The Australian rider impressed in the overall and E2 class as the World Championship hit Greece for rounds 5 and 6.
By Hayden Gregory
Less than ideal conditions faced Phillips as poor weather made the stop a wet and muddy affair. Phillips was not going to let the weather affect his championship lead and that became evident early as he set the second fastest time in the Super Test.
During Saturday’s round, Phillips battled with the front runners as test times proved extremely tight. The Aussie held strong to finish the day third outright behind Eero Remes and Nathan Watson. Phillips comfortably won the E2 class by 44 seconds ahead of Loic Larrieu and Taylor Robert.
“It was a good day for me,” admitted Phillips. “It was really easy to make mistakes, like a lot of the guys did, but I didn’t have too many problems. I got close to the EnduroGP class win but Remes was incredibly fast on the final enduro test. I didn’t want to take any risks and maybe eased off a little too much. But to win Enduro 2 is great.”
Round six on Sunday presented an extremely challenging track which took its toll on Phillips. The harsh conditions left the Aussie down the pack in the outright while still managing third place in the E2 class.
“Matt is riding smart and putting his 300SEF-R right in the heat of the competition,” said Sherco Australia’s Stephen Tuff.
“The top guys are on fire and even a small mistake can be the difference between a podium or finishing much further down the list. Matt has this amazing ability to get the job done and he’s proving his Sherco 300SEF-R is a weapon by leading the E2 class and remaining in the top spot outright for the EnduroGP class.”
The result keeps Phillips at the top of the outright world championship standings, four points ahead of Finland’s Eero Remes. The Serco rider also sits on top of the E2 class, 19 points ahead of American Taylor Robert.
Rounds 7 and 8 of the EnduroGP will be staged in Heinola, Finland on June 11-12, 2016.
