2006 FIM World Enduro Championship Grand Prix of Sweden - News - Dirt Rider Magazine

2006 FIM WEC Round 1: Grand Prix of Sweden - Day 1The KTM Enduro Factory Team started the eight-round 2006 World Enduro Championship in fine style with team riders David Knight and Samuli Aro claiming top honours in the Enduro 3 and Enduro 2 classes respectively on day one of the season opener. In the Enduro 1 class reigning world champion Ivan Cervantes ended day one in the runner-up spot after two falls on the enduro test dropped him behind Finn Petri Pohjamo.With conditions in Ostersund, Sweden much warmer than expected the WEC's first ever winter enduro turned out to be a lot less difficult than the majority of the teams and riders were expecting. With rain falling as the first riders left the start, clear skies and plus five degree temperatures during the day resulted in much of the snow on the enduro and motocross tests melting, leaving unseasonally wet conditions in many places.In the Enduro 1 class Ivan Cervantes saw his hopes of starting the new season with a win ended when he crashed twice on the enduro test. Very much on the pace before his two spills, the Spaniard nevertheless still posted four class winning special test performances to claim a well deserved runner-up spot. Ivan's Italian team-mate Alessandro Belometti was also performing well but also suffered bad luck on the enduro test when his chain came off, losing the former motocross rider a considerable amount of time and dropping him down the results. At the end of the day Belometti placed in seventh position.Samuli Aro was another KTM factory rider who found himself parting company with KTM motorcycle during the day when the '05 E2 world champion made a mistake on the extreme test. Battling with countryman Mika Ahola Samuli stepped off line on one of several man-made bridges on the extreme test, hit neutral, and slid back to the base of the climb before attacking the slope for a second time—thankfully making it over without another mistake. With the exception of his extreme test slip Samuli posted a solid performance and claimed a well deserved win. Newcomer to the KTM factory team, Frenchman Fabien Planet, rode consistently and finished in sixth position.Claiming victory in the Enduro 3 class, as well as just managing to squeeze ahead of Samuli Aro in the overall results, Manxman David Knight pulled off what for many was a surprise result in his first ever winter enduro. Having never used spiked tyres in competition before Knighter showed just how quickly he is able to adjust to foreign conditions and placed 22 seconds ahead of KTM Enduro Factory Team team-mate Marko Tarkkala.David Knight: "I'm well happy with the way things went today—I never thought it would go as well as it did. I started off pretty steadily because I wanted to get used to the conditions before really pushing hard but I felt good right from the start of the day. I put in good times on all three tests during the day but I really enjoyed the enduro test. I made a few mistakes not knowing how hard to push on the ice sections of the tests. I'm over the moon to have beaten the riders from Scandinavia. I did a lot of training during the week before the race but I still didn't think that I'd be able to win. I'm going to see what the weather is like for tomorrow and not push any harder than I feel comfortable with."Samuli Aro: "I am really happy with the way things have gone, apart from a mistake that I made on the extreme test. I don't remember which lap it was on because we rode so many laps, but I think it was lap three. I got stuck on one of the man-made ramps, missed a gear shift, and had to have a second attempt to get over it. Apart from that it has been a good day. The weather has been really strange. I am a little disappointed that it has been so warm. The last lap was quite difficult because the snow was almost all gone in the enduro test and the dark ground made it hard to see the ruts."Ivan Cervantes: "It has been a really good day for me, I am really happy with my result. Petri (Pohjamo) is from Finland so he has a lot of experience in these conditions. To finish second is like a victory for me. But having said that I am a little bit angry with myself because I feel that I could have won. I lost a lot of time with two crashes on the enduro tests. I think that I must have lost about 20 seconds, which would have been enough to win."2006 World Enduro Championship Rnd 1
Grand Prix of Sweden—Day 1 Results****Enduro 1 class
1. Petri Pohjamo (TM) 1.06:46.54
2. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 1.7:01.41
3. Simone Albergoni (Honda) 1.7:05.08
4. Peter Bergvall (Suzuki) 1.07:10.41
5. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 1.07:58.69
6. Maurizio Micheluz (Yamaha) 1.08:25.45
7. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1.08:37.77
8. Robert Carlsson (Yamaha) 1.08:47.25
9. Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha) 1.08:59.44
10. Frederik Georgsson (KTM) 1.09:01.98
11. Mike Hartman (KTM) 1.10:21.74
12. Par Olsson (Yamaha) 1.12:05.67
13. Leit Holm (KTM) 1.12:13.58
14. Freddy Blanc (KTM) 1.13:38.500Enduro 2
1. Samuli Aro (KTM) 1.04:53.34
2. Mika Ahola (Honda) 1.05:20.06
3. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 1.05:52.94
4. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1.07:02.43
5. Stefan Merriman (Yamaha) 1.07:30.89
6. Fabien Planet (KTM) 1.07:58.47
7. Petteri Silvan (KTM) 1.08:02.21
8. Patrik Wicksell (KTM) 1.08:47.69
9. Riku Rihelainen (Husaberg) 1.08:52.98
10. Euan McConnell (TM) 1.09:09.47
11. Xavier Galindo (KTM) 1.09:18.84
12. Thierry Klutz (Sherco) 1.09:21.84
13. Andrea Beconi (Beta) 1.09:39.88
14. Cristobal Guerrero (Gas Gas) 1.09:01.85
15. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 1.10:29.32
16. Giuseppe Canova (Husqvarna) 1.10:51.38
17. Johan Bjerkert (KTM) 1.11:09.94
18. Pentti Nurminen (Husaberg) 1.11:25.08
19. Tobias Burman (Husaberg) 1.11:53.36
20. Alessandro Botturi (Aprilia) 1.11:57.43Enduro 3
1. David Knight (KTM) 1.04:52.22
2. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 1.05:14.27
3. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 1.05:43.25
4. Seb Guillaume (Gas Gas) 1.07:42.74
5. Heikki Timonen (KTM) 1.07:46.35
6. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1.09:14.24
7. Alessandro Zanni (Aprilia) 1.09:27.89
8. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 1.10:23.08
9. Alessio Paoli (TM) 1.10:26.96
10. Vita Kuklik (KTM) 1.10:28.31
11. Paolo Bernardi (Honda) 1.10:53.14
12. Daniel Johansson (Gas Gas) 1.12:36.91
13. Kimmo Hintikka (KTM) 1.12:59.49
14. Michael Vukcevic (Sherco) 1.13:08.77
15. Michal Rudolf (KTM) 1.13:27.64
16. Tobias Auerswald (Husqvarna) 1.19:02.52Enduro Junior
1. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1.05:56.88
2. Michal Szuster (Yamaha) 1.08:17.15
3. Jake Stapleton (TM) 1.08:46.16
4. Robert Kapajcik (Yamaha) 1.09:31.14
5. Oriol Mena (Gas Gas) 1.10:23.67
6. Ricard Wressel (Husaberg) 1.11:04.18
7. Patrick Wikman (KTM) 1.11:44.01
8. Roni Nikander (KTM) 1.12:04.97
9. Jonas Karlsson (KTM) 1.12:09.82
10. Olli Turma (KTM) 1.12:32.17
11. Oskari Kantonen (Husqvarna) 1.12:42.54
12. Frederik Kvarnstrom (KTM) 1,12:46.02
13. Martin Sundin (KTM) 1.13:05.29
14. Lorenzo Santolino (KTM) 1.13:25.78
15. Jari Pulkkinen (Yamaha) 1.13:58.15
16. Markus Luthstrom (Yamaha) 1.14:15.54
17. Kristoffer Jonsson (Gas Gas) 1.14:27.23
18. Anton Nordh (KTM) 1.15:03.59
19. Lucas Puerto (KTM) 1.15:08.26
20. Jakub Horak (KTM) 1.15:39.12

2006 FIM WEC Round 1: Grand Prix of Sweden - Day 2The strong start KTM's factory enduro team riders made on day one of the opening round of the '06 WEC series got even better on day two where Ivan Cervantes topped the Enduro 1 class, Samuli Aro the Enduro 2 class and David Knight the Enduro 3 class. In doing so the three KTM riders now lead the E1, E2 and E3 world championship standings.In the Enduro 1 class Ivan Cervantes went one better than he did on day one and topped the class by close to half a minute. Winning six of the day's special tests the reigning E1 world champion showed just how good he is by mastering the difficult conditions—something most thought a former motocross rider from southern Europe would never do. Disappointingly day two was a frustrating one for his Italian team-mate Alessandro Belometti. Matching his day one finishing position of seventh, Belometti struggled to feel comfortably in the changing conditions and as a result saw several mistakes prevent him from finishing higher.Riding at his absolute best, Finn Samuli Aro topped the Enduro 2 class as he did on day one, beating countryman Mika Ahola and French rider Johnny Aubert. Failing to win just two special tests in the E2 class the reigning Enduro 2 world champion placed 24 seconds ahead at the top of the class and finished as the day's fastest overall rider. With two wins in Sweden Samuli now sits six points clear at the top of the E2 world championship standings. French rider Fabien Planet rode consistently on day two and placed in fifth position.After topping the Enduro 3 class on day one, and beating Finnish team-mate Marko Tarkkala in the process, David Knight showed just how dominant a rider he has become in the WEC. On day two he repeated his class victory, beating Marko by 15 seconds, to claim a maximum 50 points and strengthen his lead at the top of the E3 world championship. With Marko finishing second after an uneventful day the two KTM riders finished comfortably ahead of Swede Bjrne Carlsson.David Knight: "The conditions seemed to change all the time on day two, which makes each lap different. The first lap was quite tricky, my bike seemed to be moving around a lot more than on day one. There wasn't much between myself and Marko in the morning when the tests were reasonably smooth but when they got rougher I was able to open up a lead. Once I had a good lead I eased off a bit so that I didn't crash. I was really worried on the last lap that my chain would come off because of the frozen ruts."I spent one week trying to figure out how to ride with spiked tyres and it seems to have worked. I've really enjoyed learning how to ride on a different type of surface and terrain and I think having a winter enduro as the first round for the WEC has been a success. It's the perfect start for me. I just hope that I can continue winning now."Samuli Aro: "I am really happy with the way I have ridden this weekend, especially on day two. I think the last time I was able to concentrate as well as I have this weekend in the special tests was over one year ago. It is a perfect start to the world championship for me, which is exactly what I wanted and worked for in the weeks and months leading up to the race."The race wasn't exactly like we expected because there wasn't as much snow as predicted. The organisers were ready for bad weather, but instead we got good weather. When it is so warm, like it has been in the afternoon on both days, it gets really hard to ride because spike tyres don't work on stones. It's been a great event though and a great start to my world championship."Ivan Cervantes: "Obviously I am very happy to have won today. Finishing second on day one in these conditions was like a victory for me but to actually finish first today is incredible, I never thought that I would be able to do this. I made one crash on day two, on the ice, but I didn't loose too much time. I have really enjoyed the race but it has been hard. Five laps each day in the snow ruts really makes your legs ache."I think that having a new race to start the WEC is a really good thing, and I think that David and I have shown that it is possible for riders from outside of Scandinavia to do well with spiked tyres. I am looking forward to the races in Portugal and Spain now though."Alessandro Belometti: "On day one I made one big mistake on the enduro test and lost 30 seconds. After that, in the last enduro test, my chain came off and I lost a lot of time fitting it again. I ended up seventh, which was disappointing but I guess that is racing some times."On day two I struggled to find a good feeling in the ice and snow and I crashed a few times. When I pushed to try and get a good time I just made mistake after mistake. I like the idea of having different races in different types of conditions but the result wasn't what I was hoping for. In Portugal, at the second round of the championship, I will push hard again and hopefully make better results in conditions that will suit me."Marko Tarkkala: "It's been a good weekend for me with not too many problems. Day one went well for me but David was too fast. I didn't really have any problems and enjoyed the day. On day two things were again very close between myself and David in the morning. Again I didn't make any mistakes and again David was a little faster. It's been good battling with him but it would have been nice to have won."2006 World Enduro Championship Rnd 1
Grand Prix of Sweden—Day 2 Results****Enduro 1 Class
1. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 1.02:47.77
2. Peter Bergvall (Suzuki) 1.03:14.26
3. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 1.03:15.46
4. Petri Pohjamo (TM) 1.03:32.68
5. Simone Albergoni (Honda) 1.03:36.21
6. Maurizio Micheluz (Yamaha) 1.04:05.61
7. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1.04:17.46
8. Robert Carlsson (Yamaha) 1.04:35.41
9. Fredrik Georgsson (KTM) 1.05:15.35
10. Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha) 1.05:45.10
11. Par Olsson (Yamaha) 1.06:31.16
12. Mike Hartman (KTM) 1.06:36.39
13. Mats Andreasson (Suzuki) 1.06:57.95
14. Leit Holm (KTM) 1.07:35.13
15. Freddy Blanc (KTM) 1.08:59.08
16. Mikael Wiberg (Honda) 1.11:40.87Enduro 2
1. Samuli Aro (KTM) 1.00:51.65
2. Mika Ahola (Honda) 1.01:36.35
3. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 1.02:01.39
4. Fabien Planet (KTM) 1.03:54.23
5. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1.04:04.22
6. Stefan Merriman (Yamaha) 1.04:06.51
7. Petteri Silvan (KTM) 1.04:32.81
8. Cristobal Guerrero (Gas Gas) 1.04:35.87
9. Thierry Klutz (Sherco) 1.05:08.51
10. Xavier Galindo (KTM) 1.05:35.96
11. Alessandro Botturi (Aprilia) 1.05:44.77
12. Fritz Andersson (KTM) 1.05:46.10
13. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 1.05:47.91
14. Riku Rihelainen (Husaberg) 1.05:52.51
15. Andrea Beconi (Beta) 1.05:57.54
16. Euan McConnell (TM) 1.06:21.72
17. Pentti Nurminen (Husaberg) 1.06:49.12
18. Johan Bjerkert (KTM) 1.06:59.31
19. Patrik Wicksell (KTM) 1.07:02.89
20. Giuseppe Canova (Husqvarna) 1.07:10.04Enduro 3
1. David Knight (KTM) 1.01:01.75
2. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 1.02:27.07
3. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 1.02:30.86
4. Heikki Timonen (KTM) 1.05:04.58
5. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1.05:17.68
6. Seb Guillaume (Gas Gas) 1.05:21.98
7. Vita Kuklik (KTM) 1.05:31.97
8. Markus Kehr (KTM) 1.05:32.42
9. Alessandro Zanni (Aprilia) 1.06:37.83
10. Paolo Bernardi (Honda) 1.06:49.49
11. Alessio Paoli (TM) 1.07:57.45
12. Michael Vukcevic (Sherco) 1.08:34.86
13. Michal Rudolf (KTM) 1.08:37.29
14. Daniel Johansson (Gas Gas) 1.08:51.09
15. Kimmo Hintikka (KTM) 1.09:13.79Enduro Junior
1. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1.02:56.56
2. Michal Szuster (Yamaha) 1.04:51.62
3. Robert Kapajcik (Yamaha) 1.05:25.34
4. Jake Stapleton (TM) 1.05:30.09
5. Oriol Mena (Gas Gas) 1.06:01.55
6. Fredrik Kvarnstrom (KTM) 1.06:48.34
7. Ricard Wressel (Husaberg) 1.07:06.66
8. Olli Turma (KTM) 1.07:28.44
9. Roni Nikander (KTM) 1.07:37.32
10. Oskari Kantonen (Husqvarna) 1.07:43.44
11. Jonas Karlsson KTM) 1.07:46.94
12. Lorenzo Santolini (KTM) 1.08:41.32
13. Sebastien Adielsson (Honda) 1.09:00.10
14. Jesus Garcia (Yamaha) 1.09:04.75
15. Jakub Horak (KTM) 1.09:08.91
16. Jari Pulkkinen (Yamaha) 1.09:11.72
17. Anton Nordh (KTM) 1.09:12.50
18. Patrick Wikman (KTM) 1.09:18.66
19. Fredrik Berg (KTM) 1.09:41.49
20. Armand Monleon (KTM) 1.10:07.13