AS3 Performance begin Sponsorship of Women’s Enduro GP Rider Nieve Holmes
AS3 Performance are pleased to announce we will support Nieve Holmes with parts for her Rieju MR 300
In a highly disrupted 2020 season due to the Coronavirus pandemic with limited racing taking place, we were pleased to agree a deal to sponsor Nieve Holmes who will be competing in various Enduro GP events and national enduro races throughout 2020. Nieve reached out to to us for support shortly after she announced she was riding the Rieju MR 300 back in August and we saw this as a great opportunity not only to help out a rising star in the female enduro scene, but also to add a range of new parts to our ever growing catalogue for the brand new Rieju MR 300.
Nieve Holmes' Rieju MR 300 race bike ready for the delayed 2020 season
The development and test fitting of parts
Although it was common knowledge that the Rieju MR 300 was almost identical to last year's Gas Gas EC 300, we were yet to gain access to the new Rieju MR 300 to test fit and confirm fitment of the parts. We knew the foot pegs, silicone hoses and water pump cover would fit but we worked closely with Nieve and her mechanic Chris to test a whole range of parts on the Rieju MR 300, most of which Nieve would continue to run for the 2020 season. These included a skid plate, front sprocket guard, and rear brake disc guard.
The new Rieju MR 300 with AS3 Performance foot pegs, silicone hoses and water pump cover installed
Other parts tested and used by Holmes included front brake and clutch levers, starter motor cover and rear axle blocks.
EnduroGP World Championships - Acerbis GP of Portugal
Nieve didn’t get to race too much in 2020 but made the trip to Portugal for the fourth and final round of the FIM Women’s Enduro World Cup, riding alongside 2019 title holder Jane Daniels, who started as favourite. Even though a lot of major contenders from Northern Europe were not able to travel, there were still many decent riders with a wealth of female talent competing, including (in no particular order) Mireia Badia, Sandra Gomez, Rita Vieira, Rosie Rowett and Justine Martel. A trio of South Americans; Janaina Souza, Barbara Neves Gonzaga and Tania Gonzalez also made the trip across the Atlantic. The event location was Marco de Canaveses, 55 kilometres East of Porto and racing took place across two days. The course consisted of three laps of around 60km containing some nice, long, Extreme, Cross and Enduro tests.
Nieve was feeling confident going into the event as she prepared all year for this, on and off the bike. However, she said in her own words: “Unfortunately my results don’t reflect this effort that I’ve put in all year. Starting at the back of the class both days (due to last year's DNF result) meant a lot of traffic in one lined tests losing valuable time, finishing the day P5, half a second from P4, but putting in some solid top 3 test times is a positive. Sunday was a struggle all day from the start with more of the same problem and plenty of mistakes of my own... it went from bad to worse being stuck in one gear for the final check and test, after I bent my gear lever underneath my foot peg, but anyway no excuses still got some work to do but got some great people behind me supporting, head down now for 2021”.
2021 Rieju MR 300
FIM International Six Days of Enduro (ISDE)
Nieve really came to our attention in 2019, where she competed in the FIM ISDE Women’s World Trophy competition, competing in the three-rider women’s Great Britain team, alongside renowned riders; Jane Daniels and Rosie Rowett. This was the first time there was a British women’s team competing in the event's history.
Often referred to as the ‘Olympics of Motorcycling’, the 94th edition of the FIM International Six Days of Enduro (ISDE) took place at Portimao, Portugal – starting on Monday 11th November. Australia entered as the current champions of the FIM Women’s World Trophy.
The ISDE is seen as Enduro's most-prestigious and historic event on the Enduro calendar, attracting both world-class competitors and enthusiastic amateur riders to the 6 day race. More than 500 competitors from 26 nations pushed their physical limits in the pursuit of national glory and personal pride.
For the six days of racing, organisers laid on three unique and distinct courses, showcasing the beauty and incredible Enduro trails that the Algarve offers. In total, riders covered over 1500 kilometres of riding during the event, taking them from the world-renowned coastal resorts to the breathtaking mountain peaks of the Serra de Monchique range. From sand to loose gravel, forestry tracks, mountainous rock and loamy dirt, riders were tested on all variations of terrain before signing off this year’s race in glorious, action-packed style at the Cortelha motocross circuit on the final day.
The GB Women's team of Jane Daniels, Nieve Holmes and Rosie Rowett finished 3rd overall in the FIM Women’s World Trophy category; an incredible achievement on their FIM ISDE debut. We look forward to seeing and supporting Nieve Holme's future editions of the event, where Great Britain will hopefully build on their debut experience and work to become future title contenders.
Regarding the other women’s national teams; the United States’ trio of Rebecca Sheets – KTM, Brandy Richards – KTM and Tarah Gieger – Honda secured a second FIM Women’s World Trophy win, their first since topping the inaugural running of the category in 2007. They put an end to Australia’s six-year win streak. Germany put in a solid final day of riding to claim the runners-up spot and Sweden held off Spain to take 4th place, while Portugal, on home soil, claimed 5th.
Nieve Holmes and AS3 Performance to continue partnership in to 2021:
We are pleased to announce that AS3 Performance will be continuing to support Nieve in 2021 and we look forward to seeing how she gets on throughout the season. Nieve will be riding a 4 stroke Gas Gas EC 250 F and is looking to run many of our parts again, including our radiator braces, water pump cover and rear brake disc guard.
