World Enduro 1 - Honda
Two second places in the high altitude of Valle de Bravo have placed HM
Honda Zanardo's Mika Ahola on the brink of his third world enduro championship. With one round to go and a possible 50 point haul for a double winner, Ahola's 33 point lead in the championship means Ahola's rivals are facing the sternest test ever, and with Ahola's record of wins and podiums they will need plenty of luck too.
Mexico wasn't the best weekend's racing for the Finn. The high altitude played havoc with his CRF250s carburetion and on both race days he had to bear a 10-second time penalty as the bike failed to start in the prescribed time. On day one he also immediately struck trouble in the first extreme test of the day, losing a further 20-seconds to championship rival Antoine Meo. Ahola fought back, recording five fastest times out of the 12 tests but so tight was the time he remained 22-seonds adrift at the finish. However, when runner-up is your bad day, it's tough on your rivals! Ahola's team-mate in E1, Julien Gauthier enjoyed his best enduro of the year, joining Ahola on the podium with an excellent third place.
Mika Ahola gave Antoine Meo a run for his money in E1.
The extreme test was again Ahola's downfall on day two, losing 15-seconds on his second run through. Added to his 10-second no-start penalty, that was a 25-second disadvantage before he even got started. And Ahola did get started, tearing through the day's special tests to record no less than eight fastest times. By the finish he closed the deficit on Meo to an agonising 0.15-seconds. So close. Team-mate Gaulthier this time placed fourth – the two strong finishes putting him within striking distance of Eero Remes who's fifth in the championship.
The final round of the championship takes place at St. Flour in France on 12-13 September.
E1 Race 11 Results
1. Antoine Meo (Husqvarna), 1:17:22.14
2. Mika Ahola (Honda), +22.97
3. Julien Gauthier (Honda), +34.69
4. Thomas Oldrati (KTM), +57.36
5. Simone Albergoni (KTM), +1:09.75
6. Eero Remes (KTM), +3:18.59
7. Michael Goeters Arbide (KTM), +15:38.37
8. Jose Luis Rubio Galindo (Yamaha), +24:59.32
9. Luis Fernando Wahn Arbizu (Yamaha), +27:44.82
10. Jose Antonio Vivanco Chedraui (KTM), +27:47.49
KTM's Eero Remes took a pair of sixth-place finishes.
1. Antoine Meo (Husqvarna), 1:21:05.12
2. Mika Ahola (Honda), +0.15
3. Simone Albergoni (
KTM), +1:57.00
4. Julien Gauthier (Honda), +2:21.99
5. Thomas Oldrati (KTM), +2:27.88
6. Eero Remes (KTM), +2:39.57
7. Luis Fernando Wahn Arbizu (
Yamaha), +17:50.18
8. Jorge Alejandro Aguilar Zarco (KTM), +18:18.40
9. Jose Luis Rubio Galindo (Yamaha), +18:20.61
10. Jose Antonio Vivanco Chedraui (KTM), +24:36.82
E1 Championship standings
1. Mika Ahola – 291
2. Antoine Meo – 258
3. Simone Albergoni – 239
4. Thomas Oldrati – 207
5. Eero Remes – 183
6. Julien Gauthier – 177
7. Fabien Planet - 134
8. Felipe Zanol - 110
9. Maurizio Gerini – 82
10. Marc Bourgeois – 81
World Enduro E1 - KTM
KTM Enduro Factory Racing E1 rider Simone Albergoni and KTM-supported rider Thomas Oldrati, both if Italy overcame a difficult weekend’s racing in Rounds 9 & 10 of the World Championship to be on the podium for the Austrian manufacturer.
Albergoni was third in Saturday’s race and Oldrati was third in on Sunday in an eventful weekend where the weather played a major role in the outcome of the event.
Simone Albergoni landed a podium on Sunday for KTM.
The two races kicked off the second half of the Enduro World Championship season in Puchov, Slovakia, a hilly, forested area that has an established tradition of Enduro racing on a 65 km track to be covered 3.5 times on each of the race days. The teams knew in advance that it would be a difficult race weekend, especially if it rained and at least on Saturday that was the case.
Super Test
The weekend started with the Super Test on Friday evening, the extra test in front of a crowd that makes the sport more accessible to the public and gives rider the opportunity to show off their skills. Some 4000 motor sport fans gathered on the banks of the Vah River to watch the riders go through their paces with Ivan Cervantes of KTM’s E3 team taking the glory and Oldrati in second place. But Saturday proved very tough with continual rain that turned many hills on the course into extremely difficult slippery slopes.
Hard day's ride
At the end of a tough first day the E1 KTM Enduro Factory team was on the podium with Albergoni in third place but like most riders, Eero Remes, in his rookie year with the factory team and Oldrati, who is racing his first year in the senior division, both had their share of difficulties. Oldrati finished a creditable sixth and the young Finn in eighth place on a day that factory team boss Fabio Farioli summarised as follows: “Everybody made mistakes today so the winner was the one who made the least mistakes.”
Better weather on Sunday
The rain held off for Sunday’s race and the track dried out as the day progressed. Organisers also made some amendments to the tests, making both the Enduro and the Extreme test easier than it had been on Saturday. Albergoni had been leading for most of the way but eventually had to settle for fourth place, while Oldrati finished in third place.
The World Championship competition now reconvenes in July for the next round in Mexico.
World Enduro 2 - BMW
Juha Salminen, BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s former seven-time
World Enduro Champion, has secured his best performances so far this season with a double Enduro 2 class result at the WEC GP of Mexico, held in Valle de Bravo.
Competing as the team’s one and only rider at the series’ only non-European event, Juha, who had also placed as runner-up on both days at the GP of Finland, was notably more competitive than at any other WEC event so far this year and placed just 32 seconds behind eventual class winner Johnny Aubert on day one.
Recording the fastest time in the Enduro 2 class around the Friday night Super Test Juha headed into the first full day of competition confident of challenging for the E2 class win. Going on to win the opening extreme test Juha held the E2 class lead at the end of the first lap but frustratingly crashed on the second motocross test, losing around 20 seconds. Riding well throughout the rest of the day Juha finished just over half-a-minute behind Johnny Aubert and in a well-deserved second position.
Although not quite able to win any of the second day’s special tests Juha again enjoyed good form finishing just a few
seconds behind Aubert on each of the enduro and extreme special tests. Placing comfortably ahead of third placed rider Cristobal Guerrero from Spain Juha ended the day extremely pleased with his increased competitiveness.
BMW's Juha Salminen scored runner-up in both E2 races.
“Although second isn’t where I or anyone in the team wants to be finishing I can’t be disappointed with the fact that I’ve been more competitive than at any other world championship race so far this year. It’s been a really good weekend. We’ve made some big improvements to my bike before the race and they worked really well during the race. We still have some work to do but things are coming together well. I crashed on the motocross test on the first day, which cost me some time, but generally I didn’t have any problems at all on either day. It’s been a very positive weekend and with more time to test ahead of the next WEC race I hope we can be even more competitive.”
Wolfgang Fischer – Team Manager: “It’s been a very positive weekend for Juha and the team. Throughout both days Juha was more competitive than at previous WEC races, and for the first time he lead the E2 class for a complete lap – the first lap on day one. There is still some more work to do before Juha can battle for the class win throughout the day but things have taken a very positive forward step. Disappointingly Juha crashed on the first day, which didn’t help his performance. Without the crash he would have been really close to Johnny Aubert at the end of the day. On average Juha was losing half of one second per minute on the motocross test to Aubert. With more testing and training time we are hopeful that Juha can find the few extra seconds that he needs to fight for victory.”
2009 World Enduro Championship Grand Prix of Mexico
KTM's Johnny Aubert rode to an E2 sweep.
1. Johnny Aubert (KTM) 1.17:25.96
2. Juha Salminen (
BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1.17:58.68
3. Rodrig Thain (TM) 1.18:29.14
4. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 1.18:59.46
5. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1.19:42.20
6. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 1.20:12.93
7. Homero Diaz (KTM) 1.20:24.94
8. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1.21:01.49
9. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1.21:34.29
10. Chris Birch (KTM) 1.22:08.77
11. Erwin Plekkenpol (Honda) 1.25:33.43
12. Anuar Ruiz (Kawasaki) 1.27:01.25
13. Patrick Garrahan (KTM) 1.27:11.60
14. Jaime Garcia (KTM) 1.28:30.58
15. Alejandro Sanchez (BMW) 1.29:05.49
16. Jose Vanzzini (KTM) 1.30:22.46
17. Javier Araya (BMW) 1.31:05.29
18. Klaus Caballeros (KTM) 1.31:32.70
19. Jeff O’Leary (KTM) 1.33:16.82
20. Patrick Reyes (KTM) 1.36:33.19
E2 Results Race Twelve Results
1. Johnny Aubert (KTM) 1.21:29.11
2. Juha Salminen (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1.22:12.33
3. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 1.22:58.05
4. Rodrig Thain (TM) 1.23:16.51
5. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1.23:28.48
6. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1.24:01.26
7. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1.24:03.83
8. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 1.25:18.84
9. Homero Diaz (KTM) 1.25:37.59
10. Chris Birch (KTM) 1.28:40.71
11. Erwin Plekkenpol (Honda) 1.28:57.29
12. Mike Hartman (Husaberg) 1.29:33.87
13. Patrick Garrahan (KTM) 1.31:17.57
14. Jaime Garcia (KTM) 1.32:48.20
15. Juan Reyes (KTM) 1.33:34.41
16. Anuar Ruiz (Kawasaki) 1.34:22.58
17. Jose Vanzzini (KTM) 1.35:15.89
18. Javier Araya (BMW) 1.36:34.43
19. Cusi Sanchez (BMW) 1.36:58.61
20. Patrick Reyes (KTM) 1.38:23.88
E2 Results Point Standings
1. Jonny Aubert (FRA), 300 pts
2. Juha Salminen (FIN), 225
3. Bartosz Oblucki (POL), 219
4. Joakim Ljunggren (SWE), 205
5. Rodrig Thain (FRA), 180
6. Cristobal Guerrero (ESP), 171
7. Alessandro Belometti (ITA), 150
8. Simo Kirssi (FIN), 131
9. Valtteri Salonen (FIN), 122
10. Fabrizio Dini (ITA), 91
World Enduro 2 - KTM
Johnny Aubert of the KTM Enduro Factory Racing Team was apparently as at home on the grassy slopes of Valle de Bravo in Mexico this weekend as on any other world championship Enduro circuit, coasting to two more E2 victories in Round 11 and 12.
The French rider thus maintains his perfect score card and record of excellent, unbeatable performance throughout the season.
“Johnny rode an easy race and was very relaxed,” commented team boss Fabio Farioli after the two rounds just two hours drive from Mexico City. Riders had to contend with altitudes over 2000 meters, conditions that made the bikes slower and offered challenges in personal endurance and toughness.
Aubert, who is riding in his first season for the KTM factory team has been the outstanding E2 rider over all terrains offered in the world championships and was clearly not phased by the new venue and particular challenges of the high altitude race, which according to Farioli was organised and a worthy venue for the world championship.
It was not such a happy weekend for the team’s second rider, Italian Alessandro Belometti who finished the weekend with a fifth place on Saturday and a seventh on Sunday.
Aubert now has a 75 point lead over second placed Bartosz Obluki of Poland with 100 points still up for grabs in the final four rounds of the season.
World Enduro 3 - KTM
Ivan Cervantes of the KTM Enduro Factory Team came away from the two E3 World Championship rounds in Mexico's Valle de Bravo with an excellent 2-1 result to further boost his title chances with just four races to go.
The team's Spanish rider finished second behind Frenchman Sebastian Guillaume on Saturday, continually picking up his performance on the difficult track as the day progressed. Riders tacked the challenges of hard terrain on top of altitudes of up to 2200 meters in the mountainous lakeside resort just two hours from Mexico City. Cervantes went one better in Sunday's race, recovering from a crash in the second test, where he lost about 30 seconds to take the victory on the day. He now has a 22-point lead in the standings with four races still in hand.
KTM's Ivan Cervantes was the overall E3 winner in Mexico.
Cervantes KTM team-mate Samuli Aro was just off the podium in fourth place for both races and is currently in fourth place in the standings. Aro however was the winner of the KTM Super Test on Friday night which was held on the shores of the lake at Valle de Bravo. The Super Test drew large crowds to watch the world's best Enduro riders in action and is a new feature of the championship that is proving to be a crowd winner and a value added attraction for the sport.
Fabio Farioli, team boss of the KTM Enduro Factory Team reported that the well run event was much tougher than riders had first expected, with the high altitude affecting both bikes and riders.
2009 World Enduro Championship Grand Prix of Mexico
The Spaniard was a hit in Mexico.
1. Sebastian Guillaume, France, Husqvarna
2. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM
3. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas
4. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM
5. Fabio Mossini, Italy, Honda
E3 Results Round Twelve
1. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM
2. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas
3. Sebastian Guillaume, France, Husqvarna
4. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM
5. Fabio Mossini, Italy, Honda
Standings after Round Twelve
1. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM 274
2. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas, 252
3. Sebastian Guillaume, France Husqvarna, 241
4. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM, 238
5. Marcus Kehr, Germany, KTM, 163
World Enduro Junior - Husaberg
The Husaberg Factory Team had reason to celebrate in Valle de Bravo, Mexico this weekend with Spanish rider Oriol Mena clinching the EJ World Championship title with four races still in hand.
The young Spanish rider who has just signed a new contract with the Husaberg Factory Team went into the second race on Sunday knowing he only needed a result in the top five to take home the silverware. Nevertheless, he went out and performed to the same high standard that has given him 10 race wins and two second places in the twelve rounds held so far. Mena wrapped up the weekend with his characteristic double victory.
Dream came true says Mena
“Today I made one dream come true,” the young Spanish rider said after Sunday’s race. “I had a very good race yesterday and today even though I crashed three times I was still able to do it.” Mena drew compliments from his team manager Thomas Gustavvson who said it was a great day for the whole team and a excellent performance on what was a very difficult track at an altitude of over 2000 meters. Husaberg team-mate Bjorne Carlsson, who rides in E3 also said it was a great day for the team and for Mena. “It’s fantastic. He’s riding so good and he’s such a nice guy. We had fun in the finish where we sprayed him with champagne to celebrate,” he said.
Another Spaniard, this time in the form of Husaberg's Oriol Mena, rode to clean sweep in the World Enduro Junior class.
Carlsson himself was not so fortunate this weekend. He finished in seventh place on Saturday and had to retire after one lap on Sunday, citing a lack of practice on the bike as a result of injuries. Carlsson has had a damaged knee and broke ribs in recent races and now hopes to work on his fitness for the final four races of the season. “I was very tired today,” he said after Sunday’s race. It was a tough track and I haven’t been able to train. Now I will return to Sweden and do a lot of training on the bike to get fit for the last races.
First podium for Sjoo
The Husaberg team wrapped up a good weekend with another podium when Calle Sjoo rode to third place in the EJ class. “I am very happy because this is my first podium,” the young Swede said. “I was very fast in the first lap and then I crashed in the extreme and lost 14 seconds. I like the track especially as the day went on because I come from motocross and I like it when it’s bumpy and rutted.
