— Salvini leads the way on day one at the EWC GP of Argentina
— Matt Phillips takes EWC Junior category win
Italy’s Alex SALVINI (Honda) continued to establish himself as the rider to beat in the Enduro 2 class with victory on day one of the Maxxis Enduro World Championship GP Maxxis of Argentina.
France’s Antoine MEO (KTM) claimed a hard fought win in the Enduro 1 class while KTM’s Christophe NAMBOTIN won the Enduro 3 class.
In the Enduro Junior category a new winner emerged with EWC rookie Matt PHILLIPS (Husqvarna) earning his debut victory.
Britain’s Jamie MCCANNEY (Husaberg) stood on the top step of the podium in the Enduro Youth Cup class.
With temperatures reaching as high as 28 degrees in San Juan, it was a tough day for all of the world’s best enduro riders as they completed four loops of physically demanding terrain.
In the Enduro 2 class it was another victory for the hard charging Alex SALVINI (Honda).
Engaged in a close battle with France’s Pela RENET (Husaberg), the Italian eventually secured the win. “It was a close fight all day with Renet for the win,” confirmed SALVINI.
“We were pushing hard all day and the lead changed hands many times. On the last lap I managed to open up a comfortable advantage that was enough to win.”
Although challenging SALVINI throughout the day, RENET was unable to hold the Honda rider at bay and had to be content with the runner-up position.
After his poor result in the Friday SuperTest, France’s Johnny AUBERT (KTM) steadily worked his way back into contention to take a well earned podium result with third overall. Spain’s Ivan CERVANTES (KTM) ended his day just over four seconds behind AUBERT to claim fourth with Britain’s David KNIGHT (Honda) completing the top five.
France’s Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM) again proved to be the rider to beat in the Enduro 3 category. Winning 11 of the day’s 14 special tests, the defending champion convincingly topped the E3 classification.
“It’s been a perfect day,” remarked NAMBOTIN. “I only made two small crashes but was fortunate not to lose much time. My bike was fantastic all day.”
In the battle for second position, Estonia’s Aigar LEOK (TM) delivered a solid pace to beat Portugal’s Luis CORREIA (Beta) to the runner-up result. Looking extremely comfortable in the terrain, CORREIA ended day one in third overall to secure his first podium result of his enduro career. Missing out on third position by less than three seconds, Sweden’s Joakim LJUNGGREN (Husaberg) was fourth with France’s Rodrig THAIN (Gas Gas) rounding out the top five.
After a hard fought battle with Finland’s Juha SALMINEN (Husqvarna), MEO took his third race win of the new season. Making two costly mistakes on the opening lap, the Frenchman capitalised on an error by SALMINEN to level the scores at the end of lap two. Making no further mistakes, MEO raced on to take the win.
“It was a difficult day but it’s great to come out on top,” commented MEO. “I crashed twice on the opening lap and had to fight hard to win.”
Leading midway through the day, SALMINEN looked on course to take victory. But after losing the use of his rear brake during the extreme test, the Finn lost his advantage over MEO. Unable to recover the lost time, the Husqvarna rider ended his day in second. Securing his second podium result of the year, Finland’s Matti SEISTOLA (Husqvarna) placed third overall. Italy’s Thomas OLDRATI (Husaberg) narrowly beat fifth placed Eero REMES (TM) to take fourth overall.
In the Enduro Junior category, EWC rookie Matt PHILLIPS (Husqvarna) recorded his first win of the season. Regrouping strongly after a costly crash in the SuperTest, the 19-year old Australian fought back to win.
Finishing six seconds behind the Husqvarna rider, Britain’s Danny MCCANNEY (Gas Gas) placed second with Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (KTM) completing the top three. Portugal’s Luis OLIVERIA (YAMAHA) ended his day in fourth with Australia’s Mitch HARPER (Honda) rounding out the top five.
In the Enduro Youth Cup class, Jamie MCCANNEY (Husaberg) took his first win of the season. Chile’s Benjamin HERRERA (TM) finished as runner-up to McCanney with Dawid CIUCCI (Husaberg) completing the top three.
— Last week…. – Round One – Salvini claims debut EWC win on day two of GP Acerbis of Chile
Italy’s Alex SALVINI (Honda) secured his first ever enduro career win with a determined display of riding on day two of the Maxxis Enduro World Championship GP Acerbis of Chile.
KTM’s Antoine MEO (F) fought his way back into contention to claim his second win of the weekend in the Enduro 1 class while France’s Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM) improved on his previous day’s result to win the Enduro 3 category in Talca.
In the Enduro Junior class, Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (KTM) secured victory as local favourite Benjamin HERRERA (TM) topped the standings in the Enduro Youth Cup. Australia’s Matt Phillips scored a third place finish to back up his fifth place on day one.
After setting the fastest E1 time on the opening enduro test, MEO slipped back down the running order as Italy’s Thomas OLDRATI (Husaberg) took control of the race lead. With both riders virtually tied on time entering the third and final extreme test, MEO delivered a stunningly fast time to claim his second victory of the weekend. “I started out quite strongly in the morning but then lost my way a little bit during the day,” confirmed MEO.
“On the last lap I gave it my maximum and by setting the fastest time in the last extreme test I managed to take the win.”
Looking incredibly strong throughout the day, OLDRATI was unable to fend off the late charge from MEO and was forced to settle for second position. Improving greatly on his day one result of seventh,
Finland’s Eero REMES placed third to secure his debut podium result for TM Racing. Although posting the fastest time in four of the day’s nine special test, Finland’s Matti SEISTOLA (Husqvarna) crashed on the tricky uphill during the final enduro test and slipped back to fourth position. Finland’s Juha SALMINEN (Husqvarna) completed the top five.
The Enduro 2 class saw a new winner emerge with Italy’s Alex SALVINI (Honda) claiming victory. The win, which was his first in the EWC since quitting motocross, came after a hard fought battle with Spain’s Ivan CERVANTES (KTM) and France’s Johnny AUBERT (KTM).
With little to separate the trio throughout the day, SALVINI topped the day’s final enduro test to claim a 14-second margin of victory. “I’m incredibly happy to win. It’s my first career win in enduro,” told a delighted SALVINI. “I felt strong all day and was able to ride like I know I’m capable of. It’s been a great day.”
Jumping up two positions from his day one result of fourth, CERVANTES finished as a deserved runner-up to SALVINI. AUBERT claimed his second podium result of the weekend with third place.
Unable to repeat his winning result from day one, France’s Pela RENET (Husaberg) was fourth. Setting the fastest time in the final extreme test, Britain’s David KNIGHT (Honda) placed just three seconds behind RENET in fifth.
In the Enduro 3 class, France’s Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM) ended his day as the winner. Although struggling to find a comfortable rhythm on the dry and dust terrain, NAMBOTIN delivered some impressive performances. Topping five of the day’s nine special tests, the KTM rider secured a solid 18-second win. “Even though I’ve won it’s been a difficult day for me,” remarked NAMBOTIN. “I struggled to get a good feeling with the track and crashed more than I would have liked.”
Sweden’s Joakim LJUNGGREN (Husaberg) continued his run of good form to end his day as runner-up. Proving that he will be a strong contender in this year’s championship, France’s Rodrig THAIN (Gas Gas) bettered his day one result of fourth to secure a podium result with third position. Portugal’s Luis CORREIA (Beta) capped off a successful weekend in Chile to end the second day fourth with Italy’s Manuel MONNI (KTM) rounding out the top five.
In the Enduro Junior class, Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (KTM) repeated his winning result from day one. Spain’s Mario ROMAN (Husaberg) set a fast pace throughout the day and finished as runner-up to REDONDI. Making his debut in the EWC at the GP Acerbis of Chile, Australia’s Matthew PHILLIPS (Husqvarna) ended day two in third overall. France’s Loic LARRIEU (Husaberg) was fourth with Britain’s Daniel MCCANNEY (Gas Gas) ending his day in fifth.
Claiming his second victory of the weekend, Chile’s Benjamin HERRERA (TM) took the Enduro Youth Cup class win. Britain’s Jamie MCCANNEY (Husaberg) finished as runner-up to Herrera with Sweden’s Albin ELOWSON (Husaberg) rounding out the top three.
The Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship continues with the GP Maxxis of Argentina in San Juan on March 23/24.
— Round One – Meo, Renet and Ljunggren win on day one at EWC GP of Chile – Matt Phillips Fifth
Dominated by dry and dusty conditions, the opening round of the 2013 FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship got off to a spectacular start in Talca, Chile.
Of the world’s best enduro riders it was KTM’s Antoine Meo and Husaberg’s Pela Renet and Joakim Ljunggren that claimed victory in the Enduro 1, Enduro 2 and Enduro 3 classes. In the Enduro Junior category, Italy’s Giacomo Redondi (KTM) topped the standings’ while Benjamin Herrera (TM) gave Chile reason to celebrate by winning the Enduro Youth Cup class.
In the Enduro 1 class, defending champion Meo got his season off to a perfect start by securing victory on day one. Facing an early challenge from Finland’s Juha Salminen (Husqvarna), the KTM rider gradually extended his lead as the day progressed to take an eventual 28-second margin of victory.
“I’m really happy to win day one in Chile,” commented Meo. “I just tried to ride smooth and make no mistakes. In the end it all worked out for me to win.”
Although providing an early challenge to Meo, Salminen was unable to maintain his fast pace as the day progressed and had to settle for the runner-up position. Following a costly crash on the opening extreme test, Finland’s Matti Seistola (Husqvarna) battled hard all day to recover from his mistake and ended the day in third.
Finishing just four seconds behind Seistola, France’s Jeremy Joly (Honda) was fourth with Yamaha’s Nicolas Deparrois rounding out the top five.
In the Enduro 2 class, Renet held off KTM’s Johnny Aubert to take the win. With Aubert winning each of the day’s three cross tests, Renet fought back by setting impressive times in the enduro test to secure a four-second win.
“It was a tough fight all day with Aubert,” remarked Renet. “He was quicker than me in the cross test but I was able to find some good lines in the enduro test to take the win.”
Narrowly missing out on the first victory of the season, Aubert was forced to settle for second. By setting the fastest time in the day’s final extreme test Italy’s Alex Salvini (Honda) finished on the third step of the podium. Engaged in a daylong battle with Spain’s Ivan Cervantes (KTM), Salvini capitalised on a mistake by the Spaniard to finish third.
Placing less than three seconds behind Salvini, Cervantes ended his day fourth, with Britain’s David Knight (Honda) rounding out the top five.
Taking his first race win since the snow covered GP of Sweden in 2009, Husaberg’s Joakim Ljunggren won the Enduro 3 category. Feeling comfortable in the dry and dusty terrain, the Swede topped three of the day’s ten special tests to secure victory.
“I’m so happy to have won,” told Ljunggren following the podium celebrations. “After a couple of difficult races in the SuperEnduro series, I’m delighted to have started the EWC so strongly by winning.”
Although claiming four special test wins, France’s Christophe Nambotin (KTM) was hampered by numerous crashes and had to be content with second position. Ending his day over 40 seconds behind Nambotin, Estonia’s Aigar Leok (TM) completed the podium with third place.
After more than one-hour of special test racing, France’s Rodrig Thain (Gas Gas) placed less than six tenths of a second behind Leok to finish fourth. Portugal’s Luis Correia (Beta) rounded out the top five.
In the Enduro Junior class, it was the 2012 Enduro Youth Cup champion Redondi that took the win. Britain’s Danny McCanney (Gas Gas) finished as runner-up to Redondi with Sweden’s Robert Kvarnstrom (Beta) ending his day in third.
France’s Loic Larrieu (Husaberg) claimed fourth with Australia’s Matthew Phillips (Husqvarna) taking fifth.
Phillips – “Day 1 was ok. Started off good but struggled to get traction in the dust later on. No rear brake for 3 tests after hitting the trees. All good. Organizers moved me 5 minutes ahead on schedule hopefully not so many slow riders and dust tomorrow. 5th today.”
Local favourite Benjamin Herrera (TM) secured victory in the Enduro Youth Cup class. Britain’s Jamie McCanney (Husaberg) and Portugal’s Henrique Nogueira (TM) completed the top three.
The EWC GP Acerbis of Chile continues with day two on Sunday, March 17.
