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FIM World Enduro Championship |
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KTM Enduro Factory team's E1 maestro Juha Salminen of Finland wrapped up the final Enduro world championship race of the four-race series in North America with the same kind of dominance and skill that has won him every race so far this season. On a day that elated team manager Fabio Farioli described as "perfect" Salminen wrapped up his twelfth clear victory of the season with a huge 26.35 advantage over second placed Simone Albergoni. "Yesterday's race was rather tight but today Juha won with a very comfortable margin," Farioli said of the two races in Parry Sound, Canada. The Finn, who raced two seasons in the USA and Canada, returned in 2007 to the World Championship season with modest expectations but has outshone all other E1 competitors with his stunning run of success on his KTM factory machine. Juha's KTM teammate Italian Alex Belometti was seventh on Sunday. Results 1. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM 2. Simone Albergoni, Italy, Yamaha 3. Marc Germain, France, Yamaha 4. Cristobal Guerrero, Spain, Yamaha 5. Bartosz Oblucki, Poland, Husqvarna 7. Alexander Belometti, Italy, KTM Samuli Aro second in final Canadian E2 Race Samuli Aro of the KTM Enduro Factory Team came home in second place to register his second impressive E2 podium in two days on the last leg of the North American 4-race sequence as part of the Enduro World Championships. While on Saturday Aro succeeded in winning over his arch rival and fellow Finn Mika Ahola, on Sunday roles were reversed and he had to settle for second. Coming through the wooded and stony 65km course 7.58 behind Ahola, the standings leader, Aro picked up another 47 championship points for his efforts and consolidates his second place in the competition. Aro's teammate, Fabien Planet of France was fifth to wrap up an excellent weekend for the KTM Factory team. "Aro rode very well and conditions were perfect," said a happy KTM team boss Fabio Farioli. Results 1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda 2. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM 3. Jonny Aubert, France, Yamaha 4. Valtteri Salonen, Finland, Husaberg 5. Fabien Planet, France, KTM Cervantes and Tarkkala 1-2 in E3 Canada KTM Enduro Factory Team riders Ivan Cervantes and Marko Tarkkala faced off for victory on the second day of racing in Canada as part of the E3 category for the big Enduro machines in Canada's Parry Sound and it was the Spaniard who prevailed. Cervantes emerged the winner of the weekend's action to wrap up the four race sequence in North America with two victories. Tarkkala who took a spill and had to retire with a damaged machine on Saturday was right back in the action on Sunday and took second podium place. Competition in the E3 category is being split by the two KTM factory riders, with the Spaniard Cervantes currently having an edge of 25 points over his teammate. "Tarkkala had some bad luck on Saturday but he rode well to come in second today," "team boss Fabio Farioli said. "And Ivan was of course very strong to take both races in Parry Sound. I am satisfied with the whole team's performance." Results 1. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM 2. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM 3. Sebastien Guillaume, France, Husqvarna 4. Bjorne Carlsson, Sweden, Husaberg 5. Alessandro Botturi, Italy, Honda Second successive double E3 class WEC podium for Seb Guillaume at GP of Canada CH Racing Husqvarna rider Seb Guillaume secured his second successive double Enduro 3 class podium result by placing as runner-up and in third position at the GP of Canada, staged for the second year in Parry Sound north of Toronto. Finishing on the podium on both days at the GP of USA, staged one week before the Canadian event, Seb continued his good form in the dry, dusty and lose Canadian conditions to make it four podium finishes during the four days of the WEC held in North America. In the Enduro 1 class Bartosz Oblucki claimed fifth on both days while Nate Kanney claimed two top 10 results in the Enduro 2 class with seven-time world champion Anders Eriksson finishing in fifth and seventh in the Enduro 3 category. Disappointingly for Husqvarna's E1 class rider Bartosz Oblucki the GP of Canada didn't go quite as well as planned. With competition fierce at the top of the class Bart' performed well on both the event's extreme and motocross tests on day one but lost out to his class rivals on the enduro test and missed a podium result by less than 25 seconds. Day two brought no better luck for Oblucki as he again placed in fifth having performed consistently. Disappointingly, a problem on the day's final motocross test cost him over 20 seconds, which ended his hopes of improving his day one result. Producing his best results of the '07 WEC series so far at his home round of the championship in New York, Nate Kanney again performed well during his debut world championship season placing inside the top 10 on both days in Canada. Making no mistakes during either day aboard his WR250 Nate placed as the team's highest finishing E2 class rider with eighth on day one and ninth on day two. The CH Racing Husqvarna team's second E2 class rider Nicolas Deparrois struggled during the sixth round of the '07 WEC series due to injuring his foot prior to the event. With a severely bruised and blackened foot Nico' bravely took to the start and finished both days placing in a creditable 11th and 12th. Enjoying the first day's competition and feeling as if he didn't need to push that hard in order to secure the runner-up spot in the E3 class Seb Guillaume continued to show that he is the only rider capable of pushing Spaniard Ivan Cervantes and Finn Marko Tarkkala in the WEC's largest capacity class. With Tarkkala failing to finish Seb claimed a comfortable runner-up result winning the opening day's first and last special tests. On day two Seb hoped to again place as runner-up but despite his best efforts, and again winning the first and last tests of the day, he finished third, less than two seconds behind Marko Tarkkala. For Husqvarna's seven-time world champion Anders Eriksson the GP of Canada proved to be both a good and a bad race. On day one Eriksson finished fifth and just 24 seconds off the podium. But on day two the experienced Swede failed to perform at his best and following two mistakes on the day's first enduro test placed seventh. In the Enduro Junior class Frenchman Marc Bourgeois finished in fourth and fifth. On day one the WR125 mounted rider placed just under 12 seconds off the podium while on day two a mistake in the final enduro test in part ended his hopes of bettering his day one result. Seb Guillaume: "The first day was really good for me. I didn't push too hard but I finished second behind Cervantes. I started the second day wanting to fight for the class win but I crashed on the first extreme test and lost at least 10 seconds. After that I was having one good test, one bad test, one good test. I just didn't have a good feeling. I finished on the podium on both days, which is good, but I want to be closer to the top of the podium." Bartosz Oblucki: "It's not been the best of races for me. Finishing fifth on both days isn't what I had hoped for. I just didn't feel good on my bike, partly still because of the injury I picked up at the GP of Italy. I made some mistakes on both days but also had a small problem with the gearbox, which affected the way I could ride. It's not been a great race but it's not been too bad I suppose." Nate Kanney: "The GP of Canada was pretty good for me. I think I got all my crashes out of the way at the race in New York so I was pleased with the way I rode. I wasn't outstanding in any of the tests but I was consistent and didn't make many mistakes. I stalled my bike once but didn't crash at all and got eighth and ninth, which I'm pretty pleased with. I've had my best two results of the season in the States and Canada so I'm heading into the final two rounds of the world championship on a much higher note than when I arrived so I'm looking forward to getting back to racing in Europe." Anders Eriksson: "Day one went well for me. I felt that I was riding well and although I finished in fifth I was only 24 seconds away from the podium, which was pleasing. But on day two I made two crashes on the enduro test on the first lap. After that my test times improved, but it was too late. I finished in seventh and a long way away from where I did on day one, so I'm not pleased with how I rode on day two." Albergoni claims third consecutive double podium result UFO Corse Yamaha rider Simone Albergoni brought his two race trip to North America to a close in style claiming runner-up finishes on both days in the Enduro 1 class at the GP of Canada, staged for the second consecutive year two hours north of Toronto in Parry Sounds. Having claimed a double podium result at the GP of USA one week earlier with second and third place results Simone went one better in Canada and finished as runner-up to six-time world champion Juha Salminen on both days. Making it a great weekend for Yamaha at the GP of Canada Yamaha France rider Marc Germain claimed third on both days while Albergoni's UFO Corse Yamaha team-mate Cristobal Guerrero placed in fourth on both days resulting in Yamaha claiming three of the top fourth places in the E1 class on both days of competition. At the end of the first day just 12 seconds separated Albergoni from winner Salminen as the UFO Corse Yamaha team's number one rider finished close behind the current Enduro 1 championship leader just as he had on day one of the GP of USA. Winning two of the day's seven timed tests Simone, like all riders, found the unusually tight, single track enduro test challenging but performed consistently and without mistakes all day. With Frenchman Marc Germain claiming third some 22 seconds behind Albergoni, Cristobal Guerrero's hopes of a podium finish ended when he made a costly mistake on the final run through the event's all natural extreme test. Posting a time eight seconds slower than his previous run, he placed less than six seconds adrift of Germain but in a strong fourth position none the less. Unable to get to grips with the soft, lose Canadian terrain the UFO Corse Yamaha team's third member Maurizio Micheluz finished seventh. Day two saw Albergoni, Germain and Guerrero all repeat their day one finishing positions as the Yamaha mounted trio claimed second, third and fourth respectively in the E1 class. Despite Simone's best efforts he was unable to remain as close to Salminen as he was on day one and placed 26 seconds behind the Finn. Having tried everything in order to stop the day one winner from extending his lead Simone topped two of the day's tests, including the final test of the event. With just under 10 seconds separating Yamaha France rider Marc Germain and UFO Corse Yamaha rider Cristobal Guerrero it was again the more experienced Frenchman that got the upper hand over his younger Spanish rival. With Cristobal not riding as well on lap one as he did during the later stages of the second day his lack of speed during the opening three tests ultimately kept him from finishing third. Maurizio Micheluz had a disappointing second day when he hit a rock in the extreme test and broke his rear chain guard. Despite losing 11 minutes fixing the problem Maurizio finished the day. Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Second, Day 2 Second: "Second position seems to be my position. Juha was very fast on both days. I tried several different things to be as fast as him but I couldn't beat him. I made some small mistakes but generally I had a good race and finished second on both days. I'm happy. "On the first day I pushed and pushed but I wasn't able to win. I was just 12 seconds behind Juha but he doesn't make any mistakes. Now I have to work hard before the next round of the series in Slovakia. I have to be a little bit faster everywhere. The GP of Canada hasn't been as hard as last year but it has been a nice race. I also have to thank the UFO Corse Yamaha team and my mechanic for their support and work for the two North American races, they've done a great job." Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Fourth, Day 2 Fourth: "Day one wasn't too bad finishing in fourth position. I made one mistake in the extreme test on the last lap, which cost me a lot of time. On the second day I didn't have a good feeling on the enduro test for some reason. After the first lap I started riding better and I got fourth again. Fourth isn't so bad but I want to be on the podium at all the races now. I have missed the podium on both days by less than 10 seconds, which is frustrating. I want to do at least on position better in Slovakia." Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Seventh, Day 2 11th: "It's not been the best of weekends for me. I didn't feel so comfortably with my riding on day one, although I didn't make too many mistakes, and finished seventh. On the second day I hit a rock on the extreme test and broke the rear chain guide mount and also damaged the rear wheel hub. I lost a lot of time fixing the damage but I continued just to try and take some championship points." FIFTH PLACE FOR MERRIMAN IN THE FIRST DAY OF THE CANADIAN ENDURO GP Stefan Merriman again reinforced his role as a protagonist in Canada, finishing in the E2's top five in the first day of racing at Parry Sound, the 6th round of the World Enduro Championship. Atop an Aprilia RXV 4.5, the Australian mounted a comeback at the halfway point following a slow start. He was able to rise to 7th place on the circuit that is difficult to interpret, tight, and torturous. Nicolas Paganon (Aprilia RXV 4.5) instead closed out in 18th place. In the first of two days of racing at the Canadian Enduro Grand Prix, Team Aprilia Off Road did well notwithstanding a truly difficult and engaging circuit that claimed a few riders as victims. It was another tough race, with terrain very similar to what they encountered in Finland; a lot of undergrowth including sand and roots. The Nordic riders took advantage of the familiar terrain in the chrono races that, at times, had a so tight path that it became difficult to move the handlebars. Stefan Merriman (Aprilia RXV 4.5) was forced to work harder than expected to adapt to the conditions. Only in the second half of the race was he able to find a good rhythm and move up from 7th to 4th place overall, just 40 seconds behind the podium zone. Nicolas Paganon's race was more difficult (Aprilia RXV 4.5) since he wasn't able to find his rhythm and ended up finishing the first day in 12th place. Based on indications from the riders, the team worked quickly to find the best setting for the bikes to make them more suitable for the second and last day of racing. I worked really hard today to find the right feeling - declared Merriman - since these special test are exceptionally slow and treacherous. At the end of the day, we made some modifications that I hope will make us more competitive tomorrow". "Very difficult specials - added Paganon - I was never able to find the right rhythm, in particular during the line races, the longest and most decisive for the classification".
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