CH Racing Sherco’s Matthew Phillips has stamped his authority on the 2017 EnduroGP World Championship after a dominant performance at Puerto Lumbreras in Spain over the weekend.

Phillips won Saturday’s stage ahead of Steve Holcombe (Beta) and Nathan Watson (Red Bull KTM) and then repeated on Sunday to take victory over Christophe Nambotin (Red Bull KTM) and Holcombe.

The defending Phillips champion now holds an eight-point championship lead over Holcombe and is 14 points clear of opening round winner Annti Hellsten, who was drafted into Rockstar Energy Husqvarna for round two and took a pair of ninths.

In E2 it was Josep Garcia (Red Bull KTM) and series leader Eero Remes (TM) who split the round honours, while Australian newcomer Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM) went 11-9. He’s ranked seventh in the current championship standings.

Phillips’ fellow CH Racing Sherco-mounted Australian Ben Kearns fought hard to record 13th and 12th place results in the Enduro Junior division in what was his first world championship event for with the factory team.

Yamaha-mounted Jessica Gardiner contested the opening round of the Enduro Women’s championship, finishing sixth on day one and fourth on day two. That placed her fifth overall for the weekend.

The 2017 EnduroGP World Championship will resume with rounds five and six on 26-28 May during the Grand Prix of Italy.