Phillips & Gardiner podium World Enduro opener in Catalunya

Day One – Nambotin, Meo & Cervantes Win Day One at the AMV GP of Catalunya

Ensuring an exciting start to the 2014 FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship, the AMV GP of Catalunya delivered some closely fought racing. Under perfect race conditions in Solsona, Spain, KTM claimed a clean sweep of all three Senior classes. Christophe NAMBOTIN topped the Enduro 1 category, Antoine MEO won Enduro 2 and Ivan CERVANTES secured a home win in the Enduro 3 class. Britain’s Danny MCCANNEY (Beta) recorded the first win of the season in the Enduro Junior class while Laia SANZ (Honda) dominated the Women’s category.

Wasting no time in adapting to the Enduro 1 class, Christophe NAMBOTIN (F-KTM) – the 2013 Enduro 3 World Champion – secured victory. Fighting with teammate Cristobal GUERRERO (S), NAMBOTIN – despite a crash midway through the day – claimed a 14-second margin of victory. “I’m very happy to win,” confirmed NAMBOTIN. “It’s only the first day but it’s great to start the season like this. The class is very tight and I think it will be a good fight all year.” Topping the Friday SuperTest, GUERRERO immediately showed that he was ready to battle for the win. Matching NAMBOTIN’s pace during the day, the Spaniard placed a well-deserved runner-up result. Finishing 13 seconds behind GUERRERO and posting the fastest time on the second Extreme Test, France’ s Jeremy TARROUX (Sherco) claimed his first podium result of the season in third. Impressing on his debut ride in E1, Spaniard Jaume BETRIU (Husqvarna) edged out Finland’s Eero REMES (TM) by less than one second to snatch fourth.

Stamping his authority on the Enduro 2 category, France’s Antoine MEO (KTM) immediately positioned himself as the rider to beat this season. Setting the fastest time in six of the day’s 10 special tests, MEO eased his way to a comfortable win. “It was important to try and win the first day of the season but it didn’t come easy,” explained MEO. “I crashed on the Extreme Test, which cost me time, and because I started in the middle of the pack it was quite dusty in places. But it’s fantastic to start with a result like this – I’m delighted.” Despite his best efforts to give chase, France’s Johnny AUBERT (Beta) was unable to stay with his countryman and had to settle for the runner-up result. Af ter a steady start to his morning, Husqvarna’s Pela RENET (F) won the final Enduro Test to end his day 12 seconds behind AUBERT. Off the pace of the leading trio, Spain’s Lorenzo SANTOLINO (Sherco) and Oriol MENA (Beta) traded places all day. Getting the better of MENA in the final test, SANTOLINO took fourth, pushing MENA back to fifth. Fighting through the pain barrier, defending champion Alex SALVINI (I-Honda) was sixth.

In the Enduro 3 category a battle raged between the KTM duo of Ivan CERVANTES (S) and Matt PHILLIPS (Aus). With little to separate them, it was CERVANTES’ better time on the final Enduro Test that ultimately secured him the win. “That was an incredible fight with Phillips – I really enjoyed it,” smiled CERVANTES. “We pushed each other hard all day but thankfully I got the win. It’s fantastic to win my first race back in E3 but also do it in Spain.” Instantly establishing himself as a title contender, 2013 Enduro Junior champion PHILLIPS secured his first Senior class podium with second. Behind the leading duo the race for the final step of the podium was played out between Husqva rna’s Mathias BELLINO (F) and Portugal’s Luis CORREIA (Beta). Beating CORRIEA by eight seconds, BELLINO placed third. With CORREIA just missing out in fourth, France’s Jeremy JOLY (KTM) – also debuting in E3 – completed the top five.

Britain’s Danny MCCANNEY (Beta) was the clear winner of the Enduro Junior class on day one. Fastest in six of the day’s 10 tests, the Beta rider got his season off to a perfect start. Despite crashing heavily in the SuperTest, France’s Loic LARRIEU (Husqvarna) narrowly beat Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (Beta) to secure second. Finishing over one minute behind REDONDI, Italy’s Nicolo MORI (KTM) was fourth with Honda mounted Alessandro BATTIG (I) rounding out the top five. Italy’s Davide SORECA (Yamaha) recorded a comfortable victory in the Youth Cup category. Michele MARCHELLI (I-KTM) ended his day in second with France’s Jeremy MIRIOR (Yamaha) third.

Queen of enduro Laia SANZ (S) won all but Friday’s SuperTest to record her first win of the season in the Women’s class. Britain’s Jane DANIELS (Husqvarna) ended her day second while Australia’s Jessica GARDINER (Sherco) completed the top three.

E1 Day One Results

NAMBOTIN Christophe FRA KTM
GUERRERO Cristobal ESP KTM
TARROUX Jeremy FRA SHERCO
BETRIU Jaume ESP HVA
REMES Eero FIN TM
BOISSIERE Anthony FRA SHERCO
OLDRATI Thomas ITA HVA
DEPARROIS Nicolas FRA HM HONDA
ROHMER Kévin FRA YAMAHA
MORONI Rudi ITA KTM
HUEBNER Edward DEU
RODRIGUES Joaquim PRT KTM
ROSSE Jonathan CHE
DOLFING Lucas NLD
PITTENS Thierry NLD

E2 Day One Results

MEO Antoine FRA KTM
AUBERT Johnny FRA BETA
RENET Pierre Alexandre FRA HVA
SANTOLINO Lorenzo ESP SHERCO
MENA Oriol ESP BETA
SALVINI Alex ITA HONDA
GRITTI Mirko ITA KTM
BOURCARDEY Romain FRA
MONNI Manuel ITA HVA
LEWIS Jamie GBR
BARRAGAN Jonathan ESP
REIS Goncalo PRT
DE SOULTRAIT Xavier FRA YAMAHA
NIJKAMP Robin NLD

E3 Day One Results

CERVANTES Ivan ESP KTM
PHILLIPS Matthew AUS KTM
BELLINO Mathias FRA HVA
CORREIA Luis PRT BETA
JOLY Jérémy FRA KTM
SEISTOLA Matti FIN SHERCO
LEOK Aigar EST TM
PLANET Fabien FRA SHERCO
BASSET Antoine FRA GAS-GAS
ALBERGONI Simone ITA KTM
BALLETTI Oscar ITA KTM
LJUNGGREN Joakim SWE HVA
ROMAN Mario ESP
PHILIPPAERTS Deny ITA BETA
CERUTTI Jacopo ITA

Women Day One Results

SANZ Laia ESP HONDA
DANIELS Jane GBR HVA
GARDINER Jessica AUS SHERCO
BERREZ Juliette FRA YAMAHA
FOURNEL Géraldine FRA SHERCO
GIMBERT Marion FRA TM
TICHET Samantha FRA KTM
WILSON Jemma AUS YAMAHA
NYQVIST Marita FIN YAMAHA
JARDINE Toni ZAF KTM

Day Two – Nambotin, Renet & Cervantes Take Victory On Day Two At GP of Catalunya

Perfect weather and close racing on day two at AMV GP of Catalunya in Solsona, Spain ensure the 2014 FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship got off to a thrilling start. Picking up his second race win in Solsona, KTM’s Christophe NAMBOTIN topped the Enduro 1 class. Husqvarna’s Pela RENET became the new winner of the Enduro 2 category while Ivan CERVANTES gave his home support a result to remember with victory in the Enduro 3 class. Danny MCCANNEY (Beta) recorded another Junior class win while Laia SANZ (Honda) won the Women’s class.

Quickly proving himself as the rider to beat in the Enduro 1 category, France’s Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM) secured his second victory of the weekend. Despite a small crash on the final Extreme Test, NAMBOTIN enjoyed a sizable 39-second margin of victory. “I’m very happy with my two victories – it’s the perfect way to start the season,” confirmed NAMBOTIN. “Today I only made one mistake but thankfully I had a nice lead so the victory was safe. With NAMBOTIN out front the battle for the final steps of the podium took centre stage. Anthony BOISSIERE (F-Sherco), Eero REMES (FIN-TM) and Spain’s Cristobal GUERRERO (KTM) all pushed hard for a top three result. In the end, BOISSIERE edged out REMES by less than one second to finish as runner-up. Le ss than one-second behind REMES, GUERRERO took fourth. France’s Jeremy TARROUX (Sherco) rounded out the top five.

Nambotin leads the series with 40 points ahead of Guerrero (30) and Boissiere (27).

A change of winners in the Enduro 2 class saw Husqvarna’s Pela RENET (F) secure victory on day two. Posting consistent test times, RENET held off a last lap charge from Antoine MEO (F-KTM) to grab the top step of the podium. “From the beginning I fought hard with Johnny and Antoine. Johnny slipped back but Antoine attacked hard on the final lap,” told RENET. “Luckily I had enough in hand to win – I’m really happy for this result.” A crash on the opening Extreme Test saw day one winner Antoine MEO work hard to recover from his mistakes. Dominating the final lap, the KTM rider fought his way back to second. Losing touch with RENET and MEO, France’s Johnny AUBERT (Beta) rode a lonely race for third. Recording a surprise result, former MXGP rider Jonathan BARRAGAN (S-Husqvarna) ended his day in fourth. Improving one position over his day one result, Italy’s Alex SALVINI (Honda) gained valuable championship points in fifth.

Meo leads the E2 Series on 37 points ahead of Renet (35) and Aubert (32).

Claiming his second victory of the weekend, Spain’s Ivan CERVANTES (KTM) got his Enduro 3 championship winning aspirations off to a great start. Taking a 32-second win, CERVANTES left Solsona as the early championship leader. “It’s been a perfect start to the season,” commented CERVANTES. “My feeling with the bike is fantastic and I’ve been able to push hard to set some fast times. Coming away from round one with two wins is a big confidence boost for me.” Delivering an impressive ride in his first season in E3, Sherco’s Matti SEISTOLA (FIN) ended day two as runner-up to CERVANTES. Holding off a four-way battle for the final step of the podium, Australia’s Matt PHILLIPS (KTM) eventually beat Portugal’s Luis CORREIA (Beta) by just two tenths of a second to snatch third. Narrowly missing out on a podium result, CORREIA had to be content with fourth. Finishing a further three seconds behind the Beta rider, Estonia’s Aigar LEOK (TM) chased CORREIA home for fifth.

Cervantes leads E3 with 40 points ahead of Phillips (32) and Seistola (27).

Impressive double for Ivan CERVANTES at home

Dominating the Junior class, Britain’s Danny MCCANNEY (Beta) set the fastest time in all but two of the day’s nine special tests to secure a comfortable victory. Finding the conditions more to his liking, Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (Beta) improved one position to finish as runner-up to MCCANNEY. Despite still hurting from his SuperTest crash, France’s Loic LARRIEU (Husqvarna) enjoyed his second visit to the podium in third. Portugal’s Diogo VENTURA (Gas Gas) claimed a career best result of fourth with Italy’s Nicolo MORI (KTM) taking fifth. In the 125cc Youth Cup Italy’s Davide SORECA (Yamaha) recorded his second victory of the weekend. Making amends for his retirement on day one, Sweden’s Albin ELOWSON (Husqvarna) was second while Italy’s Michele MARCHELLI (KTM) completed the top three.

Recording the perfect start to the defence of her title, Spain’s Laia SANZ (Honda) won day two to leave Solsona with maximum points. Behind SANZ, Britain’s Jane DANIELS (Husqvarna) secured the runner-up result with Australia’s Jessica GARDINER (Sherco) finishing just 13 seconds behind the Brit in third.

Spain’s Sanz leads the Womens standings with 40 points ahead of Britain;s Jane Daniels (34) and Australia’s Jessica Gardiner (30). Jemma Wilson made it two Australians in the top five with her 21 point haul.

The FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship continues with round two in Vale de Cambra on April 12/13.