Enduro World Champs Results

2 Days in Portugal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

www.enduro-abc.com     Sunday, 19 May 2013

Nambotin Takes Victory On Day Two in Portugal

France’s Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM) secured his second win of the Maxxis Enduro World Championship GP Cross Pro of Portugal with victory in the Enduro 3 class on day two in Torres Vedras. Italy’s Alex SALVINI (Honda) ended his weekend of racing on a high by topping the Enduro 2 category while France’s Antoine MEO (KTM) capped off a perfect weekend with his second Enduro 1 class victory. After her stunning win in the Women’s Enduro X race at X Games Barcelona, Spain’s Laia SANZ (KTM) returned to EWC competition for day two in Portugal and claimed a comfortable win in the Women’s Cup category.

Topping the first two special tests of the day in E1, MEO began day two in a determined mood. Maintaining his strong pace throughout the day, the Frenchman continued to extend his lead and secured his seventh victory of the season. “I started strong and just tried to build on it throughout the day,” confirmed MEO. “Today was the beginning of the second half of the championship and I knew it was important to win. I’ve gained some important points in Portugal and I hope to keep improving at the next round in Romania.” Behind MEO the battle for the runner-up result was fought out between France’s Antony BOISSIERE (Sherco) and Finland’s Matti SEISTOLA (Husqvarna). Crashing on the penultimate cross test, SEISTOLA handed a sizable advantage to BOISSIERE that helped him to secure his debut EWC podium result with second overall. Placing just seven tenths of a second behind the Sherco rider, SEISTOLA completed the third step of the podium. Italy’s Thomas OLDRATI (Husaberg) finished just two seconds behind SEISTOLA to place fourth with Finland’s Eero REMES (TM) a further three seconds behind in fifth.

Feeling extremely confident in the terrain, SALVINI (left) delivered a dominant performance in the highly competitive E2 class to win day two. Posting the fastest time in seven of the day’s 12 special tests, the Italian claimed a 38-second margin of victory. “It been perfect weekend for me,” told a pleased SALVINI. “I really enjoyed these special tests and felt so comfortable on the bike. Winning in Portugal was important to prove that I could win in Europe and challenge for the E2 world title.” Unable to match the pace set by Salvini, Spain’s Ivan CERVANTES (KTM) was forced to settle for second position. Improving on his previous day’s result of fourth, France’s Pela RENET (Husaberg) completed the top three. Placing just eight seconds behind his fellow compatriot, KTM’s Johnny AUBERT ended his day in fourth. Spain’s Victor GUERRERO (KTM) rounded out the top five.

Proving that he’s now back to full speed, NAMBOTIN delivered an incredible display of riding to win the Enduro 3 class while also topping the unofficial outright classification. Setting the fastest time in all of the day’s 12 special tests, the Frenchman topped his class by over 57 seconds. “It’s been an incredible day for me,” commented NAMBOTIN. “After my problems during the early part of the year I now feel like my normal self. It’s been fantastic to win the E3 class but also the outright classification. I’m looking forward to the next round of the season in Romania.” Claiming his first podium result of the season, France’s Mathias BELLINO (Husaberg) placed as runner-up to NAMBOTIN. Portugal’s Luis CORREIA (Beta) ended his home race on a high by finishing third overall. Italy’s Manuel MONNI (KTM) ended his day in fourth with Estonia’s Aigar LEOK (TM) placing fifth despite a costly crash on the third enduro test.

Repeating his winning result from day one, Australia’s Matt PHILLIPS (Husqvarna) secured his fourth consecutive victory of the season in the Enduro Junior class. Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (KTM) improved on his fifth position from day one to place as runner-up to PHILLIPS. Ending his day less than six seconds behind REDONDI, France’s Loic LARRIEU (Husaberg) completed the top three. Portugal’s Luis OLIVEIRA (Yamaha) was fourth with Spain’s Mario ROMAN (Husaberg) rounding out the top five. In the Enduro Youth Cup class, Manxman Jamie MCCANNEY (Husaberg) secured his second win of the weekend. Sweden’s Albin ELOWSON (Husaberg) placed as runner-up with Italy’s Dawid CIUCCI (KTM) rounding out the top three.

In the Women’s Cup class, SANZ produced an impressive display of riding to secure her class win by almost three minutes. Behind her Australia’s Jessica GARDINER (Sherco) ended her day in second position with France’s Geraldine FOURNEL (Husaberg) rounding out the top three.

The Maxxis Enduro World Championship continues with round five, the GP of Romania on June 15/16. 

 

Salvini Leads The Way On Day One In Portugal

Saturday, 18 May 2013

Italy’s Alex SALVINI (Honda) returned to the top of the Enduro 2 class with victory on day one at the Maxxis Enduro World Championship GP Cross Pro of Portugal. France’s Antoine MEO (KTM) (at left) topped the Enduro 1 class while his compatriot Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM) claimed a comfortable win in the Enduro 3 category in Torres Vedras.
With the forecasted rain showers staying at bay, day one at the fourth round of the series was treated to warm sunny skies that ensured perfect racing conditions. A fast flowing cross test, technical enduro test and challenging extreme test provided a spectacular day of racing for the thousand’s of spectators that turned out to watch the world’s best enduro riders in action.

Slow to start, MEO found himself trailing early pacesetter Finland’s Juha SALMINEN (Husqvarna) during the opening lap. Gaining confidence in the terrain, MEO upped his pace and topped eight of the nine remaining special tests to secure the E1 class win.  “I made some mistakes early on and it allowed Juha to gain some time on me,” told MEO. “I had to fight very hard to close the gap. It was a tough battle.”  Posting the fastest time in the first three special tests of the morning, SALMINEN looked headed towards victory. However, unable to hold off the charging MEO, the Finn was pushed back to second position. Placing over 30 seconds behind SALMINEN, Finland’s Eero REMES (TM) claimed the third step of the podium. Matti SEISTOLA (Husqvarna) held of a late charge from France’s Jeremy TARROUX (Sherco) to finish fourth.

In the Enduro 2 class, Honda’s Alex SALVINI returned to the top step of the podium following his runner-up results at the GP of Spain. Fastest on the SuperTest, SALVINI maintained his pace throughout the day to secure his fourth win of the season. “I really enjoyed this race. The tests were fun to ride and I felt comfortable all day,” confirmed SALVINI. “I was fast in the morning and was able to hold my advantage despite a tough battle with Cervantes on the final lap. It’s great to win again.” Despite losing ground to SALVINI on the opening lap, Spain’s Ivan CERVANTES (KTM) charged hard during the final two laps to place within seven seconds of the Italian in second position. In the battle for the final step of the podium, France’s Johnny AUBERT (KTM) held off a determined Pela RENET (Husaberg) to secure third. Finishing less than three seconds behind AUBERT, RENET ended his day in fourth with Spain’s Victor GUERRERO (KTM) completing the top five.

With a crash on the first corner of the opening enduro test, NAMBOTIN struggled to find his usual winning form during the morning. Settling into a fast rhythm on the third lap, the Frenchman topped the five remaining tests of the day to take the win. “I had a strange morning,” confirmed NAMBOTIN. “I crashed at the beginning of the first enduro test and lost some confidence. It took a while to recover from that and I had to fight hard to win.” After starting fast, Estonia’s Aigar LEOK (TM) was unable to hold off the late challenge from NAMBOTIN and ended his day as the runner-up. Delivering a strong performance at his home race, Portugal’s Luis CORREIA (Beta) claimed his second EWC podium with third position. Italy’s Manuel MONNI (KTM) was fourth with France’s Mathias BELLINO (Husaberg) rounding out the top five.

Australia’s Matt PHILLIPS (Husqvarna) secured his fourth consecutive victory with a commanding win in the Enduro Junior class. Claiming his first podium result of 2013, home favourite Luis OLIVEIRA (Yamaha) finished in second position. Spain’s Mario ROMAN (Husaberg) finished just seven tenths of a second behind OLIVEIRA to end his day in third.  France’s Loic LARRIEU (Husaberg) placed a further two seconds behind ROMAN to claim fourth while Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (KTM) rounded out the top five. In the Enduro Youth Cup class Manxman Jamie MCCANNEY (Husaberg) was again the rider to beat as he secured a commanding 78-second margin of victory. Sweden’s Albin ELOWSON (Husaberg) placed as runner-up to MCCANNEY with Oliver NELSON (Husaberg) completing the top three.

Australia’s Jessica GARDINER (Sherco) took her first win of the season in the Women’s Cup category. France’s Geraldine FOURNEL (Husaberg) finished in second position with Britain’s Jane DANIELS (Husaberg) completing the top three.