Husqvarna Enjoy E1, E2 And E3 Class Success At GP Of Italy - Dirt Rider Magazine

For the third consecutive World Enduro Championship race the CH Racing Husqvarna team have enjoyed podium success as Antoine Meo, Bartosz Oblucki and Seb Guillaume all finished inside the top three of their respective classes, this time at the GP of Italy staged in Iglesias, Sardinia. With Antoine Meo and Bartosz Oblucki finishing the opening day's competition with well deserved runner-up results in the E1 and E2 classes respectively, Seb Guillaume went one better and stood on top of the Enduro 3 class podium following a solid day's racing. On day two both Meo and Guillaume returned to the podium.In the Enduro 1 class Antoine Meo again showed that despite his relative lack of enduro experience he can be counted on to deliver podium results no matter the conditions or weather. Determined to put in a strong performance at the team's home round of the '09 WEC series, Antoine placed as a deserved runner-up on day one and in third on day two. Recording special test class wins on the motocross, enduro and extreme tests on day one Meo wasn't quite able to match the pace of eventual E1 class winner Mika Ahola but comfortably placed ahead of third placed Simone Albergoni. On day two Antoine's quest for the top spot resulted in him pushing too hard on occasions and he made two costly errors, which saw him drop to third. Despite being slightly frustrated at having not claimed victory on either day Antoine's was nevertheless pleased with his two podium results.With competition every bit as fierce at the top of the Enduro 2 class in Sardinia as it was at the opening two rounds of the '09 WEC series Bartosz Oblucki found himself sandwiched between Johnny Aubert and Juha Salminen at the end of the opening day's competition as he finished in an impressive second position. Although a little slow to get going in the morning Bartosz quickly climbed up the results on day one and with winning performances on the first enduro test and the last extreme test placed just over one-second ahead of Salminen to claim the runner-up position. On day two Bartosz again started steadily, due largely to a broken rear brake pedal on the opening motocross test, but soon found himself in a five way battle for the runner-up spot. Come the end of the day Bartosz placed fifth having missed the podium by just two seconds.The CH Racing Husqvarna team's best result at the GP of Italy came from Frenchman Seb Guillaume who topped the Enduro 3 class by six seconds on day one. Enjoying the slippery motocross test and the long enduro test Seb was chased hard by countryman Christophe Nambotin but remained in control of the class to claim victory. Although only winning three of the day's timed special tests, Seb's consistency ensured he claimed his best result of the season so far. Despite his best efforts on day two Seb was unable to match the pace of Spaniard Ivan Cervantes. Making no major mistakes Seb claimed the runner-up spot to complete a superb weekend for both himself and the CH Racing Husqvarna team.Antoine Meo - Enduro 1: "It's been a really good event for me. Day one was especially good finishing second. I wasn't able to match Mika Ahola's speed but I was certainly trying. I didn't make any mistakes and felt I rode really well. I really wanted to try and get closer to him on day two and I pushed a little bit too hard. I crashed on the enduro test and lost 10 seconds, and then tried too hard to make up for that mistake and crashed on the next extreme test. It's been a real enduro race - tough but enjoyable."Bartosz Oblucki - Enduro 2: "The first day was great. I didn't have a good Super Test on Friday and on Saturday morning I didn't feel so good, but after that things started to come together. I was able to catch up the time I lost quite quickly, which meant that I moved up to second. Putting Husqvarna on the podium and being up there with Aubert and Salminen was great. I broke the rear brake pedal on the first test on day two, which cost me some time. I also didn't feel so good physically. It took a little time to get my speed back. I almost managed to finish on the podium again but I was two or three seconds too slow."Seb Guillaume - Enduro 3: "It's been a really difficult race, but a real enduro. I've enjoyed it a lot. The first day was a great day for me. I wasn't worrying about my times in the special tests, I was just riding my own race and focusing on not making any mistakes. I didn't know I was leading going into the final test. To win was great because it was a really hard day. Day two was also hard, especially because of the rain in the mountains. I rode well in the enduro test on each lap, as well as on the extreme test, but Ivan Cervantes was very fast in the motocross test. Finishing first and then second is great.

2009 World Enduro Championship
Grand Prix of Italy - Day 1
Enduro 1 class
1. Mika Ahola (Honda) 54:03.09; 2. Antoine Meo (CH Racing Husqvarna) 54:48.71; 3. Simone Albergoni (KTM) 55:19.66; 4. Marc Germain (Yamaha) 55:34.52; 5. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 56:03.41; 6. Fabien Planet (KTM) 7. Marc Bourgeois (CH Racing Husqvarna) 56:50.14; 8. Nicolas Paganon (Kawasaki) 57:02.78; 9. Julien Gauthier (Honda) 57:21.51; 10. Jari Mattila (Suzuki) 57:29.09;Enduro 2 class
1. Johnny Aubert (KTM) 56:40.04; 2. Bartosz Oblucki (CH Racing Husqvarna) 57:58.27; 3. Juha Salminen (BMW) 57:59.40; 4. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 58:01.33; 5. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 58:11.14; 6. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 58:22.05; 7. Oscar Balletti (Honda) 58:48.46; 8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 59:24.48; 9. Matti Seistola (CH Racing Husqvarna) 59:26.27; 10. Si Wakely (Husqvarna) 59:37.78;Enduro 3 Class
1. Sebastien Guillaume (CH Racing Husqvarna) 57:07.01; 2. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 57:13.00; 3. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 57:17.77; 4. Samuli Aro (KTM) 57:54.20; 5. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 58:05.95; 6. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 58:59.33; 7. Marko Tarkkala (BMW) 59:27.64; 8. Tom Sagar (Husaberg) 59:41.58; 9. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 59:49.78; 10; Jordi Figueras (Gas Gas) 1.00:29.35;Enduro Junior class
1. Jeremy Joly (Honda) 58:28.63; 2. Oriol Mena (Husaberg) 58:42.91; 3. Mirko Gritti (Beta) 59:15.07; 4. Victor Guerrero (Yamaha) 59:56.68; 5. Edoardo D'Ambrosio (KTM) 1.00:05.60; 6. Antoine Basset (Husqvarna) 1.00:24.45; 7. Vanni Cominotto (KTM) 1.00:25.69; 8. Benoit Fortunato (Yamaha) 1.00:29.44; 9. Michael Pogna (KTM) 1.00:48.58; 10; Jonathon Manzi (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.01:27.49;2009 World Enduro Championship
Grand Prix of Italy - Day 2
Enduro 1 class
1. Mika Ahola (Honda) 1.04:35.84; 2. Simone Albergoni (KTM) 1.05:01.63; 3. Antoine Meo (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.05:14.18; 4. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 1.05:40.92; 5. Marc Germain (Yamaha) 1.06:09.36; 6. Julien Gauthier (Honda) 1.07:29.18; 7. Eero Remes 1.07:34.43; 8. Fabien Planet (KTM) 1.07:42.37; 9. Marc Bourgeois (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.08:29.05; 10. Nicolas Paganon (Kawasaki) 1.08:33.02;Enduro 2 class
1. Johnny Aubert (KTM) 1.04:59.82; 2. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1.06:25.19; 3. Juha Salminen (BMW) 1.06:34.07; 4. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1.06:35.71; 5. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 1.06:35.86; 6. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 1.06:38.72; 7. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1.06:44.38; 8. Oscar Botturi (Honda) 1.07:38.00; 9. Simo Kirssi (BMW) 1.08:06.60; 10. Rodrig Thain (TM) 1.08:28.96; 11. Matti Seistola (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.08:57.40;Enduro 3 Class
1. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 1.05:11.29; 2. Sebastien Guillaume (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.05:27.70; 3. Samuli Aro (KTM) 1.06:12.40; 4. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 1.06:37.86; 5. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 1.06:53.25; 6. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 1.07:09.0; 7. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 1.07:44.24; 8. Alessandro Botturi (KTM) 1.08:01.26; 9. Marko Tarkkala (BMW) 1.08:51.12; 10. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 1.10:23.57;Enduro Junior class
1. Oriol Mena (Husaberg) 1.07:24.90; 2. Jeremy Joly (Honda) 1.07:48.19; 3. Mirko Gritti (Beta) 1.08:16.96; 4. Benoit Fortunato (Yamaha) 1.09:07.70; 5. Philip Mclaughlin (TM) 1.09:53.77; 6. Victor Guerrero (Yamaha) 1.09:59.20; 7. Sebastien Bozzo (Husqvarna) 1.10:16.76; 8. Adrien Metge (Husqvarna) 1.10:21.21; 9. Edoardo D'Ambrosio (KTM) 1.10:26.64; 10. Michael Pogna (KTM) 1.10:32.99...12. Jonathon Manzi (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.11:28.78;