José Borges breaks Top 10 in EWS #7

Miranda Racing Team places 3rd in Team Standings

José Borges finished the seventh round of the Enduro World Series (EWS) in 6th place in the elite category — the best result so far in this international enduro series for the Portuguese racer from the Miranda Racing Team. The race took place over the weekend in Aínsa - Sobrarbe, Spain where excellent performances by each of the team’s four racers elevated the Miranda Racing Team to third place in the team rankings.

"It was a wonderful weekend," said Karim Amour, the team leader and the fastest Master racer in Spain, where he won the race and took over 1st place in the standings. In the elite category, José Borges’s excellent result helped bolster a 10th place by Mélanie Pugin in the women’s elite category, and 14th place, claimed by fellow Frenchman, Alex Cure, also in men’s elite class.
In the case of Cure and Pugin, these are results that Amour regards as "very encouraging,” considering that both have recovered from injuries sustained in previous races.

"But they are back and very keen to win," said the Master racer, who — in addition to being a member of the Miranda&Irmão international enduro team —is Cure’s mentor. With this victory in Spain, Amour remains firmly in the lead in the Masters category of this internationally renowned competition.

José Borges, the team’s only Portuguese racer, was happy to finally find his rhythm.

"After a few chances in previous rounds, this weekend, I stayed consistent and always managed to be in the top 10,” Borges said. “That has always been my main goal since the beginning of the season, but it's not so easy because the level of competition is quite high.”

The race in Ainsa "was a constant battle to the end for the Top 5, which unfortunately I lost in the last special. But we remain positive and full of expectations for the last round, which takes place next weekend in Italy and where anything could happen," continued Borges. "Of course I'm happy, I feel that my dream of achieving a podium in the EWS is closer. Let's see if we can do it in Italy."

José Borges, who prior to this round, was in 18th place in the overall standings, has now moved up to 14th place, which he hopes to lower even more if he reaches the podium next weekend.

Next Saturday and Sunday, September 29-30, the Miranda Racing Team returns to compete in the eighth and final round of the 2018 EWS, which will take place in Finale Ligure, Italy.

As usual, beautiful Finale Ligure thus closes out the 2018 EWS season. It is certainly one of the calendar's highlights: this incredible region on the Italian Riviera has everything to finish the season in the best way, by joining sea, sun and Italian singletrack. A perfect end to the EWS that will allow the 2018 World Champions to be "crowned" with the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea as the backdrop.