stay in our minds for a good few years!”

Red Bull KTM’s competitiveness stretches across MotoGP, MXGP, AMA SMX, Rally and Off-Road (U.S. racing) but Enduro is one of the roots of the company. FIM EnduroGP seems to finally have a settled format to boost the profile of the series and showcase the tremendous versatility of the Grand Prix winners and motorcycles. “Enduro is getting bigger and better every year but there are still some things we can do to improve the sport,” Garcia says. KTM remain on the crest of the Enduro wave regardless thanks to the tools and the talent, both on the trail and in the pits.